Cindy L Malchoff from Plattsburgh NY creates teddy bears and birds with mohair and real fur. Find out a little bit about how she got started.

My name is Cindy Malchoff. I live in the beautiful northeast corner of New York State, with Lake Champlain on my east and the majestic Adirondack mountains to my west. I live with my husband Mark, and one golden retriever! I was blessed with two wonderful daughters, who have grown and left the nest. They are a constant inspiration to me. My father was a hobbyist woodworking artist and my mother worked mostly with fabrics and faux fur. She designed the original member of our animal family, Ernie the Bear. Vowing never to be artistic, I attended college and studied accounting ( I considered this black and white, not at all creative, some may think otherwise). Following graduation I worked in many different areas of accounting, found my husband Mark and settled down to have a family. Everything was on track! When our first daughter entered school the PTO hosted a craft show and low and behold I made a few things to help out! Hah! Well it happened, I fell in love with creating different pieces. Over the next few years I started making seasonal decorations and collectible dolls and designed a few teddy bears. In 1995 I was given the opportuntiy to make a couple of bears for someone using an old fur coat (belonging to her mother) and FELL IN LOVE with the whole concept. I can create a bear that will remind you everytime you look at the bear of your family member or friend, and it will become a part of your lives. With the coats that I purchase, I can make bears available to you....I consider this a process of giving the coats life, to be enjoyed and loved by their adoptive homes! I have since started working with mohair too. The creations you see on these pages are my own designs. I use the finest of materials in creating my teddy bears, birds and other critters! The year 2000 brought a lot of changes for me. I discovered that I could create life like birds with mohair! The artistic release is never ending! Each bird starts with a lot of research and a white piece of mohair that I transform into a three dimensional shape and then hand paint. I can’t describe how much I love doing this! The birds have gained me world wide recognition and several awards! As a child, my father had a saying which is repeated in the name of this company. The phrase " Apples don't fall far from the tree" has become prophesy. My parents were both talented craftspeople. This is “My Apple Tree!” So please wander around the site and enjoy the handmade teddy bears amd mohair birds. Drop me a line, I love hearing from all of you! Hugs, Cindy