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Let me introduce
you to Julie Howard, the creator of these beautifully
handcrafted bears of the Bowral Bear Co.
As many of you
will know, Julie has been drawing since she was old enough to
hold a pencil or paintbrush, and for the last 7 years in
particular, she has focused very much on drawing bears, as
shown on her website "Bear
Essentials Graphics".
For much of that time her loyal customers have been asking
"When are you going to bring these bears to life"?
For a long while Julie toyed with the idea of having another
company create her bears, but she soon began to realize that
in order to have her bears made from the very finest
quality materials with great attention to detail, that the
very best way she could possibly do this to her own
satisfaction, was to handcraft the bears herself. Having sewn
for many years, following in the footsteps of her mother,
Julie's needlework and creative skills were easily turned to
making her unique bears.
It is Julie's
desire not only to work with the very best possible mohair
and embellishments, but that each bear be created to the very
highest standard. Every seam is first top-stitched to keep the
pieces firmly together, then every seam is double stitched to
create a very stable and secure seam. Noses are hand embroidered,
faces are needle-sculptured by hand, and every step of each
bears creation is done so with meticulous attention to detail.
Julie's bears are never ready to leave her bear nest until
each detail is as perfect as it can be. Of course by the time
each bear is completed, so much of her heart and soul has gone
into each one, that it is very hard for her to part with them,
but knowing they will be much loved by their new owners, makes
the parting more bearable. Julie's bears can be found in homes
around the world.
Julie and her
family live in Sydney Australia, however they previously lived
in the picturesque Southern Highlands of NSW
(Australia). (thus the name "Bowral Bear
Co.") Julie has been married to her childhood
sweetheart for almost 30 years...she is the mum of three adult
children (two daughters and a son), plus she is Nana to her dear
little grandson "Dan". Of course when Dan was born,
Julie lovingly created a bear just for him.
Please note
that Julie bears are designed as collectables,
not as children's toys.
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