ABOUT

about me
   Even as a little girl Thea loved to make things. She has always been an artist and a dreamer. She is probably just born with it, as her mother would tell her. She grew up in a tiny house with a very creative family. Someone was always making something there. 
As she grew older, Thea's imaginative world and it's endless possibilities just never ended. She only realized that she was just a little different than everyone else around her....and that was ok. 

  Since her childhood Thea has always been intrigued by teddy bears and their plush friends. There is something magical about them. Every day, since the beginning of 2011, she witnesses the joy of bringing them to life. She works hard to give each of her wonderful creations that extra, indefinable something. Thea forces herself to be creative, to think outside of the box, to create her own ideas and concepts and ….dares to be different!

  She has a passion for life, a passion for animals and a passion for innocence. All three are so unpredictable and pure. And with the unforeseeable, she lives her life to its very fullest. She appreciates the pureness and joys that animals bring to this earth. Her goal is to capture and create  a colourful world of teddy bears & friends using her heart, her mind, and her soul; to ultimately connect with each and every one of her creations.

  Making a bear is a way of storytelling. Just like crafting a meaningful tale it takes days or even weeks to bring to life a character of a bear that has accompanied 'his human' already for a lifetime. 
It takes the vintage material, that fabric or lace they don't make anymore anywhere. It takes all the care in trying out new designs and colours and achieving the right hue in dying mohair, and finding or making the right accessories. It takes stepping back again and again from her work asking: "Who are you gonna be?"
So one day there is a bear, a somebody. It is difficult to explain when she decides that a piece is completed. It's like love she says:

" Sometimes you have no control over things, you just feel that it is right,but you simply don't know why. There is chemistry between me and the piece that I have just brought to life. 
It may be hard to encapsulate in words, but when a bear touches a heart it can be magical."
 
  Thea cannot define magic and would never want to. But she does hope that most of you reading this know it's there. It is her pleasure to share with you her world of the Milly Me® Designs where pieces of mohair, fabric, scraps of lace and thread balls are stitched, knitted and crocheted into fairytale creations looking for new homes and worlds to inhabit. All with the support of a wonderful husband, a very sweet dog and the rest of her family. She feels like the luckiest girl in the world to have them, always surrounding her with love and support.

about me
  Milly Me® was born out of pure passion for fashion, fabrics and many other crafts in 2004. In the beginning Thea had an embroidery studio where she used to digitise embroidery patterns. This was her first creative endeavour.
In 2007 she launched a website at the world wide web. From the embroidery studio she grew into the world of reborn baby dolls. She designed hand-made reborn baby outfits and sold them through the website she made and maintained herself. It was while visiting a doll and teddy bear show in Holland that Thea first fell in love with teddy bear's  faces and found herself more and more drawn towards bear making.

"I was no longer satisfied as a designer-maker of reborn baby outfits. I felt that I had more inside of me and definitely needed more to challenge my creative mind." 

  Thea made her first bear during a two-day workshop in the spring of 2008. Eventually the production of doll outfits slowed and by the beginning of 2011 Thea was able to draw together all her creative skills and Milly Me® was born. The first few bears were contemporary, but slowly evolved to bears with a vintage style. She loves to work with short pile viscose.
Thea only produces a few creations a year, in sizes varying from 6 to 35 cm, and every creation is different. A hater of duplication, Thea will be sure to make adjustments even if a teddy bear is based upon the same pattern as another.

"I love to make new designs. I'm always eager to start drawing & cutting my new creation and putting it together. I'm inspired by toys from the past. For me the past is about love, love for craftmanship and a deep respect for authenticity. This has inspired me to continuously evolve and perfect my own craftmanship and this has become the source from which I create."

  Thea works alone and makes everything herself by hand in a studio full of boxes filled with laces, supplies, vintage toys and cabinets with mohairs and fabrics. The studio, like a lab, is a place of discovery and development. After which the new journey begins with bringing to life her new creative ideas. All creations come complete with their own personal and handmade accessories. The time for making a complete emsemble can vary a lot, from four to six weeks or even longer if neccssary. For each single piece that Thea's creating she's designing a new pattern and new clothes for a perfect fit. There are always new techniques invented and applied after many hours of research on the internet etc. Therefore they are genuinely unique and original one of a kinds and this makes her pieces incredibly popular with collectors.

"Each and everyone of my creations is made with a passion for perfection.  
I hope to continue to inspire myself and stay in touch with the teddy bear community, yet keep myself challenged with new features and techniques, as well as creating original pieces that distinguish my designs from others." 

Whether you visit this site as a visitor or as a new or loyal collector, Thea is hoping to serve and offer you the best of the best in teddy bears & friends. Her creations are designed and made with endless love and care and a great eye for detail definition. Without a doubt they will bring you hugs and smiles for many years to come.

" Thank you so much for your interest in what I do.
It means the world to me! " 

If you do have questions, please feel free to contact Thea. Perhaps you should consider to join her mailing list where you will be the first to know about when new pieces become available.

about me