'With you beside me I can feel both Gentle and Strong'

`When man moves away from nature, his heart becomes hard`

-Lakota Sioux proverb

Suzi began designing and creating bears in 1984, having taught herself how to design, sew and craft at a young age. This hobby turned into a profession when her son Bron was born, as it enabled her to stay at home and raise him whilst she continued to work.

She has always loved bears, and another of her main passions is for antique textiles. She adores trawling around numerous antique fairs finding vintage doll’s clothes and pieces of antique fabrics, so decided to combine these two interests to create very individual bears. For many years she worked under the name Kingston Bears, winning various awards, and selling her bears world wide, having a bear shop under the same name. Because of her appreciation of nature and the elements, and her connection with the Spirit realm, this bear shop grew into a Spiritual shop, incorporating crystals, and all things faerie alongside her bears, and was called Heavenly Creations.

She moved to the heart of England’s New Forest a few years ago and now enjoys early morning walks through the forest each day. She is constantly moved by the energy of the trees and all the nature surrounding her, inspiring her to begin or complete a little soul. Feeling the faeries tending to each flower bud, and dancing in the heather and amongst the trees, their antics lighten her being and empower her creations, every day inspiring her, giving her visions of future bears to create. Holding these visions in her heart until returning home, she then sketches them onto paper before designing and creating them.

Because of the influence of the forest on her designs, and the influence of her main Spirit guide Bear in all aspects of her life, she decided to re-launch her business under the name SuziBear Designs in 2009. The all-new designs are connected to the healing properties of the forest in some way…be it the protective energy from the Oak tree, or the prosperity and ‘dreams coming true’ associated with blackberries, and the various crystals some bears carry all have individual healing properties too. These new bears hope to spread the message that nature is truly awesome, and each bear aims to bring about a realisation of just how magical this planet is that we live on, and how Mother Earth can help heal us with her gifts.

Suzi also has a passion for animals, and is working on a magazine called The Animal Ledger, the first issue having been launched in July 2009, with Bron doing all the publishing. This magazine aims to bring awareness to society of the cruelty some of our animals have to endure…for example many animals are subjected to torture through laboratory experiments for make-up, household products, pet food etc, and there are other people who abuse animals, mistreat them, and inflict unbearable pain on them for many other unnecessary reasons. Animal Ledger is working to bring an end to all this unnecessary suffering of our animals, and each new collection of Suzi`s bears is dedicated to a particular animal charity, a percentage of each sale going towards that chosen charity. She hopes each little soul that she creates will help our Animal Kingdom and Mother Earth in some way, and she will always strive to help protect our animals from the abuse and torture many suffer. Her soul won`t rest until they are free to roam as they should.

Once a week Suzi travels from the peace and tranquility of the forest to the hustle and bustle of London, where she has a stall at Covent Garden Arts and Crafts Apple Market. It is a fantastic place to be, extremely friendly and lively, and from there some of her bears are happy to find homes, and now reside in many different parts of the world.