My creations are the result of a lifetime of paying attention to the things that catch my attention, and then asking ‘what if…?’ and pushing it a little further.

I’m primarily a sculptor, and I love creating three-dimensional forms through needle felting: poking at wool fibers with specialized needles to make solid freestanding sculptures. It definitely rounds out my weirdness. 

It was one of my sculptures that set me on the path of making these illustrations: I had needle felted a realistic sheep’s skull, then it occurred to me that a stuffed animal would, logically, have a skull made of firm but squishy felt. In 2005 I began sculpting felted wool teddy bear skulls after studying actual bear anatomy and reverse engineering what the biological structures of different ‘species’ of teddy bear might look like. Teddy bear skulls really resonate with a certain subset of people, and I have come to appreciate the value of small interpersonal connections. Wearable/usable versions of my weird ideas seem like an excellent way to make that happen. 

Each of these illustrations is my original design that you’ll only find here (at least until the copycats find me). I’ll be introducing more uniquely unnatural designs, so join my mailing list to get a heads-up. And if you’d like to see my sculptural work, visit stephaniemetz.com.