Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

They are clearly art to us but are the clearly art to someone who knows nothing about teddy bears beyond the one they had as a child? That's the problem here. We sort of live in a bubble of doll & bear shows and other venues where people understand the difference. However, the majority of people in the US believe bears and dolls, unless they are obvious antiques, are things for children. The way the legislation is written now is so vague it doesn't recognize "artist' creations. What people are asking is that modern artist bears, dolls, etc be recognized so we aren't endangered by frivolous lawsuits or whatever else might come from this legislation (an example might be that our listings become reportable as 'unsafe toys' on eBay).

Not to mention this is just one facet of the problem. There are cottage industries that do make items for children so as to provide an option to the foreign-made products that started this entire bruhaha. For instance, Waldorf/Steiner toymakers. These people will effectively have to close shop unless some amendments are made to the legislation. Sure, this doesn't affect me but I'm not so cold as to shrug and turn away from fellow artists and creators just because they chose to make better toys for children.

All this sort of thing makes me wonder how any of us grew to adulthood. It certainly must be amazing I'm still alive having as a child played lawn darts, ridden a bicycle before bike helmets were even available, bounced around untethered in the back of our old Bronco, watched Roadrunner cartoons (surprisingly, even as a wee child I figured out one could not really survive a 500' drop off a mesa), ate Halloween candy offered by neighbors we barely knew, built treehouses 15' up in nigh inaccessible parts of the forest with scrap wood and nails with kids mostly younger than myself, had to rely only on Mr Yuk stickers and common sense not to drink the bleach or Drano...all sorts of things I shouldn't have survived according to today's standards.  :crackup:

Passing on this important Toys for Tots-related message...

I know, obviously because teenage boys are the hardest to shop for. But there IS stuff out there you can get. Tween boys are often still interested in toy cars and Star Wars figures (heck, I know adult men still into these things).  Comics books and/or graphic novels have been suggested for older boys (here's one with a upbeat and positive message for boys)

These kids are already at an age where, even in the best of situations, they can feel alienated and left out. Please don't forget about them.

She's all done but I still need to make her little frock so she's properly dressed!

This was my first time making something with mohair...and airbrushing (outside of some 2D projects in art school). I'm pretty happy with how she turned out!

The new CPSC legislation could severely affect the sales of children's items and anything perceived to be a children's item in the US. The legislation applies to all 'manufacturers' be it large scale, like Mattel, or small scale like us cottagers.

I urge people to read over the CPSC FAQ available here http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/faq.html in order to form your own opinion as to how this legislation may affect you.

There are also several topics on the Etsy and eBay seller's forums where the ramifications of this new legislation are being discussed.

This could affect makers of artist bears and dolls because these items could, in the CPSC's own words, be "...commonly recognized by consumers as being intended for use by a child 12 years of age or younger".

The legislation is utterly unclear on if there is any way to define an artist bear, doll or other "juvenile" seeming item as an item intended for adult collectors.

The CSPC has provided this form to ask questions. Hopefully they will be answered quickly and to our satisfaction. This could have dire effects on innumerable cottage industries.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/newleg.aspx

For some reason I became fascinated with the process of making a 'reborn' doll and bought the supplies to do so. I find /real/ babies pretty scary so this came as a shock to myself as well as everyone who knows me well. Once I started into the process I did actually find it very intriguing. To see a chunk of vinyl go from plastic-looking to more and more realistic was fascinating and, quite frankly, a boost to my artistic ego (that is to say...it's not hard to accomplish if you've any sort of basic art education).

I'm slowly wrapping up this project and, if the hair rooting goes well, I'll probably list the doll for sale. It's not really the sort of thing I'd keep around. 

Hi! I'm not sure I understand the issue you are having. I use a 'general purpose' foot for nearly all my doll/plush sewing. It sort of looks like this. My machine is an old Bernina 830, for reference.

The foot is fairly wide and I just use different points on the foot to measure a seam allowance. When making my own patterns a make the seam allowance match the outside edge of the foot. On Japanese patterns the seam allowance tends to be narrower so I use the inside edge of the inner feed track as a guide.

I don't know if I'm making any sense...or if it even applies to other machines. ^_^;;; Basically, all I do is check the seam allowance against my machine and find a point on the machine I can use as a guide. The fabric almost never sticks out further than the width of the foot...though sometimes, if I'm struggling with a certain fabric, I'll widen the seam allowance for ease of sewing and trim it down later.

Hm... I see what you mean. At the very least the neck 'insert' would need to have flat ends. Or else it'd look like a furry balloon animal!  :crackup:

The only reason I'm balking at doing the circles is that I'm having a hard time imagining how it'd fit in the neck area of the body pieces. Base of the head, sure. Ends of a tube, sure. But for some reason, and even though I've actually looked at existing patterns with the inset circle, I can't wrap my brain around designing it myself. 

I've been sketching up bear designs like crazy but I've run into a bit of a snag. I tend toward bear designs that incorporate fairly long necks. Either realistic-style (upright), with thick necks, or more cartoonish with skinny necks.

I've done a bit of research and came across the neck wedge idea Nancy Tillberg describes in her book and a techniques for 'skinny necks', found on a website, that uses stacked joint discs. After considering each I've determined neither quite suits my designs...

So, back at the drawing board, what I'm considering is, for the upright realistic bears, simply designing the head pieces with long necks. For the 'skinny neck' bears I'm considering making a skinny variation on the neck wedge.

In both cases, however, I'm concerned that after time the filling in the necks will break down, causing the neck to flop. Am I on the wrong track here? An option in both cases would be to build the neck around a length of Loc-Line which, I would think, would help keep the heads upright.

Another thing I'm trying to avoid is designing anything (especially bodies) that need a circle of fabric inset for the neck. But only because I'm laaaaazy. ^_^;;; If it ends up being the best thing to do to realize the design, I'll do it. :D

I'm just kind of brain-dumping here. ^_^; If anyone has any suggestions/advice or can just tell me I'm on the wrong or right track before I start cutting into the fabric I'd really appreciate it! 

-Merry

PS> If there is a place on TT I can post up some of my sketches...if anyone is interested in seeing...I'd be glad to share. ^_^;

Thanks for the links!

Joanne> I've faved your eBay shop. Lovely stuff!

Since at the moment I'm terrified to cut into my mohair (that I can barely afford in the first place ^_^;) I am trying to hunt down various sources of high quality faux furs. It doesn't have to be that fancy synthetic stuff that's made to resemble real fur...just better quality than the 'fun fur' one finds in craft shops. I also want to avoid the 'silky' and 'minky' furs that seem popular nowadays (Beary Cheap seems to carry a lot of this sort of thing). I like fur that looks/feels somewhat more 'rough' and bear-ish.

I noticed one place advertising here on TT but it's in the UK. If possible, I'd like to locate a North American source (shipping nowadays, especially overseas, is getting outrageous  ).

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you~!

Kathy> I hadn't heard about eBay/PayPal keeping a fee until one left feedback. Do you have a link to that policy? I don't leave feedback unless the buyer tells me, one way or another, that they are satisfied with their purchase. I'll be even more upset if I find eBay's been keeping even more of what little I make through their service.

It's true...starting sometime this fall.

The announcement is here.

Makes it very dangerous for those of us who went by the adage "Never take PayPal for any amount more than you can afford to lose". I did professional selling on eBay for an art supply company for a year and it was really eye-opening. It's so easy to rip off sellers it's terrifying. It's something that may never happen to you but if it does, it can really hurt. After my 'pro' stint using eBay I only sell items there that I can afford to 'lose'.

I have a Japanese book called "Handmade Dog" (ISBN 4-579-10946-6) which has some excellent patterns. I found it at Kinokuniya books and you might be able to order online through Kinokuniya (I can't remember if their site has an English version).

It really is an incredible book. It has dog patterns of varying difficulties. Some are jointed and others use Loc-Line. It's mostly in Japanese but everything is well illustrated. If one has a firm understanding of basic sewing skills as applied to bear-making then there should be no trouble following the instructions. The illustrations make them  more clear than most English patterns I have!

I am completely addicted to Boston Terriers (thanks to my parents) and French Bulldogs (love those ears!) so I've been very much wanting to make some puppies for myself. However, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to get the appropriate 'jowly' look on the muzzles.

I've seen a few artists who do this wonderfully and, after having studied the photos a bit, kind of have an idea how it might go together...but I fear I might be over-complicating the process (very typical of me).

I do know it's more than just scissor sculpting the muzzle fur since the mohair used on these is pretty consistently the very, very short kind and I really love that look. But the upper lips are more defined than one could manage with needle-sculpting alone (bully wrinkles I can do...floppy lips? No idea). :D

I'm thinking the upper lips (floppy muzzle bit) might be a piece attached over an inset 'muzzle' (which then becomes the 'chin' of a closed mouth dog). Again, this seems at once too simple and too complex all at the same time...if that makes any sense at all (probably not). ^_^;;;

Might anyone be able to offer some guidance or offer suggestions as to how I might go about achieving a convincing 'bully' muzzle?

Thanks in advance!
-Merry