Hi there  - let me introduce myself. . . My name is Martha Burch.  I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin as the second oldest in a family of 10 kids.

From the start, I loved to sew and "make stuff."  We always had to entertain ourselves and this sparked my creative side.

I began to make teddy bears in 1984.  First, I needed Christmas gifts for my large and extended family, so I used some of the damaged textiles from my mother's antique shop.  I made a few too many and took the rest in to the store.  They sold the same day. Then, once I found a use for the damaged textiles, I couldn't stand the thought of tossing them out so, well, I finally had to Use it or MOVE, so.... the first bears were FAR removed from the work you see on this site.  They were made of antique textiles that had been too damaged to save as they were - quilts, rugs, blankets, and coats were all transformed into fat little string jointed bears with button eyes and noses.

In 1985 I stumbled on to a Teddy Bear & Friends Magazine and found a source for mohair. That inspired me to redesign my patterns and make my first fully jointed traditionally styled bear. 

In 1991,'92 and '93 I was invited to participate in the Walt Disney World Teddy Bear event. I have been nominated for Golden Teddy and TOBY. I was very excited to have been invited to attend the 2002 Centennial Celebration of the Teddy Bear hosted by the Smithsonian Institution. And I am happy to be the guest speaker at the 2005 "Discover" doll and teddy bear event.

I now live with fur everywhere and lots of fun teddy ideas. I truly enjoy each bear that I make.

I have been blessed in this community to be able to make many new friends, to make a living doing what I love to do. Thank you to my friends, both old and new