Excerpt from article "Blumen-Bären aus den Staaten", in the June-August 2007 issue of Bär Report magazine.

Virginia Jasmer – Flower-bears from the States
“Jazzbears” is what the American artist calls her creations. The most striking among them are the Flower-Teddys: bears disguised as flowers. “Actually it’s quite logical” an American teddy magazine once wrote about Virginia Jasmer’s special bears:” bears like honey. Bees collect honey from the flowers. Therefore bears of course also love flowers.” And this is the reason, according to the magazine, why Virginia Jasmer creates her flower bears.

“That is wonderfully explained” declares the artist from Springfield in the state of Oregon, USA, whose main occupation for 30 years was as a speech and language teacher.” But I have never said that.” How she came upon the idea of flower disguises was something more personal: “In American first schools we have a school festival every year” she said. “A play is always put on as part of this. All pupils have to participate and take a role. This includes the children who can’t sing or dance. They often play a silent role in the background – and are often dressed for this as flowers.”

“I was such a child” Virginia Jasmer admitted. However this had nothing to do with her bears. When she made her first bears, they didn’t have flowery characters, but were ‘completely normal teddies’. That was in 1985 – she had always enjoyed handicrafts and while still a child had already made herself some dresses. About 22 years ago she discovered how relaxing it was for her to make bears at home after a stressful day of teaching. “My flower bears first appeared in 1992” she said with a smile. “The trigger for this was my granddaughter.” She needed a costume for Halloween. Then her grandmother Virginia remembered her own childhood - and made a sunflower outfit for her.

“Bears can do what people can do” she asserted – and thus her bears in flower costumes were born. They are between 20 and 66 centimeters in size and jointed. For their fur Virginia uses only the best English or German mohair and fur fabric. The paws are furnishing fabric and the eyes are imported glass ones. They are cuddly and certainly no fans of jazz. “The name Jazzbears has nothing to do with jazz music” laughs the bear artist. “In English we enjoy playing around with words, especially when the different ways of spelling are pronounced the same way. Therefore I made Jazzbears from the good old German family name Jasmer of my husband, whose father came from Germany. Her husband takes it all in his stride – and since he retired he travels with Virginia and the bears all over the world. Paris is next on the itinerary after Teddy Bear World in Wiesbaden.

Information: Virginia Jasmer and her flower bears can be contacted by email: jasmers@jazzbears.com, by fax: 001-541/7462773 and by telephone:001 541/7462175 – but a word of warning – the time in Springfield, depending on whether it is summer or wintertime, is eight or nine hours behind us.

Virginia doesn’t only make flower bears: the bear Ms Peacock is, as her name shows, disguised as a peacock.

The speciality of the American bear artist is however pure blooded flower bears – like this little Hortensia.

A bear can become a flower simply by using stem green fur and flower petals.

Not only disguised as a flower, the little bear Anemone lets flowers speak.