Lisa Wills specialises in producing high quality one-off realistic bears in a variety of sizes. She is probably best known however, for her larger multi-jointed creations depicting both the polar and grizzly bear. Lisa lives in rural Leicestershire with the River Soar on her doorstep; hence her trading name ‘Bears upon Soar’. Her main sources of inspiration are her beloved spaniel dogs, the open countryside and of course real bears.

Lisa began creating bears some 12 years ago and although they were still realistic in nature, they were hard sculpted pieces produced to help pay for her University education. Nowadays, all Lisa’s time and energies are devoted full-time to creating soft-sculpted bears or ‘3-D bear portraits’.

Lisa is the first to admit that she works in a meticulous and slow fashion, much to collector’s annoyance sometimes! She produces between 50-100 bears per year and works entirely on her own. All Bears upon Soar designs are one-off pieces and Lisa doesn’t generally make bears to order, she believes this is the best way to keep ideas fresh and not extinguish the enjoyment of creating.

All Lisa’s bear have a minimum of a double-jointed neck, right through to the impressive 12 jointed designs. Bears upon Soar bears are satisfyingly sturdy and designed to last through the generations. Lisa comments that her bears are both ‘traditional in creation and modern in design. They feel substantial in your arms or hand and their expressions and gaze really do seem to follow you around a room’.