Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

When I came 'back' to the bears, the first thing I noticed was that I could NOT find ANY bear making magazines locally......Even Lismore, which is a city of 40 000 or so and has a number of newsagents.....did not have my desired bear mag...(Bear Creations)....the only mag I could dig up was Dolls & Bears.....and what is worse, when I asked them about it, they hadn't even heard of it!! SOOOO frustrating and YES....scrapbooking and card making magazines galore....everywhere I go....beading too...BUT Bears....Nooooooo.... Even Spotlight doesn't stock anything bear stuff anymore....I recently bought out the last of their joint sets for .50cents a pack....complete with nuts and bolts....LOL..and they were the big sizes too 45-60mm....Guess I will have to make some BIG bears now...no excuses!

YES...I think it would be GREAT to have a "Where are they now" section in the bear magazines......I often wonder where my 'favourite' artists have disapeared too.....and I don't mean the 'BIG' names.....I wonder where the not so 'BIG' artists BUT none the less GREAT artists are!

I wish there was a way to rekindle the interest in the bear industry ....I remember the days when you made a bear and popped it on your website and it was gone within minutes.....it was great....not the $$ BUT the feeling that someone loved your work so much that they couldn't wait to invite the bear home and obviously was watching keenly for them....It made all the hours sewing and then the additional hours which were just as much, if not more.....making and maintaining a website have purpose and satisfaction..... It was great to have your work obviously appreciated....

HUGS,
Christine

While Christine Charles doesn't offer any classes on design, she does have some great classes on bearmaking, sculpting, painting mohair etc Written in terms that are easy to understand PLUS she offers all the email support you need.....I have never met ANYONE as helpful as this lady when you have a problem! You can find out more about them on my website here:
http://www.niokabears.com/classes.html

Hope this helps someone!
HUGS,
Christine

Well...I have a pair of doggy socks, is that counted? LOL!

The person below me loves singing in the rain......(well...the shower is close enough! LOL)
HUGS,
Christine

Therese.....I can't wait to see pics! Can you email me artist@niokabears.com some pics so I don't miss seeing them! I don't always get the time to stop by the forum unfortunately! I love to see what others do with my patterns!!
HUGS,
Christine

I think it is of course only fair if you ask that they cover the cost of materials.....if they had a shop I am sure they would not give you items out of it for free BUT rather have you pay their costs or give you a discount.....

As for making bears to give away I doubt that there would be a problem using commercial patterns for that.......if in doubt, why not ask the artist or supplier? I have no problem at all with people using my patterns to make bears for family and friends and encourage them to do so! I also have no problem with people changing my patterns and experimenting with them....a great way to learn....as long as it is for their own personal use and not for resale! Having said that....I have had people approach me and ask if they can make bears from my patterns to sell and I have given them permission to do so as long as they acknowledge it's my design somewhere on the tag and are not claiming it is their own design..... It is just nice to be asked!
HUGS,
Christine

Wow...yes....I love that furbaby too tami...great stuff!

I pluck my head seams, especially the muzzle (Well...most of my muzzles are all plucked anyway! LOL).....the rest of the seams I either pluck or trim, (Depends on the type of fur, size etc) which is done with lots of PRACTICE by eyeball ....I oversew, turn, use a doll needle to pull all fur trapped back to the side it should be on, turn back and sew, turn and check, then turn and stitch again. I do this wether I have plucked or trimed because some fur can get caught regardless. The second stitching avoids the loose stitch problem and I always stitch twice anyway as I like to have the seam stitched twice for durability! So really it is stitched 3 times because I leave the oversewing in place on most seams. NOT on the head at the chin seam....with this seam I finger press it open as I find it sits better that way! Hope this makes sense!
HUGS,
Christine

I don't know about the Tria markers BUT I have been using Copic markers for years. I did try the Prisma ones BUT found 2 things. a) They seem to get empty rather quickly compared to the Copic and b) They dry out a lot faster then the Copic ones....When I stopped making bears for a few years, I never touched my Copic markers until I started again and they were still as good as the last day I used them! I don't know if I just had a bad or old batch of the Prisma ones or what BUT cheaper or not then the Copic ones, I did not find them good value! Anyone else have problems with the Prisma pens??

Just curious! LOL!
HUGS,
Christine

I make my own hang tags....mainly because I like to include a photo of the individual bear that the tag is for as I feel that is a nice touch so I print each tag specifically for each bear. I use Publisher 2000 and have a 'template' file which I edit to suit the bear. On the front of the tag I put the photo, Edition type and #, name and also my signature. On the back I list the materials the bear is made from etc. I print the two seperately, then simply sandwich them together and laminate the tag for durability. As for the tush tags....those I have specially made professionally. They are woven and not printed as I feel they will have a longer life. I want the tags to last a lifetime, like the bear!

Hope this helps!
HUGS,
Christine

I have an Epson RX650 and it prints gorgeous photos, scans form negatives and slides and prints on CD's etc....am not sure about printing on fabric BUT I am VERY happy with it and you can't pick the difference between the lab photos or it's photos (and I worked in a lab so I am very fussy! LOL) I've had it over 12 months and I've never had any problems with it whatsoever. Expensive to run?...yes it is somewhat BUT I think most quality ink jets are... I have a laser which I use for general printing and it is super cheap to run BUT doesn't print good photos.....

I had a Canon prior to my Epson and it was a real pain....in and out of the work shop and expensive to run and GRRRR...I will NEVER buy another Canon!!

I LOVE my Epson so I guess it depends whom you talk to! LOL!
HUGS,
Christine

1. The only person you can trust to get things done right is yourself! LOL!
2. NOTHING materialistic is important....you can't take it with you into your 'next life' so stop and appreciate the things in your life that really matter - Your loved ones!
4. Don't stress over what you haven't accomplished in life BUT rejoice over what you have.
3. People aren't always what they seem to be so BEWARE as someone who seems to be too good to be true, usually IS!

Thanks Sandra...I have sent you a PM! LOVE your magazine by the way....I used to advertise in it years ago when I was a 'full time' bear artist!
HUGS,
Christine

LOL! Now I can't fit my head through the door..... Thanks for the words of encouragement! MUCH appreciated!!

HUGS,
Christine

Great Edie....I'll give them a try! I guess there are lots and lots of bear shops around the world which I don't know about LOL....so it is great when you point me in their direction! It's certainly worth a go! I have contacted Edinburgh BUT have not yet received a reply.....will try Intercal as well! Thanks! :-)

I have popped the occasional on on B4B too..... :-)
Thanks HEAPS!
HUGS,
Christine

Gerrys do stock 3 of my patterns already and I am about to send them a copy of my new ones to see if they are interested ..... I did contact beary Cheap once BUT never got a reply so assume they weren't interested.... I am hoping to find some overseas outlets ....and no...they are not only available on the net...I do a printed version too! :-)
I am in a country area so there are no outlets around here.....

Thanks for your thoughts!

Hi Everyone,
I have been busy working on increasing my range of bear patterns and have made them instantly downloadable form my website for ease and convenience. I also have them on ebay and in an ebay store (Where the fees eat you alive!) I am looking for other outlets to sell my patterns at and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions or if anyone here is interested in selling them at shows or in their shop if they have one etc...

I'd love to advertise them in a magazine to help them along a bit BUT it is a matter of need to sell them first to pay for the ad so it is a vicious circle! LOL!

Hope someone has some suggestions!
HUGS,
Christine

I love the idea of Bid4Bears BUT I am having sooo much trouble listing my bears....I don't know why, must be a problem my end as Nancy can't find any problems her end....anyway....the bears that I have managed to list have not done well at all and the one that did sell went to an old collector of mine. I had hoped that some interest might be shown by some new collectors BUT no such luck for me!

Having said all that I haven't done particularly great on ebay either! I haven't sold any bears there, only patterns and the fees are killing me! I thought I would try an ebay store BUT while there were quite a few patterns sales initially, there haven't been many lately so to me it appears that there are the same people looking on ebay regularly and once they have the patterns they want...then that is the end of the ebay sales....LOL! Maybe I am wrong BUT I had thought that sales from there would of been more consistant because I 'thought' there were lots more people shopping there....

As for my website.....there is a small trickle of sales from there BUT also mostly old collectors....makes me wonder if there are any new collectors out there????

Who knows....I can only say that the bear industry still seems mighty sluggish to me as I see sooooo many wonderful bears out there not selling at all or selling for peanuts! Such a shame that the work that is put into these creations just doesn't appear to be appreciated like it used to be! ......Speaking from experience here as to how vigorous the industry once was!!! I am sure there are some of you out there still who remember the days when your work was really appreciated and this was reflected in the prices people were willing to pay and the amont of bears that were adopted!

I just want to say to all those wonderful artists out there whom feel like their work isn't appreciated or perhaps is undesirable....you are not alone in feeling this ....Although it 'feels' like a personal rejection when your bears appear unwanted.......BUT please KNOW it isn't YOUR bears....I believe it is because there is an oversupply of bears to the ratio of collectors......Soooo MANY to choose from out there!!

In my Humble opinion! LOL! Sorry for rambling on here and getting a bit of the track BUT I see and hear of many great artists who feel so discouraged and end up giving up and that is such an awful shame....

ALL bears are gorgeous in their own unique ways, don't you think??

HUGS,
Christine

Thanks for your support! I could write a book about what has come my way since being in the bear industry! Sometimes people you don't even know and have never met can really make a difference to you in a very positive way BUT sometimes someone whom you 'think' is your BEST friend, can destroy your faith in people and kick you the hardest! Hey....maybe we could all share some of the things that 'bears' have brought to our lives, both good and bad?
HUGS,
Christine

My bears were a GREAT additional income BUT then I 'tried' to make a living out of my bears when Hubby became ill and had to quit his job......Having a health condition myself, working outside of my home was never an option for me so we relied solely on my bears and believe me that was the absolute WORST time of my life ever....the stress of 'having' to sell my bears was so great it was unbearable..... I simply couldn't make ends meet...I could NOT sew enough bears without compromising quality, which I won't do! Mind you, I can't slap them together...I have to take my time creating them no matter if we were depending on it or not....PLUS the more I needed to sell them, the less they seemed to sell! In the end we were living solely on credit cards as there simply was not enough income to pay the bills, let alone live some sort of comfortable lifestyle!

The stress got too much for me, I became so ill myself I had to give up the bears....One day I picked one up and tried to sew BUT I simply couldn't do it anymore. :-( Thankfully Hubby got well again and started to work again or we really would of been in the gutter! It was the absolute worst time for me....I never felt so alone in my life and you know when you are relying on your bears selling, and they don't, it kinda feels like a persional rejection of sorts....don't know if that makes sense to anyone BUT I felt like I was being kicked when I was already down.......It is only NOW that I realise the industry as a whole was experiencing a down turn around that time....and with the value of the Aussie Dollar going up, those things had an impact on my sales and it took along time for me to come to terms with those things being out of my control and NOT a failure on my part....'cause thats what I felt like...A HUGE failure .....I couldn't even support my family for a year or 2..................

Anyway....I was 'away' from bears for more than 2 years.....I simply could NOT face making a bear..... Then one day towards the end of last year, out of the blue I 'felt' like making a bear, so I did and I actually ENJOYED it again....something I thought would NEVER be possible again.....and I haven't stopped since! BUT......for me it is just a hobby now.....A little bit of extra spening money now and again BUT NEVER will I EVER try to make ends meet again from my bear making!! PLUS if my bears are taking their sweet time finding their new mum....then that is okay too....They are very selective!! LOL!

Gee....I got on my soap box a bit didn't I? I guess I still have some raw feelings in there that sometimes come pushing to the surface! Sorry if I bored anyone BUT it actually felt good talking about it.....
HUGS,
Christine

LOL! Actually over the years I have encountered people who really NEED instructions like those! LOLLLLL

Hi Laura & Tammy,
Thanks for the info! I had wondered about cording and have heard about it BUT don't really know anything much about it or how to do it etc so I will do a search! Should of thought of that in the first place! LOL!

I can't remember exactly when I bought my first mohair except that it was very early in my bear making career....I do remember that it took me a whole month of stroking and smelling it BEFORE I plucked up the courage to actually cut it..LOL..BUT when I did, I never looked back as it really is absolutely FABULOUS stuff to work with!

HUGS,
Christine

Hi everyone,
I am wanting to put those little white eye liner thingies (Do they have a proper nam? LOL) on the bear I am working on at the moment and am wondering what techniques other artists use to do this??

.....same with the eyelids! I make a little pocket so there is no glueing.....i.e a full circle and a half circle stitched together ...is that what othes do too?

I would love to havew some input on this! 

HUGS,
Christine

Gee this is actually quite an interesting thread!! I have been away from the bears for a couple of years now and YES....it is most certainly like starting from SCRATCH all over again, especially on ebay!! I 'used' to get loads of watchers and mostly no shortage of bids BUT now I am lucky to have a couple of watchers.....I guess I will see how the bids go over the next few weeks LOL BUT I must admit to feeling very much like my bears and I are on trial or something...LOL! I guess after a couple of years absense, I shouldn't be surprised if my bears & I have been forgotten!  Oh well.....hopefully I will make a whole new set of friends and collectors!

One thing I will say is that it is great for ME to see many of my old favourites still around as I definately haven't forgotten YOU!!

HUGS,
Christine