Welcome To Bumpkin Bears
Hi, my name is Catherine Young and I am the person that brings these sweet Bumpkin characters to life. I am British but now live in a small rural village in Belgium, near to the artistic city of Antwerp. I live here with my wonderful and supportive fiancee, two mad cats and an ever growing collection of my hand made bears!
I have always been creative and pursued this love of art at College studying art and textile design. I visited my first bear fair in Belgium in 2001 and bought a kit to make a teddy bear, I have been bit by the bear making bug ever since. I now strive to design and bring alive the most endearing characterful bears that I can.
Bumpkin bears come from my childhood where idyllic days were spent out of doors at my Granny's home in the heart of the English countryside. My bears bring alive these memories through their characters. I shared my Granny's and Mum's love of many things in life, and they were always very encouraging of my creative hobbies and hand made gifts that I made them. We all loved teddy bears and I know that although sadly they have both passed away now that they would be my bear's greatest fans.
My Granny nicknamed me a Country Bumpkin and this still holds true today with my love of the outdoors, hence the name of my Bumpkin Bears! They capture the spirit of childhood, twinkling eyes of friendship and those ever important open arms for cuddles!
