 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Introduction and History to the company
Oz Matilda Bear Co.,
One of Australias largest and most collectable teddy bear makers
'the artist' and founder, Lisa Rosenbaum.
"Teddy Bears possess so many magical qualities for us all in different ways and they can evoke so much passion"
A somewhat brief history on how Oz Matilda Bears
became is very much a combination of circumstances
really! I feel I have been fortunate to enjoy so many different
experiences that life has to offer but the underlying talent
was as a child....as a young girl everyday after school, I
would visit my grandmother Iris in her historical home in
Paddington N.S.W. My grandmother always had paints, pencils
and many craft projects ready for me to emerge my whole self
into for many hours. I loved to tell stories, write poetry
and paint. I was very much encouraged by my grandmother and
mother to pursue a career in the arts in some form but instead
opted to join the N.S.W. police force in the late 80's and
studied law at Sydney University with intentions of becoming
a prosecutor. I met my husband in the police force and married
him in 1991.
It all started with a child.........
In 1992,we had our first child Ashleigh, they say children
change your life! Absolutely, but we did not expect a child
to also partake in a total professional carer change for both
of us. Whilst awaiting the birth of Ashleigh, I had spent
many months in her nursery painting teddy bear themes. Many
of our friends encouraged me to sell my paintings of teddy
bears and we went to our first 'bear' show in 1993 trading
as 'Teddy Bear things'. The then owner of Sasha's & Co.,
Vanessa, who had opened the first teddy bear shop in Singapore
had spotted us whilst on a 'bear hunt' in Australia and away
we went!! I later opted for a more Australian business name
and in 1994 Oz Matilda Bear Co., was introduced along with
our first line of old replica bears.These were an absolute
hit as no one then in the Australian market was producing
Aged style bears. I was the first in Australia to introduce
a line of Victorian and Edwardian period costuming to adorn
our very traditional styles of teddy bears. We were becoming
very popular and known with our 'design of bears' by attending
many shows up to 15 per year and trading with 45-60 bears
per show. In 1998, being an ex-cheer girl, I asked the permission
of the Australian Rugby League football (ARL), if I could
do a limited edition of 60 football bears. They agreed and
licenced my product under their name . This had never been
done before and brought much attention. Also in 1998 we started
to sell our work to Australia's only cable TV Shopping Network
where a promotional advertisement was made by TVSN on the
football bears. We have now sold well over 1,000 bears through
TVSN alone and I have become a regular guest on their hour
'bear shows' speaking solely on my work and collectable bears
in general.
I am self taught with my own ideas and designs, winning over 65 awards for my work. We now employ 2 full time sewers, 2 bear stuffers- my husband being one of them! Joining the growing family we now have three children, Ashleigh 9, Hayden 5, and Eliza Victoria aged 7 months. It is full on running a successful business and family but we are managing quite well by being dedicated- however the teddy shows are now limited to 1-2 per year due to the demand of our work! I am so thrilled at where the bear world industry has taken me and the many friends and 'bear nutters' we have been fortunate to met around the world-especially the loyal collectors in my own country Australia.
We have been asked twice to attend the International Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany and are often invited to the Teddybar Welt and Euro Teddy Shows in Germany to trade, due to our current commitments within Australia at present we cannot attend however, I do hope you now enjoy the bears we will be offering on the Internet and I thank you the collectors and many the many who have become so dear to our family, it is with your encouragement, honesty, patience and letters and phone calls that Oz Matilda Bear Co., will be around for many years to come....
At present, Lisa has quite a waiting list for her work especially one of a kind bears however, with the help of her dedicated staff she is sorting through the list of orders. Lisa is also working on publishing a story book about a Scottish Teddy Bear who travels the world, this series has been sold exclusively to Australia's TV Shopping Network since 1999, being a 10 part series with a limited edition of 15 bears per series sold with a story attached of his adventures. Lisa is currently up to series eight of the story and is looking forward to the conclusion and completion of the series.
 |
About Us | Terms & Conditions| Home All photographs & graphic elements are legally copyrighted & are not to be reproduced or used without the express permission of Oz Matilda Bear Company Oz Matilda Bear Co., est.since 1994™ P.O Box 366 Crabbes Creek, NSW 2483 Australia. Ph/Fax:0266771388 email: info@ozmatilda.com.au Oz Matilda Bear Co.,™ ©2001-2006 Design by UAC Media  |
 |