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Jare Hares & Bears Jare Hares & Bears
Polo, IL
Posts: 983

Tami - you can still order the souvenir bear... just a thought.

Tami E Tami Eveslage Original Teddy Bears
Milford Ohio
Posts: 2,367

Actually, Jared, I just got an email from Connie and Amber and they still have a few spaces left and I'm toying with the idea of putting it into high gear and trying to get enough work together to actually go! I have a local show in the middle of this month, so I'm working toward that right now.

Shelli SHELLI MAKES
Chico, California
Posts: 9,939
Website

Shelli Retired Help Advisor, Banner Sponsor

Tami, those bears are REALLY cute!  I'm working on a kind of anime/stick/distressed bear concept myself right now.

My son is named NOAH -- and TOBY, my other son, is such a common bear name.  I guess I was destined to end up a bearmaker since those names pop up over and over on teddies.  Just LOVE your Noah and Nolan!

Tami E Tami Eveslage Original Teddy Bears
Milford Ohio
Posts: 2,367

Thanks Shelli.I have two sons too. Mine are 9 and 6. They are Alex and Brendan.
This is a couple years old but it's a favorite...CroppedAB.jpg
I am making more of those Little Floppies because they are good bears to take to shows. They are so fun to hold and compared to my other work they are within more collectors budgets.

Shelli SHELLI MAKES
Chico, California
Posts: 9,939
Website

Shelli Retired Help Advisor, Banner Sponsor

Ha!  Here are mine, currently 11 and almost 13, also a few years ago... on a rare tux-wearing occasion.  Too funny, how similar these pictures are!

If yours are anything like mine, your older one is wry and sophisticated with his humor, intellectual, and independent ... and your younger one is extroverted, athletic, entirely goofy, and in terms of the ladies, is 10 going on 18 (or will be, in a few years!)

TuxBoysOnGrass.jpg

heartsez Hearts Ease Bears
Fairfax,Vermont
Posts: 660

Thanks Tammi i will do that! great kid pictures! very handsome!  deb

Tami E Tami Eveslage Original Teddy Bears
Milford Ohio
Posts: 2,367

Shelli,
They are so handsome! It looks like they could all be brothers! My boys are the opposite personality wise. It's Brendan, my youngest who is more serious and intellectual, and Alex who loves to be the center of attention. playing sports or getting a good laugh.
Sorry for getting off topic, but kids are so great aren't they?

melissa Honeythorpe Bears
Wellington, New Zealand
Posts: 1,789
Website

Tami - those two are sooooo cute!  I love them!  bear_wub    bear_wub I definitely think you should make more and tell me when they are finished  :crackup:

melissa Honeythorpe Bears
Wellington, New Zealand
Posts: 1,789
Website

oh and Maria I just noticed your red one with the apple printed cotton limbs and the scarf - that's so cute too

[sigh] I made the head of my anime bear and he looked like ET's uglier purple cousin so alas, he sits forgotten at the bottom of my box waiting for a redesign!

Jare Hares & Bears Jare Hares & Bears
Polo, IL
Posts: 983

Melissa -
I think you should take a picture of him and post it here.

melissa Honeythorpe Bears
Wellington, New Zealand
Posts: 1,789
Website

uh do you want your monitor to shatter??  At the moment he's a gormless head with no body or limbs to speak of - two different sized eyes (neither of which look good)...seriously I swear he's ET's lilac cousin, though a little less wrinkled.   I was envisaging cute anime and got scary.  As soon as I can I'll give him some surgery - I do want to finish him just to say I've completed one challenge.

Jare Hares & Bears Jare Hares & Bears
Polo, IL
Posts: 983

:crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:

Maria Go Moo's Toys
South Pasadena
Posts: 23

Thanks, Gladys, for your comment on my panda.  And I have never made a golly--I wouldn't know where to begin!  Perhaps someday I'll get the guts.  Thanks, too, Melissa!  Don't give up on that anime idea; alas we all have those days...  Sorry I haven't written in so long... It's been a busy time being back to school.  I teach middle students with moderate to severe disabilities so it's a job and a half sometimes!  Cheerio..  Maria bear_happy

Jodi Falk Bears by Jodi
Gahanna , Ohio USA
Posts: 3,463

cropped180.jpg

This is my newest anime. It is an anime with an american twist

.

SueAnn Past Time Bears
Double Oak, Texas
Posts: 21,732

SueAnn Help Advisor, Banner Sponsor

AAAAARRRRGGGHHH!  I've decided anime just isn't what I do very well.  What I've done in the past is just enlarge the head by 20 - 25% on one of my patterns and go from there.  Not really authentic anime.  Sooooo, I was in a designing mood and thought I'd try to do something that was closer to the real anime look.  Aaaacckk.  I discarded the first head after I'd put it together and did another.  Wish I'd tossed the second one, too, but at this point, I just wanted to finish the blasted thing.  IF - and it's a big IF - I ever do another one, the design will be tweaked PLENTY!  "Juice" is 6 1/2" tall.  You know what is absolutely crazy??  Putting 12mm eyes on a 6 1/2" bear!!  Here's the BRAT!!  She took SO MUCH longer to make than she should've. 

Juice3.jpg

JuiceHeadshot.jpg

Jodi Moisan Storytime Bears
Posts: 1,122

Sue Ann she is really cute, you did a great job , I hate trying something new, I'll give you a  :clap:  for a job well done!!!!!
:hug:
Jodi

Jare Hares & Bears Jare Hares & Bears
Polo, IL
Posts: 983

Well SueAnn, she looks good to me.  Now slap a $1500 price tag on her and send her to Japan.  I am sure she would sell in about 2 minutes.

Kelly Blondheart
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Posts: 289

I beg you guys to stop calling them anime.  Anime is a style of animation.  The word you want is "chibi" which is applied to that style of character with a big head and a smaller body.  It's pronounced chee bee. You don't want to offend the japanese by using it incorrectly.

Laura Lynn Teddy Bear Academy
Nicholasville, KY
Posts: 3,653
Website

Laura Lynn Banner Sponsor

Kelly I think "we" call these types of bears "Anime" because it has been called that for a long time in the bear world.  If we called them "chibi" most people would not know what that term means. 

Here's a search on eBay in the bear catagory for "chibi"  (at this posting there were NO listings matching that catagory)
http://search-desc.ebay.com/search/sear … age=search

Here's a search for "anime"  (18 items found)
http://search-desc.ebay.com/search/sear … age=search

THen I did a completed search for the last 2 weeks... no hits at all for "chibi"  44 Items for "anime"

Although the term "anime"may not be actually correct when used in this manner - it is accepted and expected - at least on eBay!

Kelly Blondheart
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Posts: 289

Well since it's such a new word applied to bears I just thought you might want to know and not perpetuate the error.  Five years ago or before if you had said that at a show hardly anyone would have had any idea what you were talking about.  I've been in the bear world now for 26 years.  If you end up doing any of the japanese shows be careful that you don't offend anyone.  Anime has been an art form of theirs for a very long, and they tend to be sticklers for details.  A lot of people over there already look down upon Americans for their ideas about Japanese culture and making it our own.

Edit: If you're really curious about the difference, I would be happy to give you some links.  I go to an anime forum quite frequently.

Laura Lynn Teddy Bear Academy
Nicholasville, KY
Posts: 3,653
Website

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Thank you Kelly.  I had taken your posts as asking us to change how we call this style bear - not as simply informing us.   

As many of us sell on eBay - it is important marketing wise to use the term that is accepted/expected in that marketplace.

If I were to do a show in Japan (unlikely) I would not need to put a style name on my bear.  I can just set up my display and people can see them in person - not have to choose whether to look at a listing or not based upon the words in a title.

As for your statement:  " A lot of people over there already look down upon Americans for their ideas about Japanese culture and making it our own."   I am laughing here a bit... because I remember how MANY American culture items are very well received in Japan (Jeans, gymshoes, 50's music....)  They seem to be making our culture their own very well - and without any issues from Americans ;)

I have been involved with teddy bears for a short 10 years - 7 of which are selling my own.  However I do have many friends who have been teddy bear artists for 20+ years.

Thank you for your offer on the links.  There may be some that would like to see them, so please post!  I personally have not even designed an anime/chibi bear yet  bear_grin

Kelly Blondheart
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Posts: 289

I'm surprised you wouldn't consider doing one of the Japanese shows.  They are always so good.  And yes I was actually asking you to call it the right thing I guess.  I am submersed in anime on a daily basis, through the forum and I just assumed you would want to the know the right term.  But if it's working for you on ebay, then that's up to you.  Anyway, I would be delighted to post the links, I've started with Wikipedia.  Towards the bottom under characteristics it explains chibi as well.  bear_original  Good luck with your pattern.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime

http://www.animenfo.com/

http://www.animenation.net/forums/

http://www.animeforum.com/

Daphne Back Road Bears
Laconia, NH USA
Posts: 6,568

Seems that "Anime" is an industry wide term.... wonder what the origin of the name is as it's used in our teddy bear world. Why would someone or a group of people choose that name if it's wrong? And if it is the incorrect term I wonder why the Japanese didn't correct the rest of the bear world on it at the beginning if they are so particular about such things. Anime-style bears have been around for a number of years now.... it's not something new.... and I've never heard anyone within the industry have a problem with the term or even try to call them something else. Hmmm...

shantell Apple Dumpling Designs
Willamette Valley Oregon
Posts: 3,128

I don't think it's just the bear industry that has "misused" the term.  You see it in the general toy industry as well...go to any toy store and you see the word on children's toys.   They've taken the anime illustrations from cartoons children see on TV and comic books and turned them into characters children can play with.

It's not only an American misuse of the term.  There are other International artists who make what we call anime bears.  I can think of one off the top of my head because I admire her darling little bears, Vivienne Galli of the Galli Collection.  She often describes her bears as "anime style".  I've seen many others as well.

Interesting links however...

Laura Lynn Teddy Bear Academy
Nicholasville, KY
Posts: 3,653
Website

Laura Lynn Banner Sponsor

Kelly wrote:

......  But if it's working for you on ebay, then that's up to you.

Maybe not "me" but it does for others....as seen by my post above:

I personally have not even designed an anime/chibi bear yet

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