Handcrafting has always been an integral part of my life. At home, needlecraft was taught to me by my grandmother and mother, but with the experience of art class in elementary school, I knew that creating with my head and hands would be my life's vocation. I've always had to be making something. Years of handcrafting (see Sweater Detail insert), coupled with my love of animals, led to the creation of my first bears about 30 years ago. I fell in love with the experience of watching a piece of material come to life in my hands. I scavenged second hand shops for faux fur (and sometimes mink) coats to recycle into bears.   It wasn't long before each of my friend's children had a Claire Bear!

Over the years my passion for bear making has not dimmed, but has matured and developed into an endeavor to create the highest quality collectible bear you can find. My Allison Ambrose Bears are now fashioned out of superior mohair or alpaca fabric. I design my bears as I create them. Each bear is an individual. Each piece of fabric evolves into the bear it will become. Typically my bears have 5 rotating joints, but some may begin life as an “antique” and have a wobble head from being loved so much in a past life. Bear sizes range from 9” to 18”. I use cotter pin - disc, button, or plastic joints to create movement, glass eyes for an intense gaze, and my bears are filled with pellets and/or fiber-fil in addition to a lot of love. 

As a resident of Hendersonville, I especially enjoy the bear theme on Main Street. What a perfect environment to introduce Allison Ambrose Collectible Bears.

Claire Crook is proudly represented by WICKWIRE fine art/folk art in Hendersonville, North Carolina.