Alonika Bears

Home	Artist Profile	Limited Edition Bears	Bear Kits < 30cm	Bear Kits > 30cm	Contact & Order Info.	Bear Links

ARTIST PROFILE

Hello, my name is Michele Sharp, and I design and create the bears for Alonika Bears. I live in the suburbs of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria in Australia, with my ever-supportive and patient husband, Alan.

My background is actually quite far from such artistic pursuits as bear making. Having completed a degree in Science, I worked as a meteorologist for a couple of years. I found this work didn’t exactly agree with me, and so I left, but I did get something really good out of it - I found my husband whilst working for the Weather Bureau (Alan is also a meteorologist).

I’ve always been very interested in expressing myself creatively. From early childhood my mother encouraged me to try a number of different crafts, including crocheting, embroidery, and sewing. I also tried my hand at drawing and painting, and have for many years gained great enjoyment and satisfaction from playing and studying music (in particular the oboe).

Eventually, Alan (who was always a great bear fan) suggested I try to make a teddy bear. Little did he know then what he had done!!! I took him up on the challenge, went out and bought a kit, and produced "Happy" - my first ever bear! How this bear ever encouraged me to try to make another one is quite beyond me, he looked more like a little rat than a teddy! But he did have a very happy expression on his face (hence his name), and he will always have a special place in our house (he’ll always stay here, because, quite frankly, no one else in their right mind would want him!).

Having made this first bear, I well and truly caught the bear making bug. You may have heard that this craft can be addictive - well it is totally true! After "Happy", I made bear after bear after bear (all of which didn’t turn out too much better than "Happy" himself, but I was at least pleased that they were starting to look like bears! However, I thought that it would probably be a good idea to do a workshop or two, to get a few pointers - and this turned out to be a very good move. I found these workshops very helpful and my bear making improved greatly.

I started making bears as presents for friends and family, and then finally plucked up the courage to enter some competitions. I was very pleased when the first ever bear I made for a competition came home with a Best in Section rosette. This inspired me to try even harder and enter more competitions, which resulted in further rosettes and blue ribbons (very gratifying).

Eventually, I was making so many bears, very few of which were leaving the house as presents, so they started to fill up all the rooms of our house! It was getting to the point where some unfortunately had to leave us, or Alan and I would have to move out, as we were running out of room! There was also the fact that bear making materials are not exactly cheap, so there was nothing else for it - some of our little furry friends had to be sold! This is when the business Alonika Bears was born.

I wanted the business name to reflect the fact that both Alan and myself have input into the business - "Alonika" actually is a combination of Alan’s name (Al-) and my middle name Veronika (-onika). Although I do all the design and creation of the bears and kits, Alan does help with accompanying me to bear shows (come and say hello to both of us at shows around Melbourne), as well as helping with administrative and computing tasks (such as setting up this website!). He also gives his valued opinion on the appearance of the bears, and often comes up with their names.

My aim as a bear artist is to provide collectors with well-made, colourful, character-filled teddy bears. I hope that you enjoy looking at them on this website, and hope to see you in person at a bear show at some time in the not too distant future.

Kind regards,
Michele Sharp