Teddy-Bears.Org : Teddy Bear Artist Tinybears by Mindi L. Koudella

Tinybears by Mindi L. Koudella

Hi! My name is Melissa (a.k.a. Mindi) Koudelka. I was introduced to bear making by my mom, who has made several large and medium-sized bears over the years. In 1998, I got my own sewing machine and tried my hand at a couple of bears similar to hers. Then, around March of 1999, I started making miniature bears when my friend Lucy and I stumbled across Spare Bear Parts on the internet. We ordered a pattern for a 3.5" bear. I made several of that bear, then started creating my own designs. My apartment was becoming overrun with bears, so I decided I would start selling some of them! So, in a nutshell, that's how tinybears.com came about! We've been up and running for just over 3 years now!

Now you know how I got into the bear business, here's a little about the rest of my life! I grew up in Ohio. My husband Robert and I were married in June of 1998, just after we both graduated from Purdue University (Go Boilers!) with bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering. We are both currently working on our Ph.D.'s in electrical engineering at Yale University. My research is in computer vision.