About the Artist
Welcome to Raspbeary Hollow
During a 12 year career in the lab, I managed to get married to Pat and have our son
Sean. When the need to be creative again struck, I found a calligraphy class and
started a small side business doing original pieces, including family trees. After a move
to Massachusetts and the birth of a second son, Drew, in 1984,  I began to look for a
creative outlet that I could accomplish  between the interruptions of 2 small children.

About that time, the teddy bear craze was beginning in the US. I combined my rusty
sewing skills with that aforementioned love of animals and started making teddy bears
from a few of the commercial patterns then available. About 5 patterns in, I had
started to develop my own style and my first original design, Noah, was born. That was
just a few weeks before our daughter,  Caitlin, was also born in September 1985. A
local shop owner was supportive and in a very short time, the Raspbearies company
came into being. Whew!

Somehow, I managed to develop a few more patterns and decided to plunge into the
show circuit at the Amherst Teddy Bear Rally in 1987. I sold my whole inventory in less
than 3 hours, months of work! There were many more shows to come, many more
designs and bears. Additionally, I enjoyed the uproarious camaraderie of a wonderful
group of fellow teddy bear artists known as the Teddy Bear Artists of New England.
Cheers, Ladies!

For the last 20+ years, I've been lucky enough to do something I love and weave it
around the lives of a very busy family. Along the way, I even entered a  national
magazine contest with a pair of bears skating.....and
won (see below). And I have met
some of the most wonderful and interesting people in the form of collectors, other
artists and those who cannot believe I make teddy bears for a living!
                                                       is a funny gift. Not only does it erupt in
many forms, but it rarely remains stifled for long. Like many other
teddy bear artists, I came to the craft by a very circuitous route.

Having learned to sew from my grandmothers and a couple of aunts, I
honed my skills on Barbie and Betsy McCall doll clothes, an arkfull of
stuffed animals, clothing for myself and gifts for family.  Then in
college, I shifted quickly through veterinary medicine, zoology (animals,
you see) and finally graduated as a medical technologist. Pretty far
from sewing!
In 1991, we built a house on a pond in a wooded hollow with a workshop in
which to make teddy bears. You won't find Raspbeary Hollow on any map,
but it is full of wild animals, 2 cats and a lot of teddy bears - now that the
kids have grown and gone their own ways
Fall 2007
A very dry pond!
December 2007
Let it SNOW!
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge the photo
Evolution of a Logo

Recognize the bears in this photo?
Hint: see the
home page!
That is the first Cody that I made (he lives now
with Joe & Jeanine Lamothe) with Nicholas in
front  and they are sitting on my coffee
table.....Cody is a BIG guy.

I made a line drawing of Cody and 'magically'
fitted it together with another, replacing

Nicholas with a line drawing of a
little Tundra (se
e bottom of Gallery 2) done by
April Whitcomb Gustaphson for me

and....voilá....a logo!

PS...Cody is still available by special order, but
Nicholas is a closed edition
Cody and Nicholas
1995 Golden Teddy Award
The Skating Lesson
Nicolai and Mischa
June 2008
Frogs & Liilypads
Probably more than you want to know!
© 2008 Vicki Stephan
Updated 6/14/08