Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Mom just finished this bear this evening and tried a new eye treatment. I am posting the pictures here for your enjoyment.
Yule will be available in 2 weeks. He will be part of Bear Path's Christmas Internet Show, A Child's Christmas...
Remember you got to see him here 1st!

http://www.plumclub.com Click here in 2 weeks and you will be able to see him.

Shelli - This is the bear I told you about the one with "Michelle Lamb" eyes. We'll see how he sells.

I couldn't resist posting this one.
I had to make one after seeing everyone else's.
Mom just finshed this bear and I took pictures.
Yule is headed off to Bear Paths in Ohio for their Christmas Internet Show.

Judi,
I e-mailed the pictures of your lion to my mom, becuse she isn't on the board. She thought he was pretty in the before picture and thought he was stunning in the after photos.

MaeLynn is now 2 3/4 years old. I remember adding that 3/4 to my age it was important! She will turn 3 in Jan.
I don't remember how much stuffing I used. And he was well stuffed. Every once in awhile I like to make a big piece. I think I am over due for one. Maybe for Schaumburg in the Spring, it will be their 20th. It seems like we just celebrated their 10th, my how time flys.

I forgot to ask, if you have pictures please, please, please post them.

The portrait studio runs under a license that allows them to use the Wal-Mart name. So the portrait studio is not run by the local Wal-Mart store. If they buy any props it comes out of their little operating budgets or they have to sell enough packages and use the profits to buy props. Many times the studio employees wil buy the props themselves and use them, that's just not right. And for them $425 is the whole thing. I work in the store right now as a front end associate. That means I cashier and work the customer service desk. IT'S JUST A JOB! (I keep telling myself that). :lol:

I almost forgot to mention this little tid bit.
Amber from ABC told me this after the gallery show was over. She heard one customer say, "Well I would buy him if he was out of mohair and for that price." Amber thought to herself, "Geez lady, if he made that bear out of mohair you couldn't touch it for that price." the price = $425. I think if I had made him out of Mohair he would have been marked $1500. Then I know that he wouldn't have sold, but you never know. :whistle:

1 yard = 36 inches
1 metre = 39 inches
1 metre is 3 inches longer than 1 yard
2.54 cm = 1 inch

I use to work back in fabrics, and I always loved it when we would get customers on holidays from Europe. They would say I need 4 metres. My co-workers would look at me like HELP! I would figure say 4 yards and then multiply 3 inches X 4 = 12 and then add that all together and end up with 4 metres.  In the US we would say 4 1/3 yards. My co-workers were amazed, that I could do that. It's just good sense.
Personally, I wish the US would switch to the meteric system it is easier to figure things.

I might be making one more here shortly to sell as a fund raiser for my aunt's charity home. He will be listed on eBay and all of the profits will be forwarded to her. I won't be using mission fish.
The Charity is New Life Home.
I will post in the Bears for Sale section.
Then you can let your sister know Sandi.

Dilu -
Did you ever post pictures of her brother?
Still waiting to see them.

Sandi -
Do you know where Dixon, IL is? The hometown of President Regan. We a just 12 miles north of Dixon
Otherwise look for Rockford and we are 40 miles Southwest.
Or About 100 miles west of Chicago.
Plus you can see where it is on map in my profile.
Where in IL are you?

Judi,
Sorry no motorcycle.
Maybe a tricycle if I could have found one.
LOL

Inquiring minds want to know...
Oh BTW a final selling price would be nice to know too, but if you feel uncomfortable sharing that information or you just can't plain remember that is ok too.

The Largest bear I ever made was Orson. He is 42" tall and lives in not so sunny FL. I do hope that he took swimming lessons, I didn't have time to teach him. I told him to stay out of the pool, as I thought the chlorine in the water might wreck his fur. But who knows if he listened. I made him for one of Gallery Shows that ABC did and he didn't sell. But I sold him on Ebay. I took him into work because the portrait studio is there and I wanted to have pictures of my niece taken with him. Everyone loved him and wanted him. Well that was until I told them the selling prices of $425.
He is made of a thick domestic plush and is stuffed only with polyfill. I didn't dare add any shot or other weight materials. My brother-in-law made the discs for me.
A few years before that I made an elephant out of the same fabric that was 32". He went to the fall auction at ABC and it was a bit of a joke on Martha and the elephant noise she makes. I can't tell you what he sold for because I went to dinner with a friend.
                                                                             Pictures of MaeLynn & Orson
                                                     
                                               MaeLynn liked kissing Orson's big nose. At the time she was 15 months old.
                               It didn't hurt that Orson's nose was waxed with bees wax that had just a bit of the honey smell to it.
         
In this picture I am behind the bear kneeling on the floor holding him so that he won't topple over onto MaeLynn.
MaeLynn just loves the guy that took these pictures. He is a very sweet person. Unfortunately he left the portrait studio to pursue other career options. Rather selfish I think.
If you would like to see more pictures of my little niece here's the link.
http://www.criffenbergbearco.com/maelynn.html

Ok OK Ok I finally got around to it this evening.
I am posting pictures of our tags.

The top two are mom's tags. The outside and then the inside.
Mom uses a picture on the front of her tags that is set up as a watermark, they look better in real life.
The second two are mine.
For every bear and bunny that we need to print tags for we just change the information that is listed on the tag, all on the computer and then when we are finished making the changes we print them off. Custom tags for each piece.
Before I forget... On the inside under the bear's name in the bottom right hand corner we usually print the retail price. Then it is all done on the computer and I don't have to remember what price I put on what. Sometimes I forget and that is when the little white sticky tags come in handy.
Mine are fairly plain. I might change them. But that is the great thing about printing them yourself. You only need to print as many as you need.
I am also posting a link for the template that I use in MS Publisher.
http://www.jarehares.com/templates/tagstemplate.pub
After you click on this link a dialogue box should ask you if you want to OPEN, SAVE, or CANCEL.
Click on save. Then open the file. This will only work if you have MS Publisher.
For many documents that we use Publisher works out great as there are tons of templates available.
For our invoices, I used excel to create those. I took the exsisting Invoice template and edited it until I had a form that we could use and I set one up that both of us could use with both company names on it with our contact information and so on.
I am babbling now...

Well right now we are trying to decide...
That is the begining of our year. I am attending classes online to finish my degree, I still work full time, and make the bunnies full time too.
Toy Fair is a big show for us and I think that we might be spreading oursleves a bit thin...
I think we shall decide in the morning.
If I get a table and send stuff would anyone be willing to man if for me?  :lol:
That way I can stay home and work on stuff for Toy Fair.

Shantell,
It helps if you trim the mohair a bit around the neck openings in the headd and body.
But it never hurts to have your set screws too long.
We have found that using 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" set screws cover most of our bears and hares nicely.

Hey is anyone doing ABC's Show in San Diego in Jan.?
Mom and I are thinking about it. But I would be the one to go. Mom would be home here getting ready for Toy Fair.
What I am finding is to Fly into SAN San Diego Lindberg Field S.Diego USA, CA.
Is anyone else flying in? If you are what time, that way I can have someone to travel with to the hotel and convention center.
I am able to get tickets from American with taxes for $198.00. I think that's cheep.
HELP

WOW!!!! Judy, he looks FAB! I collect lions among other things, and boy would he look great in my collection. But funds are short right now.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRReat Job!

I might try to download the trial version and see if I like it.
Jared

Tons of tools and tons of information.
Pipa, I found like you did it is better to add layers and edit those layers rather than adjusting the background picture.

His paws are shaded using an airbrush with thinned out paint. I leave that up to mom. I don't have one and I don't care to use hers. Let's say for my own safety... I don't use hers. It is just better that way. Its kinda like how we all are protective of our fabric cutting scissors.

Yes I work at Wal-Mart and the store that I work at sponsored the motorcycle ride along. So we thought it appropriate to include a Wal-Mart patch. That one is home made. I will create another post for how we do that.

Thanks for all of the complements. I had a ton of fun making this guy. Mom was a big help. You know mothers always doing things for their children, no matter how old they are.

I made this bear for a motorcycle ride along that our store sponsored this summer. The money raised was used for the summer lunch program in the community. He turn out beautiful and I snapped these pictures as I was running out the door to work in the morning. And go figure the pictures turn out quite well. He went to live in the home of one of my co-workers, her husband won him. When I took him into work they all oooed and ahed over him. Everyone wanted him. It makes you feel good.
Harley
20" tall
Domestic Rust Coloured Plush
Sew on Eyes
Poly-Pellet-Excelsior Filled
Fully Jointed
Wool Felt Paw & Foot Pads
Wool Felt Backed Eyes
Airburshed Accents
Custom made vest with Harley Patches - mom made the vest and the hankerchief
Signed and Dated
Enjoy!

I just cam across this post and boy! What a hoot!

People at work as me how's the bear business and I tell them that I have orders upto my eyeballs. No one there asks such rude questions about how much I make. They might ask how long it takes to make a bear. But I have been around long enough and have "taught" most of them what all goes into making bears and that it is expensive. Most understand, by now.
Here's a typical conversation at work.
"So you work at home too. What do you do?"
I make teddy bears and rabbits.
"Oh well my sister's best friend's cousin collects Boyds bears. So are they like that?"
or
"My mom makes bears out of cloth or used jeans"
or
"So N So makes bears and I have several of hers in my collection" (We have several "So N Sos" in our area who make craft bears, there is no artistry put into the creation of the bear. They simply make it to make money like other crafts. Or they claim that their bears are patterned after Stieff bears, when they haven't even seen one. It gives me a headache! Anyone got any Advil?)

Another co-worker answers for me,"Oh no Jared's bears are much better than that."
"Really?"
I respond with...
Do you have a computer and internet?
"Yes"
I write down my web site and mom's and then say go check this out and you can see them for yourself.
Plus a big help this year was the cover of Teddy Bear Review. It gives me a great deal of credibility.
If they don't understand it after that then it is their lost. But like Shelli said

I feel not for these people but pity.

Mark,
If you move out our way you can still find the local hardware stores.

We have a few in our area and they like to see mom. She will tell them to order her 1000 pieces and while they look at her funny they don't really care because they figured out if they keep her happy she will come back and spend more money. She might order 1000 bolts, 1000 nuts, and 4 or 5 different sizes of fender washers in lots of 1000. It gives them business, plus I don't have to pay the shipping. We get weird looks from the young girls behind the counter more than we do from the men. They see us order those quantities and are happy to help us.

Oh well that's how it goes.

WOW.
I have used several different programs. My dream some day is to own the Adobe CS, with all the bells and whistles, but I don't have $1200 to spend.
Right now I have Corel DRAW12 graphics suite, which works quite well for me, it was about $350.
The main reason I got it was I wanted a better way to draw my patterns into the computer. Plus I wanted to be able to overlay pattern pieces if I had too in order to get them all on a page.
It comes with Corel Photo-Paint. Any you can do many of the same things with it that you can in Photoshop. I don't have enough time to tweak all of my photos. So I went hunting on the boards over at eBay for photo tips. And I found a ton pf tips and tricks. There is one guy that has tons of good information on taking pictures, his user id is camerajim. Here's a link to his aboutme page. http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?V … =camerajim When you get a moment check out some of his photo taking tips.
Before I found his pages I didn't understand white balance. It is amazing the difference when you have the correct white balance selected.
And it is amazing what a difference using a piece of white poster board can do. Posterboard can reflect a ton of light. I aimed at taking better pictures, partly beacuse I didn't have the time to figure out how to correct them. And mostly I wanted the camera to be set so that when mom needed to take pictures she wouldn't need to spend a ton of time editing photos. The old addage,"Better input equals better output".
But don't misunderstand me.
Shelli and others - you all have given some great information. And I love the fact that different ones took Susan's picture and "played" with it to get a better end picture.
The other thing I did was to buy a colour correction program for my monitor. It cost about $150, but it cut down on the reprints that I needed to do. You can buy programs that will calibrate your printer, but that takes a ton of time and is too much hassle for most people. I say spend the money on the colour calibration software for your monitor.
I need to correct the monitor again it is drifting toward the blue side of things.

I think everyone has a STRESS address.

Shelli - I will post pictures as soon as I get a chance. I just added a wireless print server to our home network and it has been a bit tempermental. Oh well such is computer equipment.

Kristen - You tags look nice and what a great idea to have your business cards double as your hang tags.

Attention All -
I found out that if I fold my tags before I laminate them there less wrrinkling that occurs on the fold. So I fold the tag and then lay them out flat on to the laminate. I then fold that over so that both sides are covered. I will post pics sometime today maybe after I get some sleep.

I forgot to ask... That is the mohair with the black strings, right? It looks fabulous!