I was born in Venezuela of a British mother and a Venezuelan father. At the age of 14 I told my parents I wanted to study in the US. I ended up in Maine where I did my last three years of high school at a preparatory boarding school called Kent’s Hill School. Don’t worry, I love it! I made some wonderful friends and was able to make art on a regular basis through ceramics. After High School, I went to Philadelphia where I obtained a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Textiles, management and marketing. Although I loved textiles I couldn’t find a way to fit in the industry so I went back to school for fashion design. I never finished the degree but I did acquire more knowledge on the subjects of textiles and the process of pattern making.
On a Saturday in 2001, I decided to go to a teddy bear show just outside of Philadelphia to do something different for fun. I thought it would be one of those cute little shows where one went, bought a cute cheap little bear, and went home happy. Well, was I surprised! it was an Artist Bear Show. The bears and other creatures were made by amazingly talented artists. Some bears were realistic, some microscopic, some very large. As for the other kinds of animals (which the industry calls friends) were either life-size or just absolutely adorable in appearance and expression, I was hooked!!!
I have made bears since that infamous bear show and have had the wonderful fortune of being able to sell my work to collectors who enjoy my designs. A few years ago I came to the conclusion that I needed to brand myself a bit more, so I chose the name “The BearMaker”. I enjoyed the name and found it to be a guiding light. Two years later I realized I loved making bears but I loved making other animals as well, so I dropped the name and now I’m just me, Francisco Carreno under the company name Francisco Studio.
My husband Lou, whom I was with for 30 years just passed away. I miss him terribly but what I remember the most is what he always said to me “Do what makes you excited to get up every morning!!!" so I’m!
Thank you for stopping by, feel free to take a look at my portfolio, see what is available. Hopefully, very soon I’ll be offering online courses for you to learn all I have learned so far.
Meanwhile, I’m also on YouTube where you can see videos of me making creatures and sometimes explaining how I do it.
Big Hugs!!!
Francisco Carreno