Bearaphanalia Bears ® came into existence in 1987 quite by accident! Jutta was always very creative. Busy as a legal
secretary, she also taught ceramics in her spare time, achieving her Certified Ceramic Teacher Certificate. After 12 years of
teaching, she had to give it up due to health reasons. This left a very large creative gap in her life.
One day while visiting a porcelain doll shop, she noticed a doll holding a teddy. When asked if she could purchase just the
teddy, the store owner told her he was not for sale as a friend of hers had made it for her. A light bulb came on instantly for
Jutta. Up until then she had always thought that bears were made by "large" manufacturers - not by actual people. Always
one to jump in with both feet, she set about finding supplies to make her own bear. This was no easy task! Living in Canada,
where bear making was still in it's infancy, there was very little in the way of supplies. She had to settle for various horrid
synthetics from fabric stores and mass produced patterns put out by clothing manufacturers. After making several bears (she
thinks they resemble large rats and her mother still has a collection of these early "Bearaphanalia" bears which Jutta wishes
she would get rid of!) and not being satisfied with any of them - Jutta decided to design her own pattern. She keeps saying
that you have to design a lot of frogs before you find that prince but with perseverance you succeed - and in 1987 "Gator"
was born!
"Gator" is the flagship bear of "Bearaphanalia" and still is the most popular bear in the line. Truly the first bear with
ATTITUDE, he has a way of stealing your heart and even men are attracted to his rugged good looks and cheeky manner.
Jutta travels to many conventions in the US throughout the year as well as the Bear Fair convention in her hometown of
Calgary each October. 1994 was a banner year for Jutta. In October of that year she had her bear, "Basil", featured on the
cover of the prestigious Teddy Bear Review magazine. In November of that year she was invited to attend the Walt Disney
World Teddy Bear and Doll Convention (c) in Orlando, Florida. The first Canadian artist to be invited to this Invitation Only
event! A very cherished memory for Jutta.
Other Achievements
1992
May/June - Teddy Bear Review magazine
July/Aug - Victorian Harvester magazine
Sept/Oct - Victorian Harvester magazine
December - Local Cable TV show
1993
Jan/Feb - Teddy Bear Review magazine
February - Insight on Collectibles magazine
Mar/Apr - Toy Box magazine article
April - Rocky Mountain Art Gallery personal appearance
July - Great International Teddy Bear Connection Video featuring "Croc" and "Gator"
Aug - Victorian Harvester magazine article
1994
May/June - Teddy Bear & Friends magazine "Tribute to Tiny Teddies" featuring "Christopher"
April - Dolls, Bears & Funny Hares personal appearance and signing
April - Rocky Mountain Art Gallery personal appearance
May - Television appearance on local TV show
July - Edmonton Journal newspaper article
July - Calgary Herald newspaper article
Aug - Alberta Report magazine
Sept/Oct - Teddy Bear Review magazine COVER and feature article
Nov - Walt Disney World Teddy Bear & Doll Convention (c) Invitational
1995
Mar/Apr - Teddies Own Journal magazine
April - CBC Radio interview & fund raising auction for Hospice
Nov - Channel 2 & 7 Breakfast show filmed at Bearaphanalia with Chester Freeman
Nov - CBC National News interview
Nov - Calgary Herald newspaper article
Nov - Teddy Bear Sourcebook
1996
Gallery of Teddy Bears book - the first book on Canadian Teddy Bear artists
1997
February - Designed ceramic tiles for Panache Studios featuring "Gator"
March - Teddy Bear Scene (England) magazine article
Sept - How To Make Enchanting Miniatures book by Deb Kesling
Oct - Co-authored and published Fuzzy Wuzzy Teddy Bears book
1998
Feb - Teddy Bear & Friends magazine article on teddy bear artwork, featuring pastel chalk drawing of "Friday"
Feb - Collector's Mart magazine article on Bearaphanalia by Beverly Mattheson Port
1999
Participation in HAH '99 (Hike Against Hate)
For more information on this wonderful organization, and for full details on the hike click here www.ihave.org
Dec - Teddy Bear & Friends magazine special theme issue featuring "Charlie".
Dec - Special Ltd. Ed. bear for the Teddy Bear Museum in Naples, Fl. to celebrate their 10 year anniversary.
2000
July - Canadian Teddy Bear News magazine feature on Pioneer Artists.
August - designed bear for Teddy Bear Times magazine (”Kiefer” - Ltd. Ed. of 10) for their 10th Anniversary issue give away.
August - donated one of a kind, Olde Worlde Santa, to Berenbos Sanctuary for Internet auction.
October - Teddy Today (US) magazine four page feature article.
October - Teddy Bear Times (England) magazine article featuring mohair Westie.
October - Teddy Bear Scene (England) magazine showing Olde Worlde Santa donated to Internet auction to raise funds for
Berenbos, a real bear wildlife sanctuary.
November - Teddy Bear Club International (England) selected a bear to be featured on their website
(http://www.planet-teddybear.com) as one of 12 artist bears featured to design and send virtual
postcards.