After Janet Stephens’ older sister, Kathy Schumacher, graduated from college in the late ’90s with a degree in music therapy, they both recognized a gap in the market for learning tools and supplies for music therapists and educators. A long-time lover of sewing and crafting, Janet decided to create and hand-sew music therapy movement props. She sells them through her business Bear Paw Creek based in Miller, which opened in 2000.
Soon Bear Paw Creek’s creative movement products, such as chiffon scarves, streamers, bean bags, balloon balls, hand instruments (like bells and drums), and cases for movement props, were being sold to customers worldwide.
Janet and two other seamstresses, Sarah Waddle and Cindy White, have been working together for over 20 years, developing the products and sewing each one by hand. More recently, Janet added a third seamstress, her daughter Madison Stephens, who also runs Bear Paw Creek’s social media.
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One of Janet’s favorite parts of the job is experiencing the impact that her products are having on people’s lives at schools, libraries, and nursing homes. “It is wonderful to connect with the people utilizing and benefiting from our products, and it’s humbling to know that you’re sewing and making something that is going to end up in their hands,” she says.
This article was originally published in the July/August 2025 edition of Missouri Life.
All photos by Janet Stephens.
