Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I think the most important thing of all when trying to build a following, is to promote your work EVERYWHERE!  For that, you need top class photographs and a friendly approach.  Magazines are the hardest to achieve coverage with, but they are worth their weight in gold.  Bear in mind, they need your photographs and editorial to be interesting, current and great looking.  If you can ensure your photographs don't clash with the seasonal themes, that helps too ... ie., no daffodil backgrounds if you are hoping your pic might make the December issue!

Collectors like the personal touch.  They don't just want to buy bears, they want to know you'll remember their face at the next show, their name next time they write etc etc.  They like to be made to feel special, so offer to include them on mailing lists to be first in line to view new work, or see the latest website update. 

Shows are the first port of call to meet your potential client base.  They get you shaking hands and smiling at people, which leads to the start of friendly interest in your work. So, when starting out, do your research, find the best shows, send good quality pics and ask to be put on waiting lists.  Offer to take cancelled stands if necessary!

It takes time to build a following and it also takes a heap of commitment.  Encouragement from friends and family is great, but let's face it, they aren't likely to know the market that well, so I would recommend taking some sample bears to your local bear store or bear show and asking for an honest opinion as to whether they think they are of saleable quality and likely to be of interest to collectors.  These people know their stuff and will usually tell it like it is.

Once all that is in place, the usual rules apply.  Keep fresh, keep moving forwards and keep plugging away!

Good luck!

I like the head stuffed firmly.  I use a separate filler for the body, so that it stuffs with a little 'give'.  I like to weight my bears with pellets too and so I always double stitch all the seams to be on the safe side!

Turn my back for a nap and look what I find!  Thank you all for reading about Miguel and his special bear.

Kathy, heartfelt hugs to you and your lovely daughter.  I have had my worries with my own daughter and I understand to some degree, how hard it can be

Stunning.

I'm now speechless (and believe me, that doesn't happen often .. ask anyone who knows me!)

Pink suits her so much better!

Matilda, here's the big bear I told you about!

He's called 'Miguel the Magnificent' and he's a whopping 32"!!!

In fact, I made this bear about four years ago and haven't made such a big one since.  He was a special commission from a very special lady.  She knew of a young boy called Miguel who had to spend much time having operations in hospital.  She would visit him and show him pictures of my bears and one day, asked him what kind of a bear he would like.  He said he would like a bear about his size to keep him from feeling frightened.  I was commissioned to make the bear. 

The saddest thing was that in the time it took for the bear to be completed, little Miguel passed away.  My customer still had the bear shipped across the Atlantic and gave him to Miguel's mother for comfort, telling her to do what she thought was appropriate with him.  The mother kept him for a time and then auctioned him to raise funds for a battered women's charity.  By some miracle, the bear raised over $3000.00.  I can't tell you how shocked I was.

My only part in this was to make a bear, for which I was paid in full.  The credit for everything has to go to the wonderful lady who commissioned the bear to give as a gift in the goodness of her heart.  Amazing lady.

Hi Chrissie,

I've been designing for so long now I can't remember how long it took me to make my first bear!  My memory won't stretch that far.  I think it probably took quite a while though!  I know I had a LOT to learn! :P

I 'fell' into bear-making by accident.  I had a beautiful (still have in fact!) 22" Chiltern teddy bear.  He was my first birthday present from my parents.  One day I was in  a book shop browsing at lunchtime.  Purely by chance, I picked up Pauline Cockrill's 'The Ultimate Teddy Bear Book' and quickly became absorbed in it.  I turned a page to read on and hey presto!  There was a photo of MY BEAR!  Well, not quite mine, but one very similar.  I couldn't believe it!  I bought the book, took it home and devoured it from cover to cover.  In the back were some addresses of museums etc that displayed bears and so I started to make visits and buy old bears to keep my bear company.  Somehow, that led to me finding a copy of 'The Teddy Bear Times' magazine and learning all about artist bears too - I was delighted to find out about 'Hugglet's teddy bear shows' and made a visit to one that summer.  I couldn't believe my eyes!  So many amazing teddy bears!  I started to become a collector and then one day, quite some time later, my husband bought me a bear-making kit ...

The rest, as they say, is history!

Many years later, I find I do sometimes slip into a 'dip' and wonder what on earth I'm going to do next to keep things fresh and interesting.  Then, out of the blue, something will trigger a new idea, (in fact, this forum is great for helping to keep designers inspired!) and I'll be keen to get started again and try something new out.

Hugglets was the forerunner in the UK teddy bear magazine trade, established by Irene and Glen Jackman.  They published a quarterly (I think, my memory is rusty!) magazine dedicated to the hobby of collecting teddy bears, well over ten years ago.  Eventually beary competition reared its head with the publication of not just one, but two bi-monthly magazines (which subsequently went monthly) and the Hugglets magazine was taken over by Ashdown Publishing (Teddy Bear Times magazine). 

Hugglets was a great magazine and gave the superstars of the UK bear world, a platform for the first time.  Work from the likes of Janet Clark and Frank Webster graced the pages, as did wonderful articles about collecting elderly bears - articles penned by our very own Queen of Bear Knowledge, Pat Rush (who I believe was the editor?  Correct me someone if I'm wrong!)

Irene and Glen also established the first Hugglets teddy bear shows.  They introduced a wonderful show purely for artist bears, which used to take place in Stratford Upon Avon.  Sadly, that show was eventually moved to the much larger venue in Kensington Town Hall, which included bear shops too.  Hugglets still run the Kensington shows (do a good job too!) and produce the UK Teddy Bear Guide, which they introduced many years ago.  They have been the underpinning organisation for the UK teddy bear industry and have worked for more than a decade to support it.

Get well soon Louise.  We'll be waiting for you!

Never a truer word spoken Shelli!

It is hard Clare.  I have exactly the same trouble!  My lack of motivation has been bugging me for quite a while  and then this week I grabbed hold of some fabric I really liked and decided I'd play around with it, giving myself  time to do it full justice and really let my inspiration kickstart.  Bingo!  I was so pleased with the result that today, I couldn't wait to get started on something new.

So my advice is, have a think about what you'd like to do that perhaps you don't normally do ... maybe plan to try a new technique/design a brand new shape etc ... then find that 'perfect' piece of fabric and off you go!

Have fun! ;):D:cool::):D

I love to use my airbrush ...

I bought a new airbrush pen recently and DISASTER!!!  The spray is far too heavy and it splats everywhere when used on fabric.  So, I wonder if maybe you are using an airbrush pen that doesn't have a fine enough spray for the job?

I've gone back to my much trusted original pen ... (now that it has been soldered after I accidentally dropped it on the kitchen floor tiles and cracked it - eeeks!)

So sorry to hear your sad news Dale.

Aw, now I'm jealous!  I'd love to be in the SH club! :cool::cool:

Hi Shantell,

How kind of you to take the time to visit my website to find out all about lil' ol' me!  My apologies for there being so few bears on there to show you ... I'm working on some new ones right now!!

I think I am pretty busy now you come to mention it.  Mind you, my kids at least are big enough to take care of themselves ... unless you take into account their need for hot meals and washing!!  I'm pleased you enjoyed the photos of my garden etc.  Thank you for popping in! :D:):cool:

I couldn't manage without a good strong curved needle.  It makes closing and doing the ears so much easier.

Just wanted to say a big thank you to Intercal!

How excited was I when I saw 'Little Grrr' featured in the Intercal newsletter when it dropped into my inbox yesterday?!!! :D

Thanks Guys!! :cool::D:P:)

As you know, I saw this guy on your website Chris and thought he was stunning.  One of your best so far in my books! 

Good luck at Kensington on Sunday ... I'll think of you while I'm at home with my feet up!  Will catch up at Hove instead.

I'm often told my bears are instantly recognisable - which is nice to hear!  I don't know how they do that; somehow it just happens!  I haven't ever tried to contrive a style, I've just let what comes naturally evolve.

I think whatever 'it' is, develops as you make bears - the more the better!

Thank you so much for adding my banner Marion!  I am just about to add your's to my links page right NOW!!!!

That's interesting Shelli. Do you know if this is a recent thing and whether it just pertains to Ebay.com? 

My sister and I have been running a bi-annual charity auction on Ebay.co.uk and to do so, have had to register with our charity to make them aware of our activites.  Then we had to register as a charity auction with Ebay and provide contact detail and charity registration info to prove we were authentic. 

As we had the responsibility of auctioning well over thirty bears, we were keen to make sure everything was done according to the book.  Fortunately, it has all gone really well in the past, but if the rules have changed, we should make sure we bring ourselves up-to-date.

So sorry!  I'm afraid I won't be at Hugglets on Sunday.  Wishing you a great day anyway!

You're most welcome! 

So glad you've all enjoyed the pics and for those of you curious about the bikini wearing I'll just say that yes, the weather was so glorious that I did wear my bikini ... whether I should have done or not is a question I don't want to hear the answer too!

Ah!  Just noticed I'm a little behind the times (not to mention the other side of a very large expanse of sea!) the mention is in the June issue on page 68 starring 'Dallas' and 'Hayden's cub' ... so beautiful!