I made my first bear in 1995 and in the same year I began designing my own and formed Lombard Bears Australia. I combined bear making with my 3 jobs for three years and then my (now) hubby and I made the big move out of the city and took on a 7-day a week business...end of bear making for about 9 years! I had just started getting back into bears after having my daughter Elkie, when I saw a felting demo in August 2008 and my mind was off at a million miles an hour and hasn't stopped since. I Love that needle felting allows you to sculpt in fibre! I am loving being back into bear making and boy what a different world it is today compared to when I started...WONDERFUL!!!