Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I'm coming in on this debate a little late because I have been busy finishing my latest book (not teddy related) and haven't had time to visit the forum for a while. This thread caught my eye because some of it relates to teddy bear magazines and I have been involved on the editorial side of a number of UK publications for many years. First though, with regard to the Awards issue, I must say that it's clearly not right for any organisation to disregard its own rules. I think the appropriate action is to raise the subject with the organisers and ask for clarification, and keep asking until a satisfactory explanation has been given.

On the secondary subject of teddy bear magazines, I haven't seen the American mags for ages so I can't comment directly on their content. What I can say is that the presence of any teddy bear magazine on news vendors' shelves helps to promote the teddy bear world and introduces the concepts of bear artistry and collectable bears to a wider audience. Thus the mags play an important role in bringing in new enthusiasts. Yet magazines are expensive to produce and without advertising revenue they cannot exist. At the same time, I deplore the practice of charging featured artists for the inclusion of their contact details and would never work for any publication that did this since the piece then becomes advertorial rather than journalism. I have always believed that people will want to advertise in a quality publication and therefore there is no need for strong arm tactics - put simply, if the content of the publication is good, the advertisers should follow.

That brings me to the subject of editorial content in teddy bear mags. I am not a bear maker and never will be one (although I have taken a bear making course in order to understand the basics) but I believe all the same that my credentials for editing teddy mags are good. I have been collecting vintage and artist-made bears for about 25 years and have watched some of today's brightest teddy artists start out on their careers. When I put a teddy bear magazine together I try to consider every possible reader - not just those who make or collect artist bears but also those who are interested in veteran teddies, modern limited edition bears, character bears, teddy bear history, bear restoration, real bears etc etc. There is a vast amount of material to be covered and it would be short-sighted to concentrate on just one aspect. Therefore with the Teddy Bear Annual, the publication I currently edit, I attempt to bring together a mix of all the interesting aspects of this wonderful hobby of ours.

Finally, I must respond to the comment that 'most of the Bear mags have been taken over by accountants who know little about journalism or Bearmaking. . For the record, I can confirm I am not and never have been an accountant and I hope I do know quite a bit about journalism because it is how I have earned my living for the past fifteen years.

Many thanks to everyone for their feedback about the Annual. My aim was to produce something that would appeal to existing enthusiasts but also have the potential to grab the attention of casual browsers and possibly turn them into collectors.

There is a good chance that I will be doing two similar publications for Warners next year, plus three specialist teddy supplements which will go out with Collect It, so there will definitely be more teddy content on the news stands in 2010.

Hugs,
Kathy