Hi! My name is Alexis Young, I am 26 years old, and live in Wellington, New Zealand. I began making miniature bears about four years ago, while in my final year at Design School. I came across some World of Miniature Bears in a store,and was fascinated by them. Being a poor student at the time, I couldnt afford to buy one, and instead set myself the challenge to make one myself. My first bear was an unfortunate little soul. I used the wrong sort of material, and I hadn't heard of fray stop - he came apart at the seams in several places, and I had to stitch him up from the outside. Still, he was 4 inches of bear, and I had made him. I was very proud! I have made many more bears since then, at first from published patterns, and now from my own designs. I am totally addicted! I love taking a small piece of material, and transforming it into a tiny little character with a big soul. If only I had more time in which to make them...! About My Bears... My bears range in size from about 1 to 3 inches small and are five way disk jointed, apart from the 1 inch bears which are string jointed. I use a variety of quality materials, including mohair, vintage rayon, vintage longpile, and viscose, and all my bears have ultrasuede paw pads, and onyx bead eyes. I take my time creating each and every one of my bears, handstitching them with care, scissor and needle sculpting their faces, and carefully shading to bring out their personality. Each bear takes at least 8 hours to complete, and are one of a kind creations. Enjoy browsing around my website, and if you have any questions or comments, or you would like to adopt one of my available bears, please don't hesitate to email me. Alexis