Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

... or it's a secret career we don't know about.
This image wouldn't attach to an email to her - let's check if it loads here.

Ah, found my mistake - it was a pdf instead of a jpg. Now Shelli can be surprised too!

Darn me, too!! I just checked in for a second to see the end of my auction, read your first post.... and sat here watching it 3 more times...
LOVE the skating and the spins. 8 treadmills??!! I can kill myself with 1!!! I'll stick to the plain old track.....

I GOTTA get to bed!! Alarm goes off at 4:30.... away for 2 days... I WILL NOT Watch it again.... Yank.. here goes the plug... fade to dark......

... are here and I needed some inspiration to Get Moving!! DH found this site for me - I LV it!

I hope the lyrics aren't naughty, cuz I never end up listening. I just watch the choreography....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeeR4Vnvs8U

Hi all - CONGRATULATIONS to our Nominees! Berta Hesen-Minten is also on the short list, as well as recognized names from most of our yahoo bear lists. SOoo pleased to count you all as Friends!

Someone (Judi? - cannot find it in the flurry of Topics & posts..) asked about the timing and the magazine feature. Going on my past experiences of nominations and awards from the Japan Teddy Bear Club International I can relay this (I don't read anywhere that things have drastically changed)

You are to send your entry to Japan now. They will not be in a magazine feature until about the time that the award winners are **publicly' announced.

The nominees will be on display in Japan for about 5 months, until their Festival is over in Mar/Apr 2007. That's why this year's work is titled TITA 2007. The magazine, which they will send to the nominees & winners, will show the beautiful, clear, large, 4-sided displays that showcase the nominated bears. Unlike most comps (e.g., Golden George - where the pieces are "rather" crowded together with viewing from just the front) The viewing public can examine the nominees in close-up and from all sides. It's the best award viewing I've ever seen!

**"Publicly announced - No the actual winners don't have to wait until next Spring! You will be sent an email late this Fall/early Winter, but are SWORN to not reveal the info until AFTER the official announcemts. They take this very seriously - AND IT'S ABOUT THE HARDEST THING TO DO!!!!!!

Best Wishes to all!

None of my fellow miniaturists must be on this forum; for years I've heard the Aussies say they weighted their minis with garnet/granite chips (both given tho they may be the same item). Anyone familiar with this or use them?"

I've always thought that one of your considerations in choosing a weighting material is how firmly the creation will be stuffed. Some of these materials don't have rounded smooth edges; if they're at all 'sharp', it seems like the abrasive quality is likely to cut as they smoosh around in anything not stuffed very firmly.

Any thoughts?

And let your domain provider know of every email addy change you make! I went through a huge hassle last Fall because I didn't
Our ISP was bought & sold 4 times in 2 years.. I paid and paid for new cards, etc.. At least they told us with the last one that in 6 months it would become Comcast, so we could prepare!

But by not informing my domain host (whose ownership also changed in the 5 year span, starting in Australia and ending up in Germany and Switzerland at the time I inquired) when it was time to renew/send payment, I even called the 2 countries, only to have them confirm that any requests for info from me had to come from an e addy that doesn't exist (the companies no longer exist!) and that any reply would only go to the addy of record - so they're zinging around out there in space. 

In the end I had to apply for a new domain; thank goodness it was available! 
Now if I could just light a fire under my webbie!!!

When I've had a very high bid win on eBay, the Buyer had  asked in advance if I'd use a 2 - 3 month lay-away. In approving it, they confidently pushed that tally over $500. I checked first: their Feedbacks were great, from other artists I know, so I approved and they were all paid on time.

I'd request at least 1/3 at the auction's close, w/the other 2 payments due at monthly intervals. I know that it made a difference in attaining bids over $500.

Bobbie

I believe that only Business/Premier acct pay fees like that. Mine can accept $$ w/o charge but I pay a certain percentage to Send Money, whether to a business or a private eBay/Paypal member.

We've tried all 3 methods - and more - over the years, as we camped out continually with our 3 kids & dogs.

As an experiment I stuck a pin through one and poked it into the inverted cap from the rubbing alcohol bottle, after filling it to the brim.

48 hours later that trooper was still swimming away in there. Now I just avoid any area they're likely to drop off or crawl up onto you.......

LOL - no, Eileen, I meant that the following bit that I was about to post might read as an ad!!!

I use Foster Needles. It takes a bit of Googling but I've identified 4 manufacturers: US, Brit, German & Asian. The Foster Formed needles I think are the best; I won't detail all of the info here, but know that you must be ready to make an inventory investment, as they're sold only in the minimum of 1000 per box. 
Being the personality that I am, I'd probably retain that count anyway as I don't ever want to feel that I'd run out, even if I didn't also retail them! (Ask me how many pairs of shoes I have 'in readiness'/unworn in just 1 style because I've got hard to fit feet and don't ever want to run out of them!)

The size of the needles in relationship to the micron count (size/thickness) of your fibers as well as compactedness of your fibers at every stage will govern the needle you choose to work with. I've said before that I use 6 - 8 different sizes on all of my work, depending on those 2 points. 

Renae, I'm going to adapt your phrase about felting firmly over a softer core - 'delicate'. That's an excellent way to gently describe another style of needling. To explain what I mean by firmly felted, I now include a little snippet of needled fiber so that ppl buying kits/needles know what I mean. I've bought lots online that are practically falling apart as I unwrap them. (Needless to say, mailing them in an envelope is about the worst presentation and method to retain a shape! I kid you not! 2 pieces arrived - very squashed.
There's only 1 person I know that actually describes her own work as softly sculpted. Part of my 'mission' is to show that all degrees of feltedness exist, and are all useful for different purposes, but that they should be described accurately (sp?).

Thx to all who contributed!

Is this a ad?? Sorry if it offends. Pls check with me off-list; my 'store' has always been open - it's just not online -- -- yet. Still the best prices for the best needles.

Just awaiting my webbie to finish my site, a rather large one.

THX for asking

Thx all, I'm not 'the' pioneer, just one of the many who's pushing everyone to try it. It is such a freeform Fiber Art form which enables one to create things short of impossible in fabric.

Forgot the Panda baby....

...dohhh..... it wasn't until this last post that I figured out how to put multiple pix into 1 post.....

There's also an added image after the glued half, showing the male bonded to the clear archival glass. That stuff Costs!!!!

I'm going to post this first and then have a go at Image Uploading. I'm terrible at that.....

This is the design I created for the Heartland Museum in Clarion Iowa, (the location of the fantabulous every-5-years show). This piece, Into The Unknown will be on display through this Fall. I was asked to participate while on a waiting list when a few other artists needed to drop out.

1 - Male balanced on 3 feet, approx 5" long 3.5" tall

2 - Female, seated 3.5" tall
Cub about .75" tall 1.5" long
All made of several sheep breeds' wool. All with size-appropriate metal claws, individually hand-formed and inserted, my Studio exclusive.

3 - Here's where the true beauty of extremely firm NFing pays off. I wanted the male figure to be 'stepping through' a pane of glass (Into The Unknown). After shaping him to allow a diagonal stance, I sliced through him from just behind the left front leg, through belly, back & hump, to just above the right front elbow. You just can't do this with more softly needled fiber!
His rear half has been glued to the glass pane; the top of the glass shows here but disappears when in position in its display case.
When the bears are returned, I'll remove him from the pane, re-needle him back together and he'll be one solid piece again.

4 - All 3 figures in position.
The scene starts to shape up with multiple layers of Paper Perfect.
The room-box has a 10" opening on the front. I built an inner foam core to bring the front edge up by more than half and tapered the 20" deep & wide sides inward toward the rear. A curved polar bear scene is bonded to the back wall.

5 - The museum's lighting inside each space exactly highlights the bears to best advantage. I lucked out there as I didn't know how they'd be lit. The top edge of the glass is just barely visible at the photos top.

6 - In place in its niche. This looks like the type of display cabinet from an old dry goods store. It's a wonderful oak antique piece. There are 2 (3?) in the Teddy part of the Heartland Museum, holding 25 or so individual 'spaces'.

7 - The text on the box front explaining the theme - Into the Unknown

"While no true ‘family unit’ exists for Bears, this trio exemplifies a natural human condition ~
the endless quest for Adventure, Freedom, Discovery and Personal Satisfaction.

The male figure is re-directing the route:
stepping out of the box, away from their previous Comfort Zone.
The female recognizes what may be lost in this new venture and is reluctant to follow.
The youngster is squirming to be released: in the innocence of youth it will boldly follow,
without regard for safety, comfort or hazard.
In short, the Human Condition."
                             

8 - Sliced Panda. A tad under 3".
One of my first slicing experiments a few years ago: by the time I got this panda baby's colorings positioned as I wanted them and ready to attach the tail, he was angled too far forward to see his face. Knowing the texture of my needling to resemble wood, I took a razor blade and sliced off just the back edge of his bum, repositioned the tail and sealed over the cut. His little feet stuck up in the air; while I could've re-needled them to rest down on the surface, I liked him better in this "Oh, My!" position.

Greedy, yes indeedy! The basic amount that you pay for a Listing Fee depends largely upon your opening bid price. A $.01 bid that gets $30+ shipping on mailing something weighing a few ounces, gets off almost free. My NFed bears start at $100, due to the time & expertise involved. I pay a pretty hefty Listing fee, plus all of the add-ons. After creation expenses are subtracted, this knocks the net profit down :o(

In my mind I go back and forth about  listing for much lower to pay less fees and hope I get my minimum, list low and put a reserve, list higher with no reserve. In the end I'm just more comfortable with starting higher.

Hi all,

I was sure we'd had this referred to this past winter/spring - about sellers who get around paying listing fees by using a very low opening bid - and then charging an arm & a leg for shipping. I've run into several like this - and I REALLY wanted the goods!!
But I refused to bid on principle, and sent in a note to eBay.
It may be working...

Does anyone use read the Messages posted on eBay?

Cobb also touches on an important feature - reporting abuses in the Safety & Trust Dept - aka - VeRO.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***A Message from Bill Cobb from eBay Live! in Las Vegas***

June 14, 2006 | 09:07AM PST/PT

Bill Cobb

Hello from Las Vegas! Over 720 employees from eBay, PayPal and Skype are here with me along with more than 15,000 registered attendees – a new record! The energy is incredible, the interactions that are happening between staff and buyers and sellers are invaluable...and the $5 buffets are fantastic.
Last night, I delivered the keynote address with Meg, where we shared some reflections of the last year, plus some news we have about the eBay marketplace. For those who couldn't join us here in person, I invite you to listen to an audio file of the keynote speech.

Meg announced an important milestone for the eBay Community. Last Saturday, the 200 millionth member of the global eBay Community registered on the site. As Meg pointed out – if the eBay Community were a nation, we’d be the fifth largest in the world. Wow.

Meg also announced a Skype test on eBay.com. We'll provide more details on this separately – but eBay.com sellers in certain categories will be able to opt in to this test and add "Skype Me" buttons to their listings. This will be a great way to see how Skype can improve communications between buyers and sellers -- particularly in categories with complex transactions, or where people want to connect with others who share their interests and passions.

There will be follow-up announcements with more details in the next few days, but here are some of the highlights:

New Community Products – eBay Blogs and the eBay Wiki
The "social web" is a hot topic these days, but here at eBay, we've been pioneering online communities for over a decade. Every day, millions of people around the globe connect and share their expertise via eBay discussion boards, the Answer Center, eBay Groups, Reviews & Guides, and other forums. Now we’re pleased to introduce eBay Blogs and the eBay Wiki – they're on the site now. Rachel Makool, Senior Director of Community Development, will be sharing more details about how these technologies offer new ways to connect on eBay.

We also announced the introduction of MyCollectibles, a great new destination for eBay’s collectibles categories where members can organize their treasures and share them with the eBay Community.

Update on New Trust & Safety Policy Enforcement
A few months ago, Matt Halprin's global policy management team began revamping how we enforce our policies, so that we’re more effective and consistent in cleaning up the site and fairer to the vast majority of our sellers who want to comply. Sellers told us that the old system of warning after warning -- followed by a long suspension -- created confusion and fear. Matt’s team has made our policies clearer, created more education and improved communications, and developed guidelines that allow us to slow down and penalize repeat violators. Overall the number of actual suspensions has gone down, replaced by brief selling restrictions intended to be less disruptive.

We’re making good progress, although we realize it hasn’t always seemed like it. Our goal has been to minimize the unnecessary disruption to our sellers’ businesses and create a safer, fairer marketplace. But in some cases, we realize, we’ve actually caused our sellers more concern. I told our live audience last night that we realize that this has not been smooth for some sellers, and we are listening and working with the Community to fine-tune our processes. For example, a seller who runs thousands of listings a week may take a bit longer to revise all their listings to be in compliance. We will keep working on this until we get it right.

Excessive Shipping
As many of you who listen to my monthly audio Town Halls know, I have personally committed to making sure the problem of some sellers charging excessive shipping costs gets addressed. You’ve told us and we agree -- excessive shipping has become a serious issue that needs a solution. It sets up unfair competition through fee avoidance and search manipulation, and, most importantly, it is eroding buyer trust in the eBay marketplace. In fact, we completed research that found this is the number one reason that buyers leave eBay.

That said, this is an open marketplace, and we’ve been very reluctant about telling our sellers what they can charge for shipping and handling. Our sellers sell everything from pianos to t-shirts.

Over the last few months, the best talent in the company has been looking at solutions to this issue. We’ll continue to look at site changes and other solutions, but I’m pleased to announce that one major change we are instituting – starting Monday, June 19th - is new aggressive enforcement against Excessive Shipping & Handling.

Now, before sellers become unnecessarily concerned, let me make it clear – this policy is geared for those egregious cases that are clearly taking advantage of the system and our buyers. You all know the listings that I mean – the .01 BIN listings with $25.00 shipping & handling for an item that weighs less than a pound to ship.

We’re going to clean up the site and stop this type of listing -- which does a disservice to the whole Community. We are going to proactively search for the worst offenders -- those whose business model is predicated on a low Buy It Now cost offset by outrageous shipping charges. Last night I gave these sellers a clear message: stop this practice, or you’re no longer welcome on eBay.

Now please understand -- if you’re charging simply to cover your actual shipping, packaging and overhead costs, you have no reason to be concerned. If you’ll be charging for custom crating, or other services, just say so in your listings.

Cross-Border Trade – A Privilege, Not a Right
Last night, I also told eBay Live! attendees that later this year, we’re going to introduce more stringent requirements for sellers who wish to sell across borders on eBay. In the U.S., we’ll require non-U.S. sellers to be PayPal verified, or to have a credit card merchant account. Other eBay sites will similarly raise the bar for international sellers in their markets – but we’ve concluded that around the world, selling internationally on eBay should be a privilege, not a right. You’ll hear more about this initiative before any changes are made that affect you.

Grand Opening for eBay Express
And, finally, last night, I had the pleasure of announcing the Grand Opening of eBay Express! During the last several weeks that eBay Express has been available as a preview, our sellers and buyers have been using the site and giving us all kinds of good input and suggestions. The Express team has been hard at work fine-tuning and adding enhancements based on your needs, and we are delighted by the results so far. In fact, it’s living up to its name – so far, the record for filling a cart and checking out is 7 seconds! Stay tuned for a letter from Lara Bridges that will offer more details about new features.

I also gave a preview of the eBay Express marketing campaign, which will be hitting the airwaves soon. To properly launch eBay Express, we wanted to break the pattern and create some intrigue. We’ve developed an out-of-the-ordinary campaign that includes 30 different TV commercials, each with the same simple message: "Get It New, Buy It Now, on eBay Express." We’ll provide more details on the eBay Express marketing campaign soon.

That’s it for now. I encourage you to watch the General Announcement board for more news on these and other topics. I hope you’ll tune into my Town Hall that we’ll be audio streaming from eBay Live! this Thursday at 11:00 a.m. PT. And for daily updates on eBay Live! don’t forget to read our eBay Chatter blog at www.ebaychatter.com.

Sincerely,

Bill Cobb
President, eBay North America

Besides.. or rather because of .....The Drugs (Norco & Duragesic patch)... I've found far too many things left undone, put away in another yet-unfound-world, paid 1 hosp co-pay twice, promised things I never followed up on, etc.... etc...

That 4 or 5 months is like a slice gone from my life. To excuse myself of everything committed & omitted, I just drape the back of a wrist across my forehead, a la Sarah Bernhardt, and sigh "I've been on drugs..."

Big Bad Dave in Oz runs the list since Jackie moved on. It's still there.

I've tried both, PM & Email. Never knew which was more secure.
Why do we have 2 options (as in - If one covers everything, why 2 choices?)

AHHhhhhhhhh! NORCO!! Vicodin, morphine and The Oxy Bros just don't cut it for me.

I'm 6 months away from that same table (yes, they do film it as C.T.A.) and scheduled to get back on on 16 Oct for #2. Wait until you have to start to taper off... I was sure I'd have to check into Betty Ford. There were a few uncomfortable weeks as I tapered to 1/2 of a 10 mg before my daily workout and then none.
But now I rarely take any.... and I've still got 23 pills! That's 46 more .5 mg doses! Yippee!!!!