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Worldwide Collectibles Forum
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Cherished Teddies Message Board
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Priscilla
Hillman is the creator of the award-winning Cherished Teddies
Collection; one of the world’s leading teddy bear gift and collectible
brands.
A self-taught artist, Hillman sketched and painted as a child, but as a
University of Rhode Island student, she studied botany. After
graduating, Hillman worked at the United States Oceanographic Office for
several years as a research assistant.
 Hillman
resumed her interest in art in 1965, and soon after, she began
illustrating and writing children’s books, including nine “Merry Mouse”
books for Doubleday. In the late 1980s, a serious back problem kept
Hillman inactive for several months. During that time, she kept busy by
looking at nostalgic photos, watching old movies and “drawing in her
mind,” imagining sketches of teddy bears. When she recovered, Hillman
immediately went to work at her drawing board to put teddy bears on
paper, bringing Cherished Teddies to life.
In 1990, Hillman sent 36 original oil paintings of her bears to Enesco,
where they were transformed into three-dimensional figurines. Sixteen
figurines were introduced in 1992, and today the collection has expanded
to include more than 2,000 figurines and accessories that are
distributed in more than 10 countries, including the United States,
United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Australia. In 2007, the collection
will celebrate its 15th anniversary.
Since the collection’s debut in the early 1990s, Cherished Teddies has
been honored with numerous awards in the gift and collectibles industry.
In 2001, the collection received the Teddy bear of the Year Industry
Choice Award by Teddy Bear and Friends Magazine, and in 1993, its first
year of eligibility, the collection was named Collectible of the Year by
the National Association of Limited Edition Dealers (NALED). Other
awards include the 1996 and 1997 NALED Miniature of the Year, the 1992
Teddy Bear of the Year (TOBY) from Teddy Bear and Friends Magazine, the
1997 Parkwest Outstanding Collectible of the Year and the 1997 NALED
Collectors Club of the Year. Hillman has also been honored as the 1994
NALED Artist of the Year and Parkwest Publication’s 1993 Outstanding New
Artist.
In addition to the figurine collection, Hillman’s images have also
inspired designs for Cherished Teddies plush bears, infant bedding,
blankets and accessories, wall borders and apparel, among other licensed
products.
Hillman and her husband, Norman, live in a small town in New England.
They have a son, Glenn, who also is an artist for the Cherished Teddies
collection.
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