Lori DeLeonardis-Aman, artist and teacher

Lori is a person that matters to all of us here at Zachary Bear. She created the Zachary BearĀ® character while on vacation in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State.

The story actually starts long before that in Albany, New York. As a young girl, Lori's parents recognized her artistic talant and started her with art lessons. Lori went to collage and became an elementary art teacher. She had the idea that she wanted to write children's books and started to drawn storybook characters. Friends liked her character and asked to have them personalized with their children's names. Lori started to offer matted and framed pictures for children's rooms, personalized with their names.