Deb Canham began her working life as a police officer in London, England. In 1986 , inspired by the many wonderful miniature bear artists in the USA, she became one of the first English based bear artists. She continued to make miniature bears at her kitchen table selling at bear and miniature shows. In the early 90's she became the main designer for the 'Little Gem' company and was also invited to design big bears for Teddy Hermann Original in Germany. However, she felt that the true value of miniature bears was being missed in the

regular bear market as she believes miniature bears are more 'figurines' than anything else and would appeal to the very many figurine collectors who collect animal figurines.

In 1996 she moved to Sarasota, Florida with her husband Richard, two young sons, Sam and Charlie, Dougal the Dalmatian and the family cat, Poppet. There she started,' Deb Canham Artist Designs' with the aim to produce a high quality collectible 'soft figurine' using only the finest fabrics. Like all collectibles her pieces are always a signed limited edition. Her designs have gone on to include many types of animal with dedicated lines of Mice, Dragons, Rabbits and bears. However, she also does a large number of birds, turtles, turkeys, penguins, and any other characters that may spring into her mind. It is very wrong to think of these pieces as 'Toys'. Firstly they are unsafe for children and secondly that is not their role. They are designed and made to be

enjoyed purely for their appeal and looks. All they are required to do is to make their owners smile.

Deb also has a 'Collectors Club' which is about to complete its seventh year in June 2006. The club was developed to keep her collectors bettei informed as to what was available, the value of sold out pieces and generally to build a link between the designer and the collector. Today s collectors want more out of

the collecting and Deb as a designer likes them to know more about why a design came into being, what was her inspiration and 'why'?

During the last two years. Deb has introduced the 'Inbetweenie' line, these are not miniatures and measure between 5- 9 inches. Prior to that she had a BIG-get- bear line but has decided to concentrate on the smaller 'pocket' size, 'The Inbetweenies' and her miniatures.

This year is sees the start of the I lth Year of Deb Canham Artist Designs and we are celebrating our l0th Anniversary.