Christine Harrison lives in Wallendbeen with husband Heath, advertising manager of the Cootamundra Herald, and their four children, Hayden, Preston, Brianna and Charlotte.

She has been making bears for 16 years, describing it as her favourite hobby.

She got the bug, she says, when she was pregnant with Preston, and was browsing around a local fabric shop.

"I saw a kit to make a bear and that's where it all started.

"I have really enjoyed making bears and designing my own patterns."

Being Mum to children aged 2-17 keeps her very busy, so at the moment she can only make her bears part-time, but one day she would like to make it a full-time business.

Chris prefers to use mainly alpaca for her creations, with mohair a close second.

Then she works a little bit of ursine magic with the fabric to make each bear a one-of-a-kind design.

"I love making them in Spring, when the weather isn't too hot or cold," she said. "I really enjoy sitting outside sewing the bears together. All my bears are hand sewn, so I don't need to worry about using a sewing machine."

Unlike some bear artists who have decided to make miniature bears or bears in a certain style, Chris is a big fan of variety.

"I make all different sizes and I use all different lengths of fur.

"It all depends on the way I feel when I start a new bear.

"I have made a few other creatures from other artists' patterns but for me it has to be bears. I just love designing bears!."

When it comes to finding inspriration, the computer is a useful tool.

"I get a lot of inspiration from looking at Pinterest and also from images of real bears and other animals.

"I keep all my designs, sketches and ideas in a scrap book but I hope to start putting all my patterns in a file on my computer before too long."

None of Chris's bears has been sold overseas yet, although she's hoping exposure in the US magazine will generate some international sales.

Her bears have changed over the years, now with shading and scissor sculpting as she's learned new skills.

"I've also learnt how tight you need to sew the stitches when doing it by hand!."

Not all of her bears have found new homes.

"I've kept a few I haven't felt able to part with - and my children love them too."

For the future, she would love to start bear making full time and have the opportunity to display her bears in shows.