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RARE Science works directly with patient families and foundations to find more immediate therapeutic solutions for children with rare diseases. 

This year RARE Science is partnering with TQS (and a number of other great organizations) to bring you... the FIRST Ever Celebrity RARE Bear Auction!  This is your opportunity to own a signed bear made by the quilt world's most talented artists while helping a great cause.

Meet "Indian Princess" by Karen Bernstein

Indian Princess wears the sun-drenched colors of India. She is beautiful, smart, but also kind and generous with her time for those less fortunate, especially children with RARE diseases. She wears a simple bejeweled chain of pearls ending in a silver and citrine pendant on her forehead, a silver filigree nose, brilliant filigree eyes and a necklace to match the rest of her ensemble. At the end of a long day, Indian Princess enjoys a bit of dancing or practicing her yoga moves.

Click here for links to see more Celebrity RARE Bears.

Karen Bernstein made her first quilt in 1974 because she needed a new bedspread. When she was done, she swore she'd never make another one. In 1981, for reasons unknown, she got a yen to make another one -- a very large one with very small pieces. And she decided to enter it into a quilt show. When she informed a friend who actually knew how to quilt, the friend asked, "have you popped your knots?" Karen's response was, "have I whatted my whats?" Her friend immediately came over and they ripped out all the quilting.

After that, Karen showed and sold her work regularly for the next decade and was an active member of the San Francisco Quilters Guild. Her quilts were included in "New Wave Quilt" by Setsuko Segawa and were featured in a window display at Neiman Marcus in San Francisco.

In 1992, she took a break from her artwork when she and her husband David Flores founded BioCentury Inc., a biopharmaceutical information service. For the next 20 years, she devoted her time as chairman and editor-in-chief to building BioCentury into a global company serving the biopharma industry.

She has received numerous awards for her work in the industry. In 2015, Scientific American named Karen as one of The WorldVIEW 100 most influential people in biotech today. In 2013, she was named as one of the 100 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. In 2007, Karen received a Special Recognition award at the American Liver Foundation's Salute to Excellence, honoring individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to biotechnology and medical innovation. In 2005, the annual gathering of biotechnology chief executive officers at The Biotech Meeting in Laguna Niguel, California, inducted Karen into their Hall of Fame, citing her lifetime contribution to the biotech community.

Last year, Karen stepped down from the editor position at BioCentury, while remaining chairman, in order to sit on several corporate boards and devote more time to her artwork. She has returned to her quilting -- and notes that the quilting world has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. Her machine is smarter than she is and nobody quilts by hand anymore. She also designs jewelry and her work can be seen on her website, sancarloshilldesigns.com, and on Facebook.

She is proud to be one of the artists chosen to make a RARE Bear.