Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I had to share this link. It's a video of a new orphaned polar bear cub.....adorable! It reminds me  of little Flocke from a few years ago. I had created a life sized Flocke then....maybe a Siku is in the future for Bayside Bears?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl … QmG-O7mnoQ

Also....I just got laid off from my "real job"....booooo

But, I can spend more time making my bears!....Yay!!

Mary Lou Foley

Kim!

Thank You!  I guess it's like starting over. I'll have to figure out where and how to sell my bears again. I opened a Bearpile account. Any of you do that? But right now I'm having fun just creating them. I spent a few hours in the studio today trying new things....tossed a couple of things into the " didn't work as well as I thought" pile.LOL! I think a few years ago I may have been a little burned out after doing it for 12 years. I have a lot more enthusiasm now...and I'm having fun again.
MLou

I am working towards the day when I can again make art my sole  career. I am also a pastel painter (my first love and my passion). The ONLY reason I  got a job was for the health insurance it offered. With the economic downturn, my husband's small business could no longer afford to provide it. The cost of  insurance, buying it privately in Massachusetts with a $2000 deductible, is about $1600 per month. All it would take is one serious illness  ( my dh has had cancer) to ruin us financially.
I think employer based health insurance is another drain on the economy. More and more small businesses can't afford it and the costs go up every year. So instead of ever getting a raise, your employer pays health insurance increases. And people are trapped in their jobs because they can't risk losing their health insurance. ( don't get me started on our horrible system! I'll step off the soapbox now.)

I reveled in the long hours spent in the studio... it truly fed my soul. ( that sounds so cliche, but I mean it) Working on my art filled any empty space I ever had and made me feel whole.... and my hope is to be able to do that again very soon.

And, LeeAnn, congrats on the marriage from me too!

MLou

Thanks for the nice welcome everyone!
I'm having fun surfing all the teddy sites, new artist blogs and facebook pages. When I stopped making bears, I really did stop entirely, so all the changes I see are really new to me. Lots of inspiration out there!
I did come across some online teddy bear shows. Those sound intriguing. Is there any specific place I can go to find out about them? I lost my extensive email list to a virus/phishing incident which means that I only have an email list of collectors who have purchased bears that I got from my Paypal history, so I need to get some exposure again. I hope to be able to do this full time again, but for now I have to keep the "real' job and just try to find some of that elusive spare time to devote to bearmaking.

I've enjoyed looking through this wonderful site to learn about some new needle felting techniques too. Joanne,love how you do your noses with the beeswax, I agree that the way it just kind of becomes one piece with the snout is great for a real look. I'm def going to try it.

Oh, and thanks to  those that have gone and "liked' my new facebook page. I need 3 more likes to get my name in the url, so if any of you are so inclined, just search Bayside Bears to find the page.

Now, I'm off to that other "work" for the day......digging in to a new bear tonight!

MLou

Thanks Folks!

Boxborough! That was my first show....like 1996?
Awww, thanks for the FB likes too.

I only have one small piece of white fur in my box, so I won't be getting those polar bears just yet. But, I'm looking forward to it!

This time, I really am back.
After almost 3 years being away from bear making and working a "real" job, I have dusted off my machine and re-opened the studio. I'm back to Bear Making!
I have to catch up on all the new sites and places and facebook pages that I need to connect with.
I'm using up all the material I have...and I have a lot.

Three years ago with the crash in the economy and  the crash in Bear buyers, I had to go get a real job with health insurance and all. I have to say I did have a nice experience and learned a lot. I worked in graphic design, marketing and social media...still do....but I miss the bears!
So....here I am.

Does anyone remember me? Bayside Bears..polar bears?
I have no idea how to put an image on this post, so you can go to my  "work in progress" website to see a few bears. But, I have a new facebook page too....whcih needs more "likes" before it can get its name. So, if you are so inclined, search Bayside Bears on Facebook. I'm going to post some behind the scenes photos ans stories there too. Maybe some How-to articles.

I take it the Bear Biz is still kind of slow. Someone suggested I open an Etsy shop, which I did with my little needle felties. Does anyone list successfully on Ebay anymore? I used to sell all my bears on Ebay, but a quick look through the pages, it didn't look like there was much activity.

So...what's new? What have I missed?

It's nice to talk to you again.  :)

PS--how do I put images on here...I tried, to no avail.

Mary Lou Foley
Bayside Bears
Since 1992

Thanks for the nice comments everyone!

   I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder. I put 3 bears on my revamped web site 2 days ago and all are sold. Who needs Ebay? I asked my collectors what they prefer and many of them said they hate Ebay now and prefer to buy directly from the artist. But, I need to find more venues for a wider audience. I have a few really dedicated collectors but   even they will run out of room soon!
I'm having fun with the facebook thing too. If any of you have FB pages for bears, become a fan of my page so I can suggest it to my Bayside Bears FB page fans.

Hi All,

    I sort of took a vacation from bear making last year  and spent many happy hour and days  with my painting ( LOVE IT!)..... and then I had to get a "real" job to pay the bills since the recession really  hit the bear business....as you all know, of course.
Well, I am back to making bears again....couldn't stay away! I used to sell all my bears in the featured category of ebay....what a lot of  changes to Ebay! I read through the  messages here about it and I have to say, I think I'll be looking for other selling venues. For now, my revamped website will do. Thinking of a way to  get a bigger audience, I created a Bayside Bears Facebook page today! I don't know why I didn't think of it before....what fun!It's a great way to interact with my collectors and get to know them better! I haven't figured out how to make a link in a post yet, so here is the link to my Bayside Bears Facebook Page. Come be a Fan! I'm asking people to post pics of their favorite bear. You have to see the "Teddy" massage chair someone made....talk about a HUG!

http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#!/page … 225?ref=nf

I think the time away from bearmaking did me good, but it's nice to be back. I've had fun reading through all the posts here ( I should be sewing though!)

Mary Lou

ps....here is my painting website if you want to see what I was doing instead of making bears  http://www.maryloufoleyart.com

I don't have a typical amount of time since all my bears are different. But, Flocke, the little  replica life sized cub I just sold on Ebay took me about 15 to 20 hours. I take into consideration the time spent researching the pictures of the real bear online, sketching out ideas, designing a pattern, cutting it out. sewing it togther, turning it right side out and stuffing loosly to see what it will look like, adjusting any seams....taking it in or  ripping anything out and redoing it to get it just the way I want......I also have to include the time it takes to photograph, edit photos and build the Ebay page, which is a good 4 or 5 hours for me. So, maybe it IS more than 20 hours. I've never kept a record.
But, FLocke sold on Ebay for the crazy price of $2750.00 so I certainly got a good hourly rate for that one!
Here she is:

Mary Lou

Last summer, I took over what used to by my son's room and made it into my very own workroom....all mine! Two big worktables and a rolling folding cutting table, my computer desk with my pc and my Mac and  the whole closet is shelves with all my junk...mostly labeled. These pictures I took whilst in the middle of creating when it is always a mess. But, there are times when it looks quite nice....really....at least twice a year.

Mary Lou

OH, this is very bad.....Shelli, through your blog, I discovered the ETSY TREASURIES  pages.....and now I am spending wayyy too much time on there. I just love browsing through there.... but I got no work done here in my studio at all. Now I have one more thing I absolutely must do...vist Etsy regularly!  It is addicting! How can I justify all that browsing time??? I know...research....I'm doing reseach....seeking inspiration. Oh, and supporting fellow artists.....worthy causes. I think I can add an Etsy hour to each work day now...and not feel gulty!

Mary Lou

I've just spent an hour or two catching up with lots and lots of posts. I didn't realize how out of the loop I have felt since taking a few months off from bear work. After my mother's passing last fall and a big house renovation, I feel like I am finally feeling revved up with  some new creative energy. I think my work had gotten a bit stale and felt more like a chore than a joy.
    Reading through all the posts today, I see that I also am missing the camaraderie of fellow bear artists.....it's nice having talks with online friends who go through the same things that you do. I only joined TT last year and wasn't even on it very much, but I knew that in my new plan for this year, I wanted to make it a bigger part of my life and try to get here at least a few times a week to participate.
   I've revamped my website, and I will have bears for sale on there as well as Ebay. I've decided to do more realistic polar bears this year...sort of a return to my roots, I guess.
I enjoyed the thread about our early bear work. I didn't post anything...it is just way to embarassing! I only just came accross a file with all my first bears pictures  and Iwas shocked. But, it certainly made me see how far I have come!
   I enjoyed all the discussion about Ebay on one of the threads....it is discussions like that that showed me how much I was missing.
   This week on ebay, finishing up tomorrow is my lifelike polar baby Flocke, modeled after the one at the Nurmberg Zoo. It's doing incredibly well, I was surprised at the response. There are over 125 'watchers' on the auction. It will be interesting to see how it ends up. I'm just grateful for it. I just got back from the dentist and it turns out I need 2 implants at $5000. each. I better get going on the bearmaking!! My husband was a little disappointed when I told him they weren't that kind of implant!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi … 0201334055

   Anyway, sorry this is so long. I'm happy to be back and I look forward to being a part of the group.
Mary Lou Foley
http://www.baysidebears.com

Hallelulah Its fixed!!
And you are not going to believe the reason they were gone! I had exceeded my bandwith because there were so many visitors to the auction that all the downloading caused it to exceed the bandwith! I'm not really sure how that happens but he assured me that was what happened.
Who Knew??
My web guy upped my bandwith, pictures of KNut are back and all is well in the world 
Thanks for letting me vent.

Mary Lou

It's a disaster....
Well, okay not a disaster in the real world sense....but incredibly frustrating. The Ebay Auction for Knut was going ahead swimmingly....I couldn't believe it was already at $2000. But, all of a sudden.....all the pictures are gone! I guess there are server problems where I host my pictures. But, Ebay has a rule that I can't add anything to the listing with less than 12 hours to go. So, I can't add new pictures from a different server and I can't even add a message . I have a call in to my web guy but I am still waiting for a callback. The auction ends tonight. Hopefully he will contact me and get it fixed before it ends tonight. I am not only upset but I am embarrassed too. I've contacted so many collectors to come take a look and now when they do.....sheesh! I don't know about most auctions, but with mine, the heavy bidding is always at the end. I mean, I have no problem with $2000. of course....but I'm sure this situation has affected the final outcome.

Thanks for letting me vent.....
Mary Lou

Okay, I said I would let you know when I finished my life sized polar bear cub inspired by Knut, the cub who became famous  at the German zoo a few months back. Gee, it was nice doing a polar bear again, albeit a completely different design! He will be going on Ebay tonight
Here are a couple of pictures. So, I think he came out well! He is 30" long.
I posted some on my blog too. http://baysidebears.blogspot.com

Mary Lou Foley

Thanks for all the Warm wishes folks! Makes me feel all fuzzy!  ( I love these little teddy faces!)
I have to go visit my mother for 2 days but when I get back I am going to update my blog with links to all of yours. I blog too much. I spend hours a week reading them! All kinds....political, cooking, art,pop ....anything really. I am a knowledge junkie!
It's good to be back.
Mary Lou

Well, Whaddayaknow....    The User List page lists members with blogs....who knew? Not me!
Now I can go browsing!

Mary Lou

I just set up a Bayside Bears Blog.  I thought it would be a good way to communicate with my collectors. I don't do shows anymore and I miss visiting with them and let them know what I have been up to.
I 'm not quite sure I have  figured out how to insert an active link here,  so here is my Blog address to cut and paste http://baysidebears.blogspot.com

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  My husband has just recovered from 2 surgeries. He had emergency surgery in March to remove a growth form his appendix that turned out to have some cancer cells within. So, he had to go back for more surgery to remove a part of his colon to see if it had spread. Both times his incision got infected and had to be reopened and I had to pack it twice a day till it healed from the inside out. I was a better nurse than I thought I would be! Good thing I don't get grossed out too easily! Luckily , there was no more sign of any cancer and he got the all clear sign. But, a scare like that puts a lot of things in perspective. It was a long recovery. He is almost as good as new and thus I am putting lots of energy into new designs and my new Blog. I do hope you visit and make a comment if you have the time.
If any of you have a blog, I would love to visit and maybe add it to my list of links.
It's good to back. I have a lot of catching up to do.

Mary Lou