Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Thanks guys for all your lovely comments!! :hug:

I am working tomorrow so have had to be mega-organised for Sunday, but i think I am just about ready!
Hugs,
Chris

Whaaaah!!!!  Really???  You have to introduce me to him, pleeeeease!!

See you on Sunday,
Huggies,
Chris

Hello everyone,
I have been working hard to get some bears ready for the Teddy Bear Artist Event in Stratford upon Avon this coming Sunday.  Here is my latest creation - Atherton.  I hope he finds a special someone to go home with on the day!

Come and see him - and the rest of the gang, on stand 19
Bear hugs,
Christine

Me too - although I had mine in the 'Sixties and he was blue!    
Anyway, she has a really interesting vintage look about her - very well accomplished too.  I love the shape of her head, by the way.  I shall be interested to see how you develop this idea 
Bear hugs,
Christine

A huge thank you to everyone who took part in my Spring Celebration web event!!
The show is now closed and all the adopted bears will be going to their new homes this week.

Bear hugs to all,
Christinex

Wow, I am so delighted!!!  All but one of the bears have already been adopted and there is still another day to go  :dance:

Thanks for all your support!!!
Hugs,
Christine

Wow, thanks SO much, all of you - I truly appreciate your comments!!
Tomorrow is the official unveiling and I am getting nervous.  I probably won't sleep much tonight!

Big hugs to all of you,
Christinexx

Awww, thanks, you guys - I am so glad you like him! :hug:
Hugs,
Christine

Here is a sneak peak of another new bear who will be available as part of my Spring Celebration web show, from Friday.  His name is Quinn and he stands at around 12 inches.

I hope you like him!
Beary best wishes,
Christine

Thanks guys - I hope he finds a new home with that special someone!!
Hugs,
Christine

Hehe, thanks Sandra!!  :hug:
Christinex

Hi everyone,
I rarely make vintage-style bears - but every now and then I just get the urge!
I am delighted to introduce to you Bertie, who was inspired by a photocall request from Teddy Bear Review magazine for their upcoming feature on vintage teds. 

Bertie will be available for adoption on my next web event, which is scheduled for next weekend and will run from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th April.
If you would like to take part, please sign up to my mailing list and you will get the link when the show goes live!

Hugs,
Christinex

Hi Brenda,
Yes, it will airbrush beautifully - you can also use Copic or other similar fabric pens.  Enjoy!!
Hugs,
Christine

Dear Andrea,
Unlike Ebay, Etsy is not an auction site.  Instead, you set a price for the things you want to sell and then list them in your Etsy 'shop'.  It is very easy to set up, I promise!    You will find that the charges are much lower than for Ebay - BUT I must warn you that, although it is growing in popularity, it does not yet have the amount of global recognition that Ebay does.  Also, some things are easier to sell than others and, as yet, I don't think there are a lot of Etsy buyers who are prepared to buy artist bears this way. 
I think the best thing to do is to spend some time looking at Etsy and see if you think that your work will find a home there.
Good luck!
Christine

As a matter of fact... he was!!    I had a great show - all the bears found new homes and I picked up some orders as well, so it was a great day all round!
Hugs,
Christine

Thank you, Margaret!
Yes, it certainly seemed busy to me too!  I sold out of my bears by 1.30pm (not that I took that many!) and sold lots of my greetings cards and some jewelery throughout the day.  It was a much more successful show than I dared hope for, given the doom and gloom about the economy.  So thank you to everyone who helped make my day - I hope you all had fun - see you in September!!
Hugs,
Christine

Hi guys,
I will be in my usual place on Sunday - stand 28, main hall.  I have put up some pictures on my website of the bears I shall be taking, but here is a picture of Muffin, to whet your appetite!  He is made from gorgeous Intercal mohair, naturally!:)
Bear Hugs,
Christinex

Oooh goody!  Let us know how you get on, Tanni... I could always nip over on the Eurostar!
Hugs,
Christine

Doesn't Sassy Fabrics sell some of this?  I buy a short pile Belgian faux fur from her with a woven back, and it is wonderful!!  There is also a French manufacturer of top quality fur, called Tissavel -  if you google that you should come up with some suppliers.

Christine

I didn't enter either, so no pressure on me!!  But all my good wishes for everyone who did.  Looking forward to sharing your good news here

Hugs,
Christine

Good grief - I can't believe you are all thinking about Hugglets already - it's not even February yet!!  
Seriously, I had better get my butt in gear and start concentrating om making some bears!!!  This year I am hoping to have some ceramic sculptures for the very first time - so fingers crossed they come out of the kiln ok.

Ann-Marie, everyone has given you plenty of good advice already - one more tip: pack some sandwiches or snacks.  It is quite expensive to eat at the Town Hall and you won't want to be away from your stand for long, anyway, so take something you can nibble on discreetly.  Making friends with your neighbours is a must as they will happily mind your stand for you when you need to nip off for a loo break

Above all, relax, and enjoy it - Hugglets is a great show in a good venue.  It is always well attended and the collectors are friendly and enthusiastic.
Hugs,
Christine

Wow, Ebay gets worse and worse!!
Amanda - your comment reminded me to say that, for UK residents, it is worth checking out some of the third party courier options - I found a great company on the web, called www.wedelivertheworld.co.uk
They are great for sending anything large and heavy (cheaper than Special Delivery), and fantastic for shipping anything abroad that is too big to go Royal Mail International.  They mainly use DHL as the courier, but, because they pool all their orders they get DHL's maximum bulk discount rate, so the shipping costs are way lower than if you were to got to DHL direct.  There are other, similar companies out there too - if you make big, heavy bears, they might be worth considering.

Hugs,
Christine

Thanks Ellen!
I thought there had to be some way around it.  I will let my collector know and warn her to read the small print before clicking on anything!

Have a lovely Christmas!!
Hugs,
Chrisx

Daphne, I guess if you were able to be super-organised, you could take pictures throughout the year of what you feel are your best bears.  Then, when competition time looms, you can spread out your photos and choose which ones to send.  Fortunately, both the US comps allow you to send in pictures of bears that have already sold, so long as they were made in the current year.  I have done this a few times and it certainly takes the stress out of the last minute dash for the the post to meet the deadlines...  I won't be entering this year, however - like the rest of you, economies have to be made and competition entries are just not top of my list of priorities right now.
But I wish every success to those of you who do enter this year!!
Hugs,
Christine

Hi Guys,
Can anyone shed some light on how the PayPal 'Buyer's Credit' works??  One of my collectors is quite unhappy at the moment because she has somehow got herself ensnared in this and every time she goes to make a payment from her PayPal account, the Buyer's Credit option is the only one that comes up - she would prefer to be able to use the credit card she placed on file with them, or have the money come out of her bank account, but this doesn't seem to be possible.  Now she is saying that she doesn't want to use PayPal any more and would rather send me checks.  This is ok, but there is always the risk that they might go astray in the post - and I have to pay quite high bank charges to convert them into Sterling.

Form what I can tell, Buyer's Credit is only available in the USA at present.  Do any of you use it?  Is there a way around it so that my collector can go back to using her usual credit card?

Thanks!!
Huggies,
Christine