Most of her bears are one-of-a-kind and feature prominent noses, large feet, and pudgy bottoms. Lydia's care in crafting her bears is evident in the fact that each bear is designed using quality materials.

Lydia's experience with bear making began in 1991 when she produced and sold craft bears using commercial patterns. After receiving requests for customized bears she began to design her own patterns.  One summer she enrolled in a workshop on jointed Teddy Bears, purchased her first piece of mohair and never looked back.

Along with her traditional bears, in November 2003, she introduced a new line of bears - Dozza Bears.  They stray from the traditional, are eccentric in personality and whimsical in nature.  The Dozza name was inspired from a couple of her nephews.  And in November 2004 a fat free, carb free, sugar free line of bears named Truffles were introduced at the Teddy Bears On Vacation Christmas sale and show.  The Truffles will only be available at Christmas and Valentines.

Its always a personal high for her to meet new bear collectors at shows and to see the excitement on their faces as they add new bears to their collection.  At each of her shows, she donates the proceeds from one of her bears to a humanitarian aid organization overseas.  Missions Partners International works in the Ukraine and Russia with nationals to bring aid and support to orphanages, and Asian Outreach International operates in many countries in Asia doing similar work.

In 2004 the Montreal Children's Hospital in Montreal, Quebec, celebrated its centennial anniversary.  Teddy Bears line the walls of the hospital from outside of the building to the inside of intensive care, some clinics, operating rooms and other departments.   During the fall of 2003, Lydia donated a specially designed bear named "Nurse Johnson," to the Associate Director of Nursing to commemorate the hospital's centennial. 

A native of Montreal, Canada, Lydia is presently residing in Peterborough, Ontario with her husband Lewis and a house full of bears.