Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Anyone have any clue? I love their little horses/donkeys.....these are too cute. I tried reading the little placard but to no avail!

LOVE the photos! Thank you for posting them - I hope you are feeling better after your car accident, how scary! 

Its a good thing I can't go to Hugglets because I would be 100% flat broke (and a couple thou in debt) if I was let in there! So many beautiful sparkling faces! I've seen at least eight in those pictures that I would LOVE to buy!

I've been obsessively perusing bears since I'm in the middle of making a bear-related plush - and I have a question I'd like to get other bearmaker's and collectors opinion on: dress or no dress? Clothes or no clothes?

In my personal opinion (and this is entirely a personal preference, I can assure you) I prefer to see a bear without clothes or with minimal accouterments. It really lets me see an artists handiwork as well as the shape of the bear in all its glory. However, I've been won over now and again with a bear that is just really becoming and sparkles with personality in its outfit....!

But a lot of the time I feel a dress or some pants are sort of "slapped on" and the outfit doesn't really compliment the bear. Even worse, some bears are so covered in gewgaws and ruffles that the only thing you see is the face!

Plus I'm creatively selfish in the end - I'd love to pick out outfits for my bear. I feel like when you finally make the big purchase of an artist bear its incredibly fun to then make it your own in a way - giving your bear something you picked out for it specifically is your imprint on it, your connection with it.

I also feel (and this is a feeling and based on no real research whatsoever, I forwarn you!      ) psychologically as a seller that If the bear is already completely dressed and made up it appears well taken care of - pampered, sometimes even (or dare I even say spoiled?) it may make a collector or buyer feel "what can I give to this bear that it doesn't already have? Why is going home with ME any better than sitting in splendor on this beautiful table?"

Just some thoughts - I may be utterly wrong and completely misguided. Do dressed bears sell any better than non-dressed bears? Is it still "all in a name" as far as the artists' regular customers go?

How do you all feel about it? 

I just started about two, maybe three years ago but my bear-making has been few and far between unfortunately!  :redface: I've made about four bears so far, none of them are a style I'm totally happy with yet. I just keep tweaking and fussing and tweaking and it feels like I never get anywhere haha! I'm currently in the midst of trying something not so beary and seeing how that goes!  :pray: 

This is actually extremely helpful. I too am working from my own pattern (and you'd think it wouldn't be a problem with a custom pattern you built yourself!!) but its good to know that it isn't a bad idea to stuff the body a bit and line them up that way. I just have so much trouble working from the pattern alone without eyeballing on the outside of the bear like you described!

Okay...so...this has been a trouble spot for me for a while and I feel really silly that it is! I have the WORST time making my arms and legs even...and putting them in the right place so the bear sits properly. I even have the Teddy Techniques book but I can't seem to line the legs up properly even though I have instructions. (in my most recent big bear, one leg is placed higher than the other even though the marks are perfectly even in the pattern. I know the legs are totally even lengthwise...I must have done it wrong somehow!)

Do you mark your pattern first, sew, and attach....or do you sew and then attach eyeballing the position? I've had to resort to the latter as even though I mark correctly the legs are not placed so that the bear sits properly. Is there a trick to this that I'm not seeing? I feel so silly!

I just need my legs to line up evenly on either side and for the bear to sit. That seems so basic....any help is appreciated!!

Presenting....Alphonse! He's a playful 11" bear made from mohair. He's five-way jointed and the first from a new pattern of mine. His cravat is made from suiting wool fabric.

Apologies on the poor photo resolution - my camera has lost its transfer cable and cellphone was the only other option!

He actually has quite a personality - and even though the techniques aren't totally perfect its what makes him so charming. He looks like an old, well-loved bear to me - I love his proportions and his sweet face! You made him with love and really, that's the whole point of making bears - not how "perfect" they are in the end :)

PS - what fabric did you use? Its so wonderful looking for that bear!

I stumbled upon Ted Menten's awesome blog today and he does the sewing for his bears in a very particular way: http://tedsteddytalk.blogspot.com/2009/ … parts.html

I have a question for you - do you sew your bear pieces WITHOUT cutting them out first? I've always cut and then sewn, but perhaps this is a cleaner way of doing things and prevents accidents with your seam allowance? Has anyone tried this method?

Do you think it would work for big bears? This is a very cool idea I think and it might work for me as me and my sewing machine are still making friends....and sometimes I have issues with speed and direction with it. This might give me a cleaner finish.

Thoughts?

Oh I wish there was a bear club around me - I'm in San Francisco. We don't even get bear shows around here! :(

It would be so wonderful to learn in person and share. Likewise, I wish there were teddy classes near me - there's certain parts of sewing I have lots of trouble with (as silly as it sounds, tying off my knots and burying them are STILL a mystery to me. I can't seem to figure out how to do it right ever!) and ...I thiiiinkkk I do the back-stitch right?? but that's really just from looking at diagrams online!

My noses and smiles also need some work. Sigh! it would be great to meet up with other bear artists and just have it shown to me the right way.

I severely want Elodie, I want you to know that! It's one of my future goals to own one of your bears. From a "buyer"'s perspective, things ARE very tight for me right now...and I'm sure I'm not alone I'm trying to put a little money into making my own bears so that maybe I can afford some of the ones I see here and love so much.

They certainly did, Becky -  a park I walked many times throughout my life growing up in the city. If you want a fascinating peep at what life was like in that area over a hundred years ago, read "How The Other Half Lives" by Jacob Riis (it's available free online I believe via Google Books). It's incredible how the area has completely changed since then thanks to Jacob Riis' expose and a compelling historical read.

Alrighty - formerly Ursa Minor Bears is now Mulberry Bend Bears - named after an infamous street in 1800s NYC