Chris' Creations

Flower gardens inspire her!

Chris Herron and her husband Tom, live in a small farming community in north central Ohio.

"We have enough room for a vegetable garden and a few fruit trees that supply us with produce that I will can or freeze to enjoy during the winter months."

Chris loves to garden and has several flower beds that add color to their yard. Mother Nature’s color combinations give inspiration for her bear creations.

She has been sewing since her junior years in high school and her maternal grandmother sparked her creative interest.

"Grandma made quilts and would sew clothes, knit sweaters and even made a purse with pearl embellishments for my Ginny dolls."

"I still have that purse with its pretty lace hanky." she said.

Chris made her first quilt when her daughter was born.
"As my daughter grew, she was not interested in dolls but favored stuffed animals. So that began my journey making soft sculptured animals which I found much more satisfying than making clothes."

Some of her friends asked Chris to make stuffed animals for them, which then led to others requesting one.

"Around that time a friend encouraged me to enter a local craft show and I was amazed that my creations appealed to so many buyers."

In 1997 Chris attended a sewing expo and a teddy bear making lecture.

Acorn

Buttercup

Cuddles

Hallie

Sophie

Callie

"Here I was introduced to jointed bears with glass eyes and mohair fabric.

A whole new world was
about to open for me and
I definitely got the bug."'

After the lecture Chris ventured over to the lecturer’s booth where she purchased all the supplies that were needed to make her first jointed mohair teddy bear

"When I got home, it took me about two weeks to get the courage to cut into that wonderful and costly mohair fabric."

Now some 25 years later, Chris still is in love with the beautiful mohair fabric that will transform its shape and become a special teddy bear.

"My first bear Benjamin, was really a success partly because I had been making non-jointed, faux fur teddy bears for several years.

I took him to a craft show to show him off and put what I thought was a pretty hefty price on him.

Well, I took a short break, leaving my young teenage daughter Tammy in charge, and when I returned I immediately noticed that Benjamin was GONE.

Where is he?

She proudly announced that she sold him. My heart was breaking but I didn’t let her know.

She failed to get the customer’s name so I hope Benjamin is still making someone very happy."

Before Covid cancelled the live shows Chris attended many arts, crafts, and teddy bear shows in Ohio and surrounding states. Now many of those shows no longer exist, so she participates in the online teddy bear shows.

When the live shows start to make a comeback, Chris will once again exhibit her bears and crafts.

"I have always enjoyed the personal interaction with each collector, customer and artist at the live shows.

Many good friends have been made at these shows over the years. Even with the online shows, I will get a friendly e-mail from a customer who will share a story with me about her and her bear collecting or why a particular bear caught her eye."

Abigail

Ellie

Annie Alpaca

In Chris' home she has a dedicated sewing room, lined with many sewing machines including an embroidery machine which she uses to embellish a bear's foot pad.

Often she adds a special element or will add Swarovski crystals for a little paw pad bling.

"My teddy bears are the traditional style but I like using the beautiful colors that are available from the mohair suppliers."

The bear's face is a very important feature and Chris will pay special attention to the final expression.

"Many times as I am finishing the bear’s face, a name will just come to me that suits him/her. Other times when a name doesn’t come to me right away, I will ask my granddaughter Emma to help me. Together we usually come up a with special name."

Chris uses up to 5 of her popular bear patterns that she has developed over the years and always is modifying them time to time to come
up with a new look.

"Recently I have begun making colorful dresses for some of my bears and many of the outfits include a matching hat."

Taking a break from making collectible mohair bears, Chris enjoys making soft-sculptured animals like elephants, lions, dogs, giraffes and alpacas.

These animals are popular at arts and craft shows while being safe for small children.

At other times Chris finds time to make quilts just like her grandmother "except I use my long arm quilting machine to quilt them!"

Now she is teaching her sixteen year old grand-daughter the art of quilting.

"Emma has completed four quilts in the last couple of years." beams Chris.

Definitely none of her many sewing machines sit idle!

Years ago while attending a local teddy bear and doll show, a gentleman came in carrying a very tattered teddy bear that needed some serious TLC.

He stopped at my table and told me he was looking for someone to repair him.

The story was that somehow his childhood bear got outside in the rain and before he rescued it, damage had occurred.

Now the dirty old bear needed further rescuing and asked if I could “fix” him.

"I told him I had never done any restoration, but I was willing to give it a try. He trusted me with his childhood friend."

After doing some research Chris got to work. The first step was to give the dirty bear a good bath and brushing. He was missing one eye and he had worn areas on his foot and paw pads. She fixed him and was able to bring the beloved bear back to life.

Autumn

Kimberly

Clara

Daisy

Julie

Firecracker

Chris Herron

Chris' Creations

"My customer was very satisfied with the results and this was also very rewarding to me.

Chris' bears have won blue ribbons at the Ohio State Fair and the local county fairs.

She has been featured in Teddy Bear and Friends and Teddy Bear Times and Friends magazines.

"Our local TV station interviewed me about my bear making which gave me an opportunity to educate the public on the art of bear making and where mohair comes from."

Over the years Chris has  made several bears from customer's mink or real fur items that belonged to their mother or grandmother.

"It gives me great pleasure to turn these fur items into cherished heirloom teddy bears and see the smiles when they see the final results."

Chris also creates memory bears from a persons piece of clothing. Many times the clothing belongs to a loved one who has passed.

"Making these memory bears gives me great pleasure. I am so grateful that I am able to make something that they will cherish and be able to remember their loved one."

"Bear making is so gratifying in many ways and these teddy bears really are loved and are so comforting to many."

Chris finds that 'magic' happens, when creating and selling her bears. There are not enough words to express the joy coming from a teddy bear artist's heart.

Learn More!

Where is Ashland, Ohio USA?

Click on the map >>>>