Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

So my mother enjoys buying OOAK teddy bears, and her most recent purchase arrived in the mail today. I opened it, as she was at work, and as soon as I had the package open my heart fell a little bit, because I could immediately smell cigarette smoke. The bear doesn't smell EXTREMELY strong, but the smell is definitely there. My mother and I are both hyper sensitive to cigarette smoke - it causes our sinuses to flare up, resulting in headaches, sinus pressure, and if we're around too much smoke/a strong smell of cigarette smoke, both of us tend to throw up eventually. So in short, cigarette smoke does NOT agree with us. The smell on this bear is probably strong enough to cause a minor headache if it's placed near, say, the desk or bed. Plus, even if it didn't cause health problems it's still just a not so nice smell. 

Does anyone know how to remedy something like this? Should I spray some Febreze on this little guy?! I'm hoping he'll air out a bit now that he's not in a package, but in my experience you generally have to machine wash something to get that stubborn cigarette smell out of it, which is impossible to do with a delicate teddy bear made of real animal fur. I know it's silly to ask that every single plush artist (and everyone who lives in their house!) quit smoking, but it is frustrating to receive what's essentially a piece of art that has this smell attached to it, and I'm really not sure how to go about reducing the smell on such an item.

Any tips? I did find this baking soda tip online, and am wondering if it might be okay to do:

1. Place 1 cup of baking soda into a 1-gallon or larger sized zipper plastic baggy.

2. Put the stuffed animal into the baggy and zip closed. Allow the baggy to sit unopened, for two weeks.

3. Check to see if the odor has dissipated after two weeks. Baking soda neutralizes the odor and absorbs it, leaving the fabric odor-free. Add 1/2-cup of fresh baking soda if the odor continues to linger and reseal the baggy for another week.

4. Brush the baking soda from the stuffed animal with your hand.

Thanks for all the replies so far, everyone! Will be sure to look over all the links/info provided.

Good old Labyrinth! No one seems to be familiar with Labyrinth or The Dark Crystal these days. So sad. They're classics!

Thank you! I'll be sure to check out your website tomorrow. For now...bedtime. 

Good evening, Teddy Talk members! New member here. I only recently discovered this forum, despite owning a few ooak art teddy bears myself, purchased on eBay.

I have a question for all of you great soft sculpture artists out there. I am a huge, huge Harry Potter fan. I have spent thousands of dollars on Harry Potter items, particularly those darn expensive Tonner dolls. My goal is to turn my future living room or bedroom into a Harry Potter themed room - but as I am 23, I don't want it to be a "kiddy" looking room, if you get my drift. I've already bought some beautiful accents for the room, and I'm constantly looking for new furniture/accessories to add to my collection.

Well, as a longtime lover of plush toys (to my mother's chagrin), I've been pondering having a few creatures commissioned that would fit right in with a Harry Potter room. Things such as mice/rats, tarantulas, and possibly larger creations like an owl or...maaaybe...a small-medium sized (baby) dragon. Maybe a phoenix? A Hippogriff? A basilisk? Who knows?! Of course, I don't want to get too complex, because I'd rather not spend over $250-300 on one piece, so I'm trying to think a little smaller at the moment.

Now, I know many of the artists here make animals other than bears, although not all of you. That's why I'm curious if anyone here feels they would be up to the challenge in the future. If possible, I'd like to at least get a name or two of artists who feel they're up to creating some realistic looking (and possibly creepy :crackup:) critters. If there are artists here who feel they could create such things, but are currently swamped with work, commissions, etc, I'd still love to get your name! I'm not necessarily looking to commission someone, say, this week. My first task is simply to find out which artists I can go to with such requests, since I know some of you strictly stick to super cute teddies.

Happy creating!

- Lynn