Designs by Francesca Winterman

I'm a designer/maker of imaginary beasties. My creatures are all sewn by hand. I create patterns from drawings of characters that pop into my head. 

They won't go away until I bring 

them to life. 

Having always been inspired by animal tales, I wanted to create my own bestiary The Bestiary is my dream bubble. 

The Bestiary Bazaar is my market place.

Character design and plush animal design have always been a passion of mine. My background as a graphic and surface pattern designer has helped to develop my style and process for bear making. 

For rawing and development work, I use ink pens and digital manipulation. For my hand-sewn creatures, I mostly use mohair, but also love alpaca, and faux furs found in wardrobes and charity shops.

Most of my creatures are not suitable for children under 7 years old. This is due to some of the materials I use (for example, I use cotter pin joints and glass eyes, as well as safety joints and eyes). Check the description for each artisan creature, if buying for kids. 

These beasties are artisan friends, rather than toys. They do like adventures but want to be handled with love.