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Welcome to my website! I'm so glad you dropped by. I'm Shelli Heinemann and I've been hand crafting one of a kind, award winning, adult collectible teddy bears since 2004. I love making teddy bears; it's the most soul-feeding, incredibly fun and fulfilling career imaginable. Well, okay; that's not entirely true. Bearmaking is a close second place finisher, just slightly less fun and fulfilling than my first and most treasured job -- the one where my official title is "Mom." People who love teddy bears, no matter what their association with them, are absolutely the kindest, most salt of the Earth folks. I'm truly blessed to have stumbled into a huge circle of friendship through my bear making, and every day I'm grateful anew for that good fortune, and for the wonderful reception me and my bears have received. Sometimes, even the best job gets a bit... stale... and when that happened to me a year or so ago, I started tinkering in new artistic areas. I got into lampworking for a bit, then sculpted an art doll from Paperclay and made some prim fabric imps; all of that, awesome good fun! More recently, I've been head-over-heels enamored with the ATC movement, and all the incredible, pocket-sized masterpieces coming out of that community of artists. Making art cards has been a great way to dip my toe into collage, pen, ink, and paint mediums, and I'm having the time of my life trying new things and making new friends in the passionate and fascinating ATC community. I sell my bears to pay my bills, but I only ever trade my art cards. That endeavor is something I preserve as pure and simple and just for me, which keeps my creative soul refreshed and inspired all around. While you're visiting PotbellyArts.com, please take a gander around my site and come see what creative craziness I've been up to. It's not just POTBELLY BEARS! I hope you'll find something here that appeals to your bear-loving or card-craving tastes, and that you'll come celebrate all things beautiful, huggable, and handcrafted right beside me. As for my bear making resume'... My bears and me have been so honored by multiple appearances in the following awesome publications, and there's more to come! Just a small sampling of the issues in which we've appeared are shown at right. UNITED STATES Art Doll Quarterly Teddy Bear & Friends Teddy Bear Review Bears & Buds webzine UNITED KINGDOM Teddy Bear Club International Teddy Bear Scene AUSTRALIA Australian Bear Creations Most thrilling of all, I'm just so proud to be a Golden Teddy, TOBY, and/or URSA nominee (and in one case, WINNER!) for the last three years running. That's my ballerina PIROUETTE, with a cover spot! --> I'm also a co-founder and retired moderator at TEDDY TALK, an online forum about all things teddy bear. Unlike some web sites which keep their content under wraps for "members only," topics posted to Teddy Talk are viewable to all, registered member or otherwise. There's a wealth of bearmaking information to be found in the Teddy Talk LIBRARY, as well as a huge community of incredibly talented and generous international bear artists, plus a handful of wonderful collectors, magazine editors, and shop owners to round out our family of bear lovers. I hope you'll come visit this incredible resource and meeting place for bear lovers of all kinds. |