Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I like what you do Thelma, that all sounds very profressional My bears come with a hang-tag and a "features" tag with a list of techniques used to create them and materials so people can read how special they are. I love the idea of the laminated glossy photos and details though.

There is such talent here, isn't there? Gorgeous little bear well done! And I'd like to say too that I adore your business name and I always find it easy to remember "tickety boo bears" how cute

Awwww She's gorgeous. I was "awwwing" over her on bear-pile yesterday she's such a sweetie. Well done

The only thing I ever buy on Etsy is puppets hand-made by some makers I know. I collect puppets as I am a puppeteer however I'm not doing shows at the moment ~ but my collection of puppets is still allowed to grow  There are some fantastic puppets on there, or at least there was last time I looked (4 months probably). I agree though there are mostly only smaller items.

And Peter that bear is a "Real bear" isn't he? Congratulations on adopting him.

Beautiful work and I too am in love with little Denny, gorgeous! You make perfect little creations Ekaterina!  :clap:

Awwww I love him!!! He's exactly the kind of little "unusual" fellow I've been looking to add to my hug.... and he's small enough to fit in amongst my bears. Are you selling him? If so where and for how much? You can PM me with details if you're not comfortable posting them here. I'd love to adopt him!

Given that it is a CAT then it would not surprise me if it's all real and no photo-shop involved lol. I have cats and what is shown in this pic happened to my fish-bowl ROFL ~ never underestimate research kittys LOL  :crackup:  :crackup:

The finished bear will be super exciting can't wait to see it

Needle-sculpting is not the use of darts. Darts are darts, and add more depth and width to shapes of the bear. To needle-sculpt you take a long doll needle threaded with a single strand of very strong upholstery thread or sinew, take it up through the inside of the bear and exit and the point you'd like to start sculpting. You then take a TINY stitch and exit on, say, the other side of the muzzle if you were sculpting cheeks. You then take another tiny stitch on that side of the muzzle, and come back to the side you started on but slightly lower pulling the thread very tight as you go.
You just keep going back and forth like a figure 8 to sculpt a place for the eyes, or if you are creating eyebrows and cheeks you just go a bit further on the sides of the muzzle etc.

Needle-sculpting brings the area around the stitches you've made right in, making the area between the stitches stand out more. This is great for bringing in eye-sockets so you can set the eyes in nice and deep and very tight. The main thing with this is to keep the thread very tight as you go or nothing will happen - and you must use a super strong thread or it will snap.

I have never done pattern-draping but there are surely artists here who do/have so it will be interesting to hear their approach. You can only needle-sculpt a stuffed head by the way, obviously you cannot sculpt if underneath the fur is solid clay LOL   Post pics when as you go I'd love to see the creation of this very unique bear!

:crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:

I personally would not make an open jaw for this design however he is your bear so you may do whatever you feel he is telling you he needs. I would make him in a long-pile fur of your choice, preferrably one that could withstand strong needle-sculpting, and make his head a realistic bear shaped head. To get the mustache kind of theme you have going on the front of his face I'd just scissor-sculpt the long fur to make them stand out more from the realistic head shape. Also if you choose a long fur you'll be able to get that parted hair look between his ears you have on your sculpt. You'll also be able to needle-sculpt the eyebrows and then just use bear glasses after he's finished. By the way, great sculpture that's a great way to see how you want your bear!

Also you mentioned you are not an experienced bear-maker ~ so I have to say you'd probably be better making this bear's pattern in a long plush fur you don't have much attachment too first to experiment on, and then maybe using mohair or whatever fur you plan to use for the finished result. I would go about it this way as then you would be able to know what mistakes you made first time around and change them on the "real" bear.

Good luck and I hope what I said was helpful and most of all made sense lol

I needle & scissor sculpt and also needle-felt sometimes

Bravo! Well done!  :clap: I LOVE the expression on his face he is just gorgeous, what a sweet and gorgeous shaped bear. I don't like to make criticisms that much about other people's work, especially when I really love their bear regardless of tiny details as I'm always afraid they'll take it the wrong way.

I had never sewed before when I made my first bear by the way, and I only made one bear with another's pattern before designing my own so I feel much like you! This bear is really gorgeous I can't stop looking at his gorgeous little happy face! Does he have a name yet?

Peter is right you'll want to keep your first bear ~ I still have mine (and he is on the front page of my website at the very bottom with the "manager" one of my many pets, he's the little grey bear ~ I could never part with him).

I will let other artists suggest things you could do to improve, as all I really want to say is that your bear is such a cutie-pie  Love him to bits

I agree that my worry is that I will get too carried away designing things to put on the page and end up spending too much time there as all those kind of places are addictive lol. I don't need to spend less time making bears than I already do hence I personally have not taken the plunge (that and I haven't worked out how to join properly yet lol). I think everyone wishes there was either more time to make bears or that making bears took less time.

By the way I will "like" your page even if I am not on FB at the time you launch your page!!

Marilyn, I have also been so proud of myself for years and years for not joining FB! But alas when I have time I will be building a page for my bears. This is also at the advice of another artist I know quite well as she says her business has really taken off since being there ~ so I'm giving in too LOL.

I know exactly how you feel about not working out how to join properly ~ I was glad when I couldn't properly join (too confusing lol) as it meant I was still not on FB and keeping the promise to myself lol!!! However as soon as I work it out I will be joining....

Don't feel bad I think it's quite fair to want to promote your bears on one of the biggest free promoting tools available....

Gorgeous

Regardless of the size I cut them out and pin them, whipstitch (only on bigger bears), back-stitch and then undo the whipstitch and turn them in the right way. I have never thought of another way. Would be good for smaller bears though.

Very cute

Also sorry to hear about your mum and hope she's feeling better soon.

I am very interested in the mink coats as I'm running low on mink (OK so that depends on your definition of "running low" ~ I've got less than I had put it that way LOL). Can't wait to see pics and prices

How cute is he!!!! Love your cats

I never machine sew however this is for one and only reason: I am scared of the machine LOL  :crackup:

Therefore I only ever machine sew, even my 20" bears.

I only have hang-tags and I hand-make them all using scrap-booking materials as I feel it gives a very personal touch to the bears. I would like to get some tush tags made too however I don't know where I would have them made. I would like both though, I would like both tags and also to sign the bear's foot as a sig can never come off lol.

Awww I love the gorgeous fox on the right ~ did he find a home? If he's still for sale I'd love to know how much for. I collect foxes and make a lot too, but as realistic as this little sweety! You can PM me with details if he's still left

Wow I had no idea there were so many places that taught how to design them ~ thanks for mentioning them I'm going to look into them as I love to learn anything new. I have been designing my patterns since I started making bears ~ my first bear was another artist's pattern and from there I designed my own, I just took a stab at it and surprisingly it worked out well and of course they've gotten better as I've gone on and learnt from mistakes. I'm a self-taught artist mostly and wish I had have had internet when I started as I wouldn't have had to ruin some very good mohair and mink in the process.... But thankfully all my patterns and bears have come a long way LOL

Thanks for mentioning those books!

I would just love to be in a bear club however I don't really have the time either ~ starting one sounds like fun I just don't think there are many bear-makers where I am or even near where I am ~ they're all doll makers here.

And teaching a younger generation how to make bears is great! When they want to learn that is lol. There was a little boy who used to live near our studio and he'd come around and watch us sew - then one day he asked if we could teach him how to make his very own bear. WELL was that a challenge! He sewed one arm (on a 6" bear - so not big lol) and decided it was easier to buy one of our bears. When I explained that our bears were quite expensive, he pulled $150 out of his pocket and offered it to us for one of our smaller bears!!!! Can you believe some of the kids these days?

Most of you would probably be surprised that I am quite young, too, but I have always been aware I'm totally different to most people my own age ROFL Not insane just different!!  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:

PHEW thanks everyone

By the way carlylebearco, my bears are on Youtube however I did not put them there ~ customers who ordered bears to be their logos have posted them there. I believe if you search for Andama Galleries you will find dear Logie the bear, who is a logo/mascot for Andama Galleries now, I think Andama has entitled it "Logie at home with music" or something similar. There are other companies who have also posted amusing little "Day out" videos of their bears "going to work in the office" etc.

I'm so glad I didn't offend anyone! That is my constant concern on these places as there's no tone of voice to go by! Thanks for the reassuring replies I'm very glad I didn't upset anyone