Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hello, I was reading all the posts, and I felt I must put my 2 cents in on what happened to Judi and the "whites on the eyes' post. I don't mean to bash anyone but there are 2 sides to every story, I fell this one must be told.

I actually know the person in question about the "whites on the eyes". Her name is Lydia, and this had happened 3 maybe 4 years ago, when NOBODY was doing this, and to even see it on someones bear was unique. She even described it on her bears in technical terms. She was emailing Judi, complimenting her work, and Judi asked to see Lydias bears. she she emailed pics, and described her unique eyes. Within 10days, Judi has listed her VERY NEXT BEAR on Ebay with those very same eyes. Even describing the eye technique the VERY SAME WAY. Poor Lydia was crushed, this hurt her very badly, and I am sure she lost many nights sleep over this. And I don't blame her one bit! So you can see this wasn't an "Ebay" thing really, just that the copied technique was displayed on EBAY for all to see, as if it was an artist original. Judi had only been listing bears on Ebay for a little over a year, had already built up a following, and to introduce this technique on her bears was easy, since her bears were changing weekly, but its wrong in my view. Now, 4 years later,everyone does it, but when it happened, and how it happened was more than a coincidence. The thing is, she didn't wait 4 years, it was immediate.   

I must also say, this was not the 1st time I have heard this kind of story from artist friends of mine. I do feel there are always 2 sides to every story, and someone had to stick up for Lydia. I am sure this incident almost ruined her, personally and professionally. She only listed bears a handful of times, and it was after Judi had claimed the technique as her own, so Lydia looked really bad when she did list her own bears. She swore off Ebay soon after that.   

Sorry Judi, I dont mean to be so blunt, but the truth had to be told here.

Hi, For the sew in tush tags, I use a company called "Able Labels of Sarasota". They have lots of background and text colors, and even have the sparkly colors for text. They are all machine sewn lettering too. http://www.nationalweavingusa.com/wovenlabel2.html thats the link to the page for the narrow labels, takes about 3-4 weeks to get them. before Able Labels I used someone else (not mentioning names) who was rude, and they made allot of mistakes on mine, and no refunds/corrections without a huge argument. (nobody needs that)....

For Hangtags, I designed my own company logo, and have a local printer do them along with my business cards. Mine are folded too, with a check list inside, and small details, like "not meant for small children".

Be sure when choosing your tush tags, cards, and hangtags to keep the colors the same, it helps for a more professional overall look. Mine are light pink with burgundy text.

He's so adorable!!!

Judi, I think airbrushing on any bear can be beautiful, but you have to be careful with WHAT you use on real fur. What is good for mohair is not the case with real fur.
For one, acrylic paint is not meant for real fur, and secondly, any heat set will damage the fur! Eventually, the fur will separate from the pelt. It may not happen right away, but it will over time.
There are many dyes on the market, and if working on real fur, you need to find the proper one to use, and I cannot stress strongly enough, NO HEAT SETTING! Acrylic is not the one you should use, I've even seen some artists use floral paint to spray on their real fur bears! OMG!
 
I suggest anyone who wants to use dye techniques on real fur, need to spend some time, and get to know a local tanner who dyes. Someone who has allot of experience with various dyes on the market, and color treatments. Any dye can be adjusted to use in airbrushing, just be to use the correct one for real fur. Research is the key!
     
When I was in my beginning years, I spent many of my off days with fur specialists, learning all there was I could, it gave me so much insight, it was valuable time spent. Whatever medium used, clay, glass, fabric, you would go to the experts to find out the do's and don'ts, and how to's.

Hope this helps

Hi Shelli, I was told it was Spanish lamb. But its super thick and soft, not like any Spanish lamb I've used before! It may be something else, you never know when buying used fur. I was thinking it may be cashmere goat or something else?

Hi All!! I was curiously reading all the posts, and I wanted to join in. I used to do the eyes 1st, nose 2nd, mouth 3rd, then ears last, after scissor sculpting. But I changed my order after awhile. I make mostly real fur, so theres no re-doing noses, I only get one shot at getting it right. So now, I do noses 1st always. No sense in doing any other steps if the nose doesn't work out. Also, when I use eyelashes, I put the eyes on last, so I dont mess them up with all the other steps. That feels so weird to me though, scissor sculpting with no eyes! ....I never used 'tru eyes' I just made-do with pins if i needed. I guess I just got used to not using them.

Hello All, I've used paypal and ebay for a few years now, so far no problems (crossing my fingers)  I do state in my auctions I ship twice each week. (Some sellers ship only once a week) For paypal payments, I ship right away. I only have a 'personal' account w/Paypal so no credit cards, I have my own merchant account for credit cards. either way, once paid, the bear ships the next day I do ship. I always tell the buyer when they pay, what day the bear is going to ship, so no confusions. Lots of times they tell me "no hurry" on the shipping. I also send them the tracking info once shipped. I did get one "e check" payment, and waited for funds to clear in my Paypal account before sending. I think the e checks are the checks the credit card co's send you.... Also, on the other side, when buying on Ebay, its not unusual for me to receive items 2, 3, even 4 weeks after I've paid for them thru Paypal! and thats within the US! cash payments too!  so how long after (payment) did you wait to send the bear actually? ...I also wanted to mention, as a rule, I always deposit funds into my bank account from Paypal soon after they come in. I always thought Paypal could come in and take those funds away for some silly reason. I will especially do that now! I also have heard of some things Paypal did on a credit card sale on ebay, (it was on a Ebay message board long ago) and that scared me too. paypal was wrong, and the seller did all things correct and lost the money. Sorry to get off subject, wanted to put my 2 cents in!