Banner Sponsors
For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Yes, Shelli...I think that might be it...embroidered graffiti...I wondered what those kids were up to in the middle of town ...with their needles and stuff....
it's not drugs at all...it's RIBBON EMBROIDERY!!!
Today I went to Hobbycraft ,a local craft store, to buy buttons and bits and pieces. As I went through the cashout the cashier said 'Hold on! I need to check one of these items, it's not for sale to under 16s' (that wasn't what will make you laugh) Then she said...'I just want to check which one it is'
Looking in at the things I'd bought , buttons, velcro, press-studs, upholstery thread I thought I might inadvertantly have slipped some alcohol or marijuana in the basket...or crack cocaine perhaps.
'Ah there it is' she announced triumphantly, 'It's your bias binding, luv'.....UH?
What do they think anyone would do with bias binding? Set up an illegal ring of dealers....they give it to you free for a week or so and before you know it you're hooked...then they try to get you on the the extra wide stuff...
How ridiculous...I've heard of them being cautious with glue in these places...but bias binding...I ask you!!
I was quite flattered she thought I was under 16 though....when I cracked that joke she just looked at me and laughed!!
Anyway...I'm off for a fix!!
Jenny
You need a cover that goes to the ground to hide the legs of your table. I take more bags than I'll ever need ...more pens than I'll need in a month of Sundays...pins....don't forget the pins..don't know why I take them...I just do. Sewing kit...just in case of emergencies. Double sided tape...I accidentally took it once ..and used it to hold the cloth in place. Paper...loads of paper...receipt book..newspaper..in case boredom sets in. Portable TV?...hopefully not that boring
Cards...millions of cards...sandwiches...don't forget them..and a flask of coffee.
I take lights...so you can see my stand. I light it up like a Christmas tree so there's no excuse for folks not to see me...
And of course if you can get the kitchen sink in the car...I'd take it...you never know.
Then of course you can't get in the car yourself...or get any bears in....
Start again?
Best of luck....
Jenny
Hi Lulu.....Annabella is actually made from alpaca...but I get most of my synthetics from Edinburgh Imports...it's as expensive ...if not more expensive ,though, than mohair. If you get some that's not from there make sure it's a woven backed on....or you'd have to line it first..( I use that fusible cotton ..it just irons on) otherwise it will stretch when you stuff it.
I just got some nice short piles from Dear Bears...Schulte make some nice ones..they have links to their distributors on their website...and try Prefurs.com..they do French ones...
Best of luck...
Jenny
I would guess that if it's very stiff and non-pliable...like wood-wool...you should try dampening it...see what happens.
Jenny
Hi Fran...as far as I know there are different grades of polyfibre/fill/ flock...there are the luxury fluffy high loft ones that are useless because they won't pack down at all, there are regular ones like I have which are OK...but not awfully dense...then there are heavy duty ones which compact down and become very firm. The cotton is recycled, carded cotton threads...different to kapok...it's what they use in antique upholstery restoration..again, it stuffs really solid...
Jenny
OOOh Catherine...I'm all nostalgic now...I'd forgotten how beautiful it is....I haven't been since I was 21...long , long ago!! It took us 5 hours to get there in a clapped out old Mini with rain coming in through the floor..
It was worth it though...the sun shone every day...
That's it I am going....we are off to Yorkshire at the weekend....but alas no time to visit the lakes....
Jenny
Kirsten thanks exactly why I started doing it. The polyfibre just wasn't dense enough...and the cotton is lumpy on it's own. I can get some coarser ...heavier polyfibre...but till then this works fine for me.
Vicky... I snip the woodwool into tiny....tiny 1/4" pieces...which would not work on a whole bear. But if I were youI would snip it into 1"+ pieces. Then you can form it into small balls . The trick is to get it to the right level of dampness...spraying it doesn't soften it enough...hence why I run it under the tap...then dry it out again. I keep it in a plastic bag if I'm doing lots of stuffing and it stays damp for ages then. As it drys in the bear it becomes a more solid form than I could ever stuff into a nose.
The Bear-bits people mix it damp with poly-fibre and stuff their huge bears with it...they have a wonderfully solid, but still fluid form.
It's worth a try anyway....
Hi Dilu.....Sorry!!!
Woodwool...or 'Excelsior'...no good to use it dry...but marvellous used damp.
No, I don't mix the polyfibre and cotton fibre before hand...I just use separate pieces which form a firmer stuffing...especially in key areas like the cheeks and behind the nose. The cotton fibre is not fluffy like kapok, and packs down extremely hard....but the polyfibre is great for bigger gaps
Jenny
There must be some kind of Citizens Advice Bureau where you live..like the kind of thing we have here...they can usually give free advice on legal aspects. I am sure he can't put you out on the streets...you do have rights. But for peace of mind you need to find all this out...I don't know if the Samaritans is a world wide organisation but when my marriage split up I called them up because they put me in touch with people who can help.
You need to start to feel better about yourself and a start would be to make in-roads into finding out your rights.
I totally empathise....
Jenny
Like Melissa ..I always put woodwool in the nose...I can't even remember who to credit with this wonderful tip but it's completely changed how easy the nose is to sew.
I dampen the woodwool..(I run it under the tap ) with warm water...then I roll it up in an old towel to take out the wetness and leave it sitting for half an hour. Then I snip it up into tiny pieces which I then stuff the nose with...very, very hard. I hard stuff the head with a mix of cotton fibre and polyfibre..and if I find 'pockets' around the nose/cheek area I put in more woodwool. I then put a few pins around the nose as it hold it all in place as the woodwool dries. I leave it overnight to settle...fill any bits up that aren't quite hard..
The nose is so easy to sew through the woodwool when it's dry ...it's like going through butter... Don't put it in too wet though as it will distort the fabric.
Jenny
Hey Rita...you CAN get through this. I went through a really horrible one in 1987 when my children were both quite small. It all came out in the wash...all the nasty, pathetic things that men do when they think they can get away with it...But they aren't all like that...we just weren't one of the lucky ones!!
But there is life afterwards..and a better one too. I had absolutely nothing as I worked with him in our family business...but I just tried to be better than he thought I could be....and 18 years down the line I have found happiness with a great bloke ... a successful business...a new 'career' with my bearmaking...I have a grand-child (and another one due in 4 weeks...!!!!)...lots of friends ...All down to what I did with my life from the day we split.
Most of it I would never have done if we'd stayed together...I learned photography and worked on some really good projects..I did a teaching qualification and taught in a college, did umpteen ( that means 'loads of') courses...and now I look back and think that my life has been better because of it.
You won't be thinking that now...and I know how low you feel...and the only way I got through it is to decide that each day can and will be better than yesterday was...and by talking about it ..to any one who'd listen.
Chin up!!!
It's disgusting......these people have no love inside them...and punishments are just not high enough for this type of low-life. I love my animals to pieces the thought of this hurts so much.
Your poor friends, I do feel for them.
Yesterday in the newspapers the RSPCA had printed pictures of a Dalmation puppy hung for the hell of it. We don't deserve animals if humans do things like that to them...
Ooooh it makes my blood boil!!!
Sorry, I didn't read the bit about your pricing.
Well, the way I look at it is this, I lose money every time I don't go to work in the salon. So I have to make my bears pay...othewise, though I love making them, I'd have to give up and go back to the salon full time. So though I don't expect to get to get anywhere near what I can earn hairdressing I won't sell my bears and my time cheaply because I value that along with the cost of materials.
It's only right and proper that the time I spend learning, researching and developing is part of the equation too.
It's down to what you feel is a fair price for what you are offering...I know that in my industry (hairdressing) prices fluctuate wildly...but in my experience people don't buy on price..they buy because they believe that the thing they are buying is the thing that they feel comfortable with, or aspire to or relate to. That is evident in the bearmaking world too..many bears are aspirational to collectors and they will save up to buy them.
Work out the cost of your bear down to the last pin include the applicable percentage of any advertising or other related expense, add what you think your time is worth and some people add profit to that too...which means that if shops come asking you aren't giving you bears away when you give discounts.
It depends if you view it as a business...which I have to do and I know several other on here do...or whether you see it as more of a hobby. But one thing is certain...you do need to start as you mean to go on with pricing.
Hope that helps!!!
Jenny
Hi Melissa....It's difficult one...I have done it before...You do get more lookers for sure...whether that transposes into bidders is hard to say. I have done both and not noticed much difference in the bids...
It does pull you out of the crowd...but then only on the page that you'd show up on anyway. Like ending soonest, highest bid or whatever...you don't show up at the top of every page that's hit in your category ...which I mistakenly thought would happen....
If you don't get a good price for your bear of course it's an added expense....
Jenny
Judi..I make bears in mohair, alpaca and synthetic fabric..I like working with synthetics the best...though I feel like I am commiting blasphemy for admiting it...I don't much like mohair unless it's straight and very, very dense!! ( A bit like me, really)
Well..being hairdresser..I can't get my head round all the pile going in one direction..so I make a patchwork of the gusset...even on the shorter piles...and the sides now have inset pieces for cheeks and stuff...
It works for me...the cutting out's a bitch!!
Thanks everyone...Bramwell came together after a summer of changes...re-designing my patterns and re-thinking everything...and I now have 15 pieces in the head ...which aren't obvious I realise ..but I finally feel I am getting to grips with this pattern making lark....after 3 years !!!
Here is a new bear that I made for the fair in Leeds in Yorkshire. I thought as it's the first time I've exhibited there I should do a tribute bear.
He's also my first 'go' with oil paints..which I have now fallen in love with...thanks Shelli..
Oh I totally agree with Helena and Kim....I start out with one thing in my head and end up going down a totally different route...and usually that route leads me to a different place again...it's a learning curve that has lots of twists and turns..
Don't be discouraged....you never learn a thing from getting right first time, anyway....so put your positive head on!!!!
My first bear was horrendous..he was a kit I'd bought and I was never 100% about kits from the start. So think about the bits of him you like and use that for future reference and change, bit by bit, the other things till you get a bear that looks like you planned.
As for shading, I still like my Copic pens...but have been using a dry brush and oil paints after taking Shelli's advice and trying them...I do like the effects.... I have a very tiny brush which I cut down to make it stiff and stubby...so it brushes the pile as I apply the colour. It works well.
If at first you don't succeed..........................
Jenny
He's marvellous....he really is..and a great learning curve I expect!!!
Fantastic!!
Jenny
