Her Own World of Whimsy

by Pam North

	It took a doll collection outgrowing her house to lead Cindy McGuire into making her delightful stuffed animals. An avid collector of antique dolls and toys throughout the years, she finally began weeding out the ones she could live without, then started attending doll shows to sell them, and it was at those events that she found inspiration from the doll and bear artists displaying their work. When she ran out of antique dolls to sell, she  tried her hand at making both dolls and bears of her own design, but found that her bears sold more readily than her dolls, and a business was born. 	
	Cindy's background tied in nicely with her new endeavor. She had majored in fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, then worked in the bridal market as a buyer before marrying and moving to Ohio. There she opened and managed a bridal shop for one of her clients, and and also worked as a florist for nearly twenty years. The time-consuming hours of retail business and management of a growing family were a tough balance to maintain, and ultimately she sought another endeavor to pursue. She had always loved elaborate costuming, especially in miniature; she had sewn clothes for dogs and been a mascot costume designer in the early 1970s “I am constantly amazed at how the skills learned from my variety of jobs have contributed to what I do, but it's my my teddy bears and animals that I do best,” she commented. She spent the first winter of her new venture designing bears with doll proportions, incorporating a vintage look to polish off her style. Her novel Cupboard Ladies reflect this approach – heads and upper bodies of bears above French-styled china cupboards hidden in their skirts. “China Cupboard Bears grew out of my love of antique dolls and costuming, and was a natural extension of my background in fashion design,”  she explained. As her business took off, she launched her own cottage industry. “Early on I realized my business would be defined by limitations of family and time, and it was my cottage industry that saw me through my years marketing my animals at Toy Fair, which is the largest wholesale toy show in the US. It enabled me to successfully combine a career and my family life.”
	Cindy now has logged nearly 25 years producing her creations. While bears were her focus for the first 15 years, she made a gradual shift to a wider variety of animals. She is a wizard with fabric and stitchery, and her fuzzy creations encompass a wide spectrum of endearing creatures – dogs, pigs, mice, cats, rats, elephants, foxes, ostriches, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, and even an armadillo and a beaver. She even takes on the formidable task of immortalizing people's favorite pets in custom soft sculptures. Using original patterns, she implements a variety of fine fabrics, such as mohair, alpaca, and wool, to simulate furry coats, accenting her animals with skillful stitching and glass eyes for expression. “My style has changed considerably over the years. I lean toward the naturalistic, touched with anthropomorphism and a twist of whimsy. I am still striving to offer the unexpected - sweet lovable faces, wonderful fabrics and trims, interesting antiques, or vintage additions - all with a sense of humor that hopefully will make people smile. I delight in transforming basic materials into something wonderful. The challenge of what to make next keeps my artistic juices flowing, and I'm always on the lookout for whatever will spark an idea. My ultimate goal has always been to continue to be creative.” 
	Since Cindy markets her bears through shows, traveling is a major part of her life. “Who knew it would be so rewarding and take me all over the United States, Europe and Japan, and find that so many people speak 'BEAR'? What an extraordinary number of wonderful people I have met over the years - collectors, fellow artists, and business folk. To be in the company of other creative people is never having to explain the eccentricities of my job and my lifestyle, and that recharges me. I am fortunate that I enjoy travel, and traveling to teddy bear shows is a natural fit. I love seeing many cities in the United States and visiting foreign countries, and all have been a major plus, exposing me to art, ideas, and architecture I otherwise never would have experienced. What a joy!”
  	Cindy touched on some of the challenges and disciplines inherent in what she does. “Being self employed is not for everyone. It takes determination, multitasking, and time management skills, along with dedication to constant production. Understanding my collector base and the market gives my creative talents a direction in which to head.  In 2015  I will celebrate 25 years in the teddy bear world. That's quite a landmark for someone who took a detour from fashion design to play with dolls.”

Contact Information:
Cindy McGuire, China Cupboard Bears 
Telephone:  (740) 387-7742
Website: www.chinacupboardbears.com 
Email: chinacupboardbears@hotmail.com