All About Minikins........All About Minikins........
Minikins
Me & my first Teddy Bear!
Minikins is a miniature bear company run by myself, Maggie Spackman.
I have been making miniature teddy bears for eleven years now and selling them at Teddy Bear shows for just over ten.
All my bears are made entirely by hand and from the finest materials. I have 'matured' in my bear making over the years, experimenting with fabrics and different patterns but also developing a completely different style of face for my bears. The result is a look that is unique to my bears and is instantly recognisable as "one of Maggie's bears".!
It took me about two years of 'serious bear making' (is there such a thing?!?!) to arrive at my trademark long, ultra-suede muzzle. I first used it for a piece called, "Alice in Wondbearland" (pictured below) which earned me my second nomination as a finalist in the EVA's, a competition run for bear makers by Teddy Bear Scene magazine.
(Click on images to enlarge)
Ideas for my bears come from many different sources: pictures in faerie story books or on greetings cards, from a particular design on a fabric that catches my eye, nature's "cast offs" - tiny acorn cups, pieces of bark or even twigs. Often times they just pop up out of the intricate muddle that serves as my brain! I keep a sketch pad handy and jot ideas down when they come to me and I never seem to have a shortage of ideas, just of the time in which to see them through and make them come to life!
I have a love of all things "Prim" - American Primitive arts & crafts - and also like to dabble in that on a miniature scale and often incorporate that style into my work.
All my bears (apart from Garden Sprites , Faeries and set pieces) are named after US towns, cities and States. There is an inexhaustible supply and so many are very fitting for bears, often it is unbelievable that they are actually place names! It has even been known for a name to initiate the creation of a bear!
I now sell my bears all over the world and I am delighted and proud to have several pieces on display at the Puppenhaus Museum in Basel, Switzerland.
1999 British BearArtist Award Winner
(Teddy Bear Times Magazine www.teddybeartimes.com )
(Now on display at the Puppenhaus Museum, Basel Switzerland www.puppenhausmuseum.ch)
1999 The National Awards USA, Runner-up
"Holiday"
(Now on display at the Puppenhaus Museum, Basel Switzerland)
2000 BritishBearArtistAward Winner &
2000 Margaret & Gerry Grey Award Winner (in conjunction with Teddy Bear Times Magazine)
2001 Toby Award Nominee & Industry's Choice Winner
"Jack and the Bearstalk"
"Griswold"
"The Emperor's New Clothes"
2001 British Bear Artist Award Winner 2001 Golden George Award Winner
(Now on display at the Puppenhaus Museum, Basel Switzerland)
2002 British Bear Artist Award R unnerUp
"Celebrating 100 years of the Teddy Bear - Drawing the Line in Mississippi"(Now on display at the Puppenhaus Museum, Basel Switzerland)
2003 British Bear Artist Award R unnerUp "Pandora's Box"(Now on display at the Puppenhaus Museum, Basel Switzerland)
2005 Toby Award Nominee & Industry's Choice Winner
2005 Golden T eddy Award Nominee
(Now on display at the Puppenhaus Museum, Basel Switzerland)
Making my bears has definitely turned my life around and is a full-time job for me now but one that I wouldn't wish to change.
I feel extremely lucky to be able to do every day, something that I love so much and I hope that you will see this passion reflected in my work.
Home Page Album 1 Album 2 "Critters" "Prims" What's new! In the works
How to order How to contact me...... Show Calendar Links Page
Copyright © Maggie Spackman
