Hello, my name is Gemma McKenzie and I am the Artist behind Pumpkin & Pickle Bears. I am 27 years old and live in East Sussex, England with my husand Stuart and our 3 wonderful little children; James, William and baby Imogen.

I have been a Bear Artist since January 2006. 

My business name is very special to me as it comes from the nicknames I gave to my sons when they were babies. I used to call James 'pumpkin' and William 'pickle' so it seemed perfect to incorporate that into my bears.

I am pleased to say that one of my bears came 1st in the British Bear Artist Awards 2006 (Category 9 - Making Bears For 18 months or Less) and I am pleased to say that 2 of my bears picked up awards in the British Bear Artist Awards 2007.....Bracken won 1st in category 2 (6-15" bear undressed) and Lottie won 3rd in category 3 (6-15" bear dressed). You can see them on the awards page of my website. I was a finalist in the British Bear Artist Awards 2008. The 2 bears on the right were also entered into the Sydney Teddy Bear Fair People's Choice Awards 2009 and I am thrilled to say that 'Otto' (above) won in his category and 'Strawberry Bear' (below) was a runner up.