About Me
Firstly I would like to introduce myself. My name is Gemma McKenzie and I live in East Sussex, England with my Australian husband and our 2 wonderful boys. My business name is very special to me as it is derived from the nicknames I gave to my 2 sons when they were babies - 'Pumpkin' and 'Pickle'.
I started making bears in January 2006 and was soon bitten by the bear making bug! My first 2 bears were made from kits, but I soon found I wanted to make creations designed by myself, so I put pencil to paper and have been designing ever since. I love the whole process from start to finish and feel very proud of my creations, seeing each one take on their own personalities.
I am very honoured to have won 3 British Bear Artist Awards since becoming a Bear Artist.
Manufactured bears have never appealed to me and since becoming a Bear Artist I have a HUGE appreciation for Artist Bears and the time and effort that goes into making each one. I love these unique little furries and have found (much to my husband's dismay) that I am turning into a bit of a collector myself!