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 successful 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 2000 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.

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, incorporated lots  of needlefelting detailing to get the realistic look I wanted.

My latest work runs the gamut from realistic polar bears to  little girl bears in pretty dresses and big lions with silky manes. I'm comfortable with  all the styles and am inspired all the time to create something different. I've  developed some labor intensive needlefelting techniques and use those to create  faces with lots of detail, personality and character as well as creating miniature needle felted bears. After 14 years, my creative juices are still flowing and I'm still coloring outside the box!

BAKARI, TOBY Industry Choice winner 2009

Leo, the Lion Bear