Samantha Potter
Mary Myrtle Miniatures
Hi! My name is Samantha, and I am the lady behind both Bears by Mary Myrtle Miniatures and Rainbow Moon Reborn Dolls.
Having been taught to sew by my Mum as a child, I began selling my miniature artist bears at the age of 15, alongside my Mum's miniature 1/12th scale dolls at various dollshouse and miniature shows around the UK. I continued to make and sell my bears whilst studying at university, and then alongside my work as a sign language interpreter. When my son arrived in 2011, I was lucky to be able to continue making and selling my bears alongside being a Mum.
Having been selling my work as a bear artist for over 20 years now, I have been fortunate enough to have sent my bears to new homes all over the world, and have been honoured to have won some prestigious awards for my bears both in UK and USA.
Since my daughter arrived in 2015, I have rekindled my love for dolls, having collected many different types of dolls over the years, particularly Asian Ball-Jointed dolls. I began experimenting with reborning, and it became a hobby that I enjoyed in my spare time. Over the last year or two, I have given the reborning a little bit more of my focus, and have developed my dolls to the standard where I feel I am ready to start selling my work.
I feel like I am in a very fortunate position, where I can pursue two of my passions, making bears and reborning dolls, whilst also being home to look after my two children. My daughter will started school this year, so I will have a little more time to be able to continue developing my bears and my dolls, and hopefully exhibit at more shows in 2021.
Each bear is designed by me, and entirely hand-stitched. The pieces are firmly filled with polyester toy stuffing. Each bear has onyx bead eyes and the nose is lightly waxed and shaded.