Etsy

I'm Mary Lou Foley of Bayside Bears….and Bayside Bears is actually just me! I am the designer and creator of these one of a kind totally handcrafted collectible bears as well the webmaster, accountant, public relations director and Etsy merchandiser! Quite a lot of hats to wear, but I am so lucky to have been successful at such a wonderful career.

The turning point in my career was when I created a large mother and cub set called "I Love You With All My Heart". It won Best of Show at the National, as well as a 1999 TOBY and Golden Teddy Award and was the focus of a a large feature story and the cover of Teddy Bear and Friends in 2000.

Since then, my work has been honored with numerous TOBY and Golden Teddy Awards, and has appeared in magazines in the US, Germany, Japan and Britain.
I have pieces in Teddy Bear museums as well as the homes of hundreds of collectors worldwide
I've created a life sized polar bear cub inspired by a cub being raised by handlers at a German zoo. Knut, was 30" long and fully articulated with a spine and bendable legs. It was a huge success and I decided to start a series of life size cubs, making them as realistic as I could. I enjoy exploring new techniques to allow me to do just that. My first life size bear of 2008, Flocke, incorporates lots of needlefelting detailing to get realistic look I wanted.

After taking a couple of years off, I have come to realize that my first love is in making bears. I hope you'll also visit my website at baysidebears.com