Bearfoot Bears – From Whimsy to Celebrity

It all started with a love of the wilderness and the bears that roamed in it. Jeff Flemming grew up in Montana where there was plenty of wilderness to go around, and he loved it. All things wild were all things of interest to him, but he was especially attracted to the bears that lived in the Montana wilderness. That is where Bearfoots got their start.

He started carving bears in 1985, finding pieces of wood and turning them into the animals he so loved. Instead of just plain bears, he preferred to add a little whimsy to them, carving them in a pose, or with an expression that would make people smile when they looked at the creations. Originally, the Bearfoot Bears were large carvings that were purchased by collectors such as movie stars and DisneyWorld. Some of the biggest Bearfoots carvings were 20 feet tall. Then he realized he could allow more people to own his Bearfoots creations by making them into collectables that would fit into any budget, not just Disney and celebrities.