John Scibran has been teaching sewing and quilting for over seven years. He was a freelance sewing educator specializing in quilting. He has been teaching at local quilt and sewing machine shops as well as quilt guilds. Quilted Bear Den has been a work in progress for a number of years. It started out as an outlet for John Scibran in his "previous life" in the healtcare industry. He had been sewing and quilting an number of years and needed to move on. He started teaching sewing and quilting at the Viking Sewing Gallery located in the Jo-ann's that used to be in West Nyack, NY. After he left there, he went out on his own and began his own business of teaching quilting at the local quilt shops and quilt guilds. About the time he was starting out on his own, he started to think about opening a quilt shop near where he was living with his mother in Rockland County. In the middle of making those plans, two quilt shops opened within six miles of each other. So, he put the idea on hold for a while. In April 2006, his mother, with whom he was living, passed away. It was decided that his mother's house should be sold. So, he moved to Wappingers Falls to live with his partner Doug. He decided that now is the time to open the quilt shop that he had always wanted to open. After looking at the area, he knew that Hyde Park was the place to open, with its rich history (and no quilt shops nearby). He was driving through town and saw the Hyde Park Gallery was for lease. Once he stepped inside the store, he knew he found his quilt shop. Everything went well setting things up and Quilted Bear Den officially opened on December 1, 2006 and it's been a great ride so far.