THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!

I'm Mary Lou Foley of Bayside Bears….and Bayside Bears is actually just me!  I am the designer and creator of these one of a kind totally handcrafted collectible bears as well the webmaster, accountant, public relations director and ebay merchandiser! Quite a lot of hats to wear, but I am so lucky to have been sucessful at  such a wonderful career.

I am trained as a fine artist, specializing in drawing and illustration and I like to think that it shows in my bear work too. Until a few years ago, I spent the best part of two decades raising my two boys who are now off on their own. But, in those years, I was always searching for a way to express my creativity. I dabbled in just about every art and craft that was popular. I was an accomplished scrimshaw artist and polymer clay artist, but when I attended my first Teddy Bear Show, on a whim, I discovered a whole new world. From there, the rest is history.

That was in 1997. I was beginning this venture just as the Internet was also beginning to grow. I discovered  other Teddy Bear Artists on the Internet and got a great education in materials, techniques, shows and collectors.

At my second Teddy Bear show, one of the other artists commented on my display, taking particular note of a little polar bear. He suggested that I make that my niche and concentrate on doing just polar bears. As I looked out at the sea of artist tables with all the gold and brown and pastel teddy bears, I started to think that he may have something there. So, that's what I did. I found my niche and had great success.

The turning point in my career was when I created a large mother and cub set called "I Love You With All My Heart". It won Best of Show at the National, as well as a 1999 TOBY and Golden Teddy Award and was the  focus of a a large feature story and the cover of Teddy Bear and Friends in 2000.

Since then, my work has been honored with numerous TOBY and Golden Teddy Awards, and has appeared in  magazines in the US, Germany, Japan and Britain.

I have pieces in Teddy Bear museums as well as the homes of hundreds of collectors worldwide

 In 2007, I had a wonderful time making a new bear series called The Bear Family. I was ready for something new. It was a series of large bears of all colors dressed in vintage clothing with accessories that told a story. They couldn't be more different from my realistic polar bears and I enjoyed creating them immensely. I still have quite a stash of vintage clothing and toys and a bin of colored mohair, so you will be seeing more Bear Family Bears in the coming year.

But also in 2007, I created a life sized polar bear cub inspired by a cub being raised by handlers at a German zoo. Knut, was 30" long and fully articulated with a spine and bendable legs. It was a huge success and I decided to start a series of life size cubs, making them as realistic as I could. I enjoy exploring new techniques to allow me to do just that. My first life size bear of 2008, Flocke, incorporates lots  of needlefelting detailing to get realistic look I wanted.

After taking a few months off at the end of last year, I have come  to realize that my first love is in making the realistic bears. I decided to go back to my roots and create more realistic polar bears…with no clothing or accessories, just letting the  workmanship and quality in the design speak for itself and let the character that I put into it tell its own story. I do have that colored mohair in the closet  that I will use up, so you will see an occasional brown bear or grizzly bear.....but my focus is on polar bears this year. The time off served me well and I am looking forward to a year full of new creative energy.