Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi Alexis.  I apologize if our posts sounded like we are putting down those that don't attend shows.  That was never our intention.  Everyone has to choose which venue is best for them, and if websites or e-Bay happen to work best for them, then I say "Go for it!"  Each individual has to choose their own path, and it's none of my business to try to sway anyone in a different direction.  One of my earlier posts stated that family has to come first, and I stand by that. 

I certainly don't want this to become the "Luann and Daphne" show, but with so fews left in the country, we are trying to get the point across that unless there is more involvement in the shows, we are going to wake up one day and have NO SHOWS LEFT IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY!  As far as I know, there are only 10 or 12 bear shows left. (not doll and bear - just bear shows).  If Daphne and I were to cancel our shows, that takes 4 more shows away from that number. I think we have become so passionate about keeping the shows alive for all involved and helping keep the entire bear world alive, we just don't want the shows to go the way of the dodo. 

Again, there was never any intention to hurt and feelings or make anyone feel bad for not doing shows - just follow your own path.

Luann

This is Jeff.
I have been helping and been around this business going on twenty years.  Thought I don't make bears, I have been actively involved in Luann's business.  I maintain the mailing list, sell the supplies (fur, glass, steel, joints, etc), help setup, tear down, loading, unloading,  you get the picture.

The answer to your question regarding where do the collector's come from really fits in part of this conversation.

Many years ago I did a survey for one of my college classes.  It was collecting info on "Bear Buying Behavior".  It was a simply questionnaire.
I surveyed a couple of hundred people at different Teddy Bear Shows we did.  Based on the info at that time, most collected bears based on a past experience in their lives.  Generally, collectors had a bear during their childhood.  I know I did.

Some have moved on, but others have always had a soft spot for bears.  They end up meeting others who may have the same interest, who tell them know about a shows or artist.

In giving the survey, one of the questions was regarding information bout "TB" events.  Most replied back then magazines and direct mail.  Now most all find out about shows and events through direct mail. 

As you may have read through some of the post, direct mail works.  In fact, we received an e-mail from a very good customer that they did not make to the Albuquerque Show due to a visit to their daughter.  But wanted to let us know they will be there next year.  It is good to know they were thinking of us and missed there time to visit and buy artist creations.

Each year the mailing list gets smaller.  Mostly, through mail not being forwarded after the collector has moved.  We have had a few that have dropped, due to no longer being with us. 
Every year we do pickup a couple of new collectors that did not know the Teddy Bear world existed.  So the education of the "TB" world continues.

Jeff

Well.....Hmmm.....Uhh...

Interestingly enough, at the Albuquerque Show I asked almost all of the artists that were there what they thought of the recent discussion on shows that we had here on Teddy Talk.  From the reactions I first got, I though maybe my slacks were unzipped, or I had mascara smeared under my eyes.  As the conversations progressed, I came to realize that while a large number of the artists that were at the show are members of Teddy Talk, very few of them ever read the messages and almost never post.  Not one artist I talked to had seen any of the recent conversation. Some of them couldn't remember the last time they had logged on and looked at Teddy Talk.  Perhaps part of my thinking was that a discussion would hep in solving the "problems" we all seem to be encountering in the bear world.  I was naive enough to think that the artists just weren't chiming in, and now I realize they aren't even reading Teddy Talk. For that matter, they aren't reading other discussion forums either.  A couple of them have blogs, but I had no idea that they did, and have no idea how to search for a person's blog.

Maybe I was thinking I was reaching the people that are interested in bear shows as artists and collectors through Teddy Talk, but I'm really not.   I've always had concerns that the internet was too big to rely on to spread the word to everyone about shows, and have always hedged my bets on direct mail postcards.  By far, I get the best result from those postcards than anything else I've ever tried.  I'll stick to that from now on.  At least with that approach, I'm able to garner some results.

This is just my own opinion folks, and I'm not blaming any of the discussion forums for the state of the bear world.  I just think I need to take a different approach.

Luann

I've been following the various threads about the shows that are being cancelled, magazines going out of business, etc., and the efforts to save them.  I've chimed in a couple of times and given my views, but wonder if we are looking at this in the right light.

For the most part, I think that most of us realize that it is a lot of work to put together a show.  Having said that, I don't think that most of us (myself included) realize the sheer magnitude of the detail work in putting a show together.  The same goes for the magazines.  I know absolutely NOTHING about how a magazine works except that deadlines are set months before the actual issue goes out.  (See, told you I didn't know much.)

I applaud everyone who posted that are eager to help "save" the shows that cancellation announcements have come out about.  Same for the magazine.  In my own opinion, I think that by the time a show or magazine is cancelled, it is too late.  Maybe the promoters or editors just couldn't wait until "maybe next year" when the artists could get enough bears done, afford an ad, or "try it next time if the timing is better".  Personal reasons, health issues and family should always come first, but perhaps if a date has never been good for a particular show for a lot of artists, the date could be changed.  We need to work with the promoters and give them suggestions to keep the shows viable.  Maybe new shows will spring up.

Again, I don't know anything about the magazine business, but in the show world, promoters have to have committments up front to be able to pay for advertising, secure a ballroom venue, etc.  It can't be done with only a handful of artists.  We certainly have to be realistic about the travel expenses, and know that the numbers of artists that can participate will most surely decline in the foreseeable future. 

There are so few shows left across the country, I wonder if we should be focusing on those remaining shows, and throw our support behind them.  Perhaps instead of trying to save shows, maybe we need to salvage those that are still viable.

Our recent Albuquerque show had some of the most incredible artists attend, and the bears they brought were just as incredible.  While we did not have good attendance, we still had pretty good sales.  We need to tell others about that.  We need to get excited again.  If we aren't exited about our business, we can't expect the collectors to be either.

Post something on your website or blog about shows you have attended as an artist or as a collector.  Even if you recently participated in a show and didn't have good sales, you can brag about the others that did.  We've all had good shows and bad.  I'm thrilled when a collector buys a bear - regardless of who it is purchased from.  We'd all like to be the one that made the sale, but it just won't happen every time.

Let's get behind the shows that are still ongoing and throw our support behind the magazines.

I'm going to Daphne's show in Maine in July.  Maine is a long way from central Texas, but I'm so excited that I've been able to work it out to be able to go.  I've got new ideas for bears and other critters, and can't wait to get started on them.  I'm even bringing along a friend with me.  She lives in New York, so I'll fly there first, and visit for a couple of days.  Then, we are getting on a train, and heading for Maine.  She collected bears for years, then stopped, but is looking forward to gong to the show with me.  Hey, let's take those collectors any way we can get them.

Luann

I got an e-mail from my daughter yesterday, who is vacationing in Canada.  She mentioned that her debit and credit cards had been "frozen".  Not a good thing being on vacation, as there is no way to pay for hotels, no way to access cash, etc.  Thinking this was just an ATM machine glitch, she said she would let me know if she got it worked out.

Early this morning, I got a phone call from her.  It turns out there is a HUGE fraud ring operating mainly in Canada (and so far on a smaller scale in some other countries) using debit and/or credit cards issued by Capital One Bank here in the states.  ALL debit and credit cards issued by them have been "frozen" and their customers have no access to using them - at least in Canada.  I went to the bank, and talked with them, and they are apparently just seeing the tip of this fraud ring.  It is apparently so big, they have frozen all of the accounts and are deciding now whether the cards will even be any good to use once they arrive back in the states.  They are trying to decide now if they will cancel all cards or re-issue them.  What a mess!

I ended up having to withdraw money from her account, take cash to the grocery and send it to her via Western Union.  While at the bank, there were three other customers in there with similar situations.  Two of them were trying to leave the US to go overseas, and can't use their accounts.  The branch manager of the bank was on his way to the store to wire money to a customer who was, like my daughter, stuck in Canada with no access to funds.  They can't check into or out of hotels without credit cards.  I don't know if other credit cards are being affected, but Capital One is sure taking a hit.

I'm just grateful that I'm on her bank account and was able to take care of it.  The branch manager of the bank said they have had a few customers call and they really don't know how to help them out, because they don't have anyone authorized on their accounts to withdraw and send them money.  They are in a situation where they will have to have friends or relatives wire them money.

I thought I'd give everyone a heads up, in case anyone ran into a problem using this type of credit card.  It appears that the problems really just started yesterday, and the bulk of people will run into problems over the weekend.  Since this is a holiday weekend, most won't be able to get any help until Tuesday.

Luann

I use wool felt almost exclusively.  Like you, I find the "feel" of it intriguing, and it is so nice to work with.  I find ultrasuede comes in so many wonderful colors, but for me, it's too fiddly.

Luann

For me, as an artist, getting enough bears ready for a show is not so much of a problem .  Basically, what I have done is what I have done.  I usually drive to most shows, and if the bulk of the work is already done, I can do a lot on the bears along the way.  By the time I get there, I usually have several more completed.

As a promoter however, I am about ready to be committed by the time a show comes around.  I don't sleep well for about a week before the show.  I worry constantly about all the details.  Did my ads show up in the papers? How many will come through the door?  (Dear God, let them come through the door!)  Will everyone sell something?  Will all of the artists show up?  Will the hotel have everything in place?  What do you do with the extra tables when an artist doesn't show?  There are so many things to take care of, on top of dealing with so many different personalities.

I've been blessed with having some of the best artists to work with.  Even the year that we showed up at the hotel on show day only to find that construction workers were in there changing out the carpet - it all went well.  All of the artists kicked in and we worked it out.

We have a show in Albuquerque next week, and I find myself beginning to run in circles, even though I have a check list.  I keep writing myself notes, checking items off as they get done, and working on bears all the while.

Luann

I don't think I'd lose much sleep over it.  It seems to me that would be a very foolish move for Microsoft to even considering messing around with Yahoo accounts.  I would think all of those accounts would be very beneficial to them.

JMO - Luann

Thanks for the tour.  I absolutely LOVE your floors.  The floor in the kitchen is just plain fun!  The flooring in the living room is very interesting as well.  Upstairs - there is nothing like wood floors is there?  We are planning on taking all of our carpet out except for the two extra bedrooms.  Wood floors - here we come!

I'd really love to have red cork in my kitchen if possible.

Luann

I think no matter what part of Texas you end up in, it will definitely be warner than where you are.  Ha!  I'm in Austin, and we've been wearing shorts and t-shirts for a while now.  Two days ago, we had to mow the lawn, and spent a good part of the day in the yard yesterday working in the flower beds.  It's been in the high 80s here every day - with some days in the mid 90s.

I've already pulled up all of my poppy plants, as they have come and gone.  I did cut the tops off so that I could harvest the seeds.  The little buggers seem to spread like wildfire, but they sure are pretty, especially when you have 50 or 60 blooming in one spot like I do.  Gotta love those poppies!  Tomorrow, I'll plant my tomatoes, bell peppers, and squash.  Hubby will be planting new blooming plants for his butterfly garden.

It's great here!  What part of Texas are you visiting?  There are lots of TTers in Texas.

Luann

Hi Millie.  Unfortunately, there are not any bear shops in all of Houston, Austin or San Antonio.  There is one shop in Old Town Spring - just north of Houston that carries Boyd's, Gund, etc.  It's called Michelle's.  They do have a nice selection of bears, but none are artist bears.  Old Town Spring is a fun place to visit.  It's a group of old houses that have been turned into shops.  It used to be small and quaint, but now there are hundreds of them.  You might stumble into beads, etc.

If you find yourself in Austin, we have LOTS of fun places to find bear-related stuff - lots of great thrift shops, a yarn shop that carries wool roving for felting, many bead shops, etc..

The last shop that I am aware of in San Antonio that carried bears closed 2 or 3 years ago.  There are a lot of artists here in Austin and San Antonio, however.

If you find yourself in Albuquerque, New Mexico, our yearly show is Sunday, May 18th.  This will be our tenth year there, and we have a great group of artists coming this year, including quite a few from TT.   

Luann

I recently finished up a bear and planned on taking it to a show with me.  A friend had spent the afternoon with me while I worked on it, and e-mailed me after she got back home that evening to say she wanted the bear.  She had taken photos of it to show her husband and he was in agreement that they would take it.  I offered to put it in the mail, but since we were going to see each other at another show in two weeks time, she said to just bring it with me.

At the show, she and her husband both asked if I brought the bear, which I did.  They were going to settle up with me at the end of the day.  I held that bear all day long, and late in the afternoon, she admitted she had purchased a bear from someone else.  The bear she purchased was beautiful, and she got a great deal on it, but I learned a valuable lesson.

I've always said that when money is going to be exchanged, even between friends, it becomes BUSINESS.  Too bad, I didn't follow my own mantra.  I feel certain that I could have sold that bear at the first show, and if not, at the second one.  Now, I don't even want to bother with it.  Maybe I'll keep it as a reminder to myself.

Luann

Perhaps you could try sending her a letter through the regular postal system.  While it seems like a stretch, she might be having computer issues.  My own computer completely died without warning before Christmas.  I ended up having to replace it, but it was close to a month before we were up and running again.  Now, I find myself back in the same situation.  The "windows" program crashed on my NEW computer last weekend.  They still have it, and I'm at the mercy of my husband's laptop.

I had an "issue" with a collector, who promised to make payments on a bear that she took with her at the show.  I had done business with her in the past, and felt she would pay.  After unanswered phone calls and e-mails, she suddenly appeared when I threatened to have her served with a collection notice by the sherrif's department.  I doubt she will buy from me again, but at least she knows where I stand on making payment.

Best of luck.

Luann

Shelli - you are kidding right?  Me?  Hysterical?  Me?  Never.  I was referring to the "hysteria" in general over the whole issue by others not even on TT.

Actually, sometimes my kids think I'm hysterical, but now that I think about it, I'm not sure if they really mean in it a good way.   Hmmm...do you think I should call and ask one of them?  THEN, especially my daughter would think I was hysterical.  (She also thinks that when I try to work on my own website, but that's another story.)  She did however, teach me the difference between "minimize" and "vaporize" when I was learning to use the computer.  NEVER touch the red x in the corner of the screen until you are absolutely sure!

Luann

Hey! No hysteria here.  I try to do as much research as possible when it's something that might affect me and/or the bear world as I know it.  Since the author of the bill happens to be from Texas, and I knew he had an office nearby, I just decided to give them a call.  That's really how it all started.

Yes - I did read the entire bill.  Lots of it is gobblegook, but you can get the gist of the bill if you suffer through it.  Like most bills that are presented, I think there is always a loophole of some kind attached, and someone will be adversely affected.  I think we would all be wise to keep an eye on this particular one, because it could affect us all if it goes through without amendments.

I do, in fact, own the trademark "Lulu Bears" and I do actively protect it.  If I don't actively protect it, I can lose the right to use it.  My trademark basically protects my trade name and the goods I produce under the trade name, just as Kellog's products are protected.

The following was taken directly from my paperwork that I have in my trademark file:

"A Trademark is either a word, a phrase, symbol or design, or combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, which identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods or services of one party from those of others."

"A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work; a patent protects an invention".

Basically, my trademarks protects all goods and/or services that I provide under the name of Lulu Bears.  I copyright artwork as well, but suppose I'm also protected by the trademark should the copyright fail for some reason.

While you are certainly offered more protection with a trademark, it is not a venture that I would lightly advise everyone to undertake.  It involves time, money, attorneys (even though you can do it yourself) and follow-up, along with additional fees to keep the mark registered.  You have to be able to provide continuous use of the trademark if it is contested.  It seems to be as tangled an issue as the Orphan Works issue.

I'm assuming the Mr. Doggett will give a polite answer and promise to "look into it and get back to us", because he probably won't know anything about it off the top of his head.  I'll keep you posted.

Luann

When I read the original post last night, I went to the link that Shelli provided and read it in it's entirety, including all of the comments posted.  Bleary-eyed, I finally went to bed, and got up early this morning to do my own research.

I started by looking up the original bill, which was introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas.  (Go figure, since I'm from Texas!)  The original bill is HR 6052 and is called the Copyright Modernization Act of 2006.  The original bill is about 100 pages long and is online for anyone to be able to view. 

I called Rep. Smith's office in Austin this morning and inquired about the bill.  They referred me to his Washington office, which I called.  The information I was given was that the bill was introduced into the 109th Congress on September 12 of 2006 as the Copyright Modification Act and was referred to the House Committee on Judiciary Issues.  It never even made it to the floor and the bill effectively "died".  To their knowledge, this is a "dead issue" and Rep. Smith is not going to try to re-introduce it.  This does not mean that someone else can't re-introduce it.

They did turn my request for information as to whether the bill was going to be re-introduced over to a Legislative aide.  They took my phone number and said they would look into it and return my call.  I suspect it may take a day or two for a return call.  I made the same call for information to the office of Howard Berman, the representative from California, who is the chairman of the sub-committee regarding the bill.

I then called the Washington office of my own representative - Lloyd Doggett.  They took down all of the information, and will give it to one of their Legislative aides to research.  They indicated it would take about 2 weeks to get back to me.  Lloyd Doggett will be here in town on Saturday, and will be taking questions from the public.  I have a show the same day, but my husband is going to see him, and I've asked him to inquire about the Orphan Works Bill.

On the internet, you can look up any and all bills being introduced.  You can look them up by keywords or the bill number.  Call your representatives directly and ask for them to research it.  If they don't get back to you, call them again.

I do have some concerns about this particular bill (if it gets re-introduced), but for now am relying on having a trademark issued by the Federal Government to protect my name and work.  I'm not sure that there is much that can trump a trademark - including this particular bill.  If it turns out that I'm incorrect, you will probably see a huge uprising from everyone that has paid for a trademark and worked their buns off to protect it.

Luann

Hi.  My daughter is travelling to Canada next month with her friend and will be in the Victoria/Vancouver area for about 2 weeks.  She has searched websites, and checked out Frommer's, but is interested in what the "locals" might suggest to do.

They would like to find out about favorite eateries, interesting places to visit that might be otherwise unknown or not found in online searches.  They will have a car, and are going to be staying at some hostels along the way. 

A trip to Whistler is definitely in the plans.  Any suggestions or hints on travelling by ferry, must-sees, etc.  I'd appreciate any help that might be offered up.

I went to the same area about 5 years ago, but it was on a cruise, and fairly structured.  I managed to sneak away on a few occasions and found some delightful carved wooden bears that I had shipped back.  I'm sure things have changed, and thought this would be a good place to ask.

Luann

Hi Richy.  I'm fortunate enough to have two featherweights.  One is in need of a few minor repairs, but the other is used almost daily.  When I purchased the first one, I had the electrical cord replaced and had a new belt put on it.  Other than that, I've never had to do anything other than routine maintenance to it.  I cut a piece of felt that I put under the pressure foot when I'm finished sewing.  The felt piece is long enough to cover the little button on the left side.  I did this so that when I fold up the extension to put it back in the case, it the little button won't mar the extension.  I've seen a lot of these machines with a little wear mark on the extension from the button rubbing against it.  I always wipe my machine off with a soft cotton cloth and no cleaners of any kind.  I do use canned air to clean out the underneath where the bobbin is. 

I keep my stitch length at about 10 - 12 stitches per inch.  That seems to be just about right for every type of fabric and mohair I sew.  I never - ever fiddle with the bobbin tension on this machine.

The little book you got is invaluable (and hard to come by).  It has all the information you'll ever need.

Enjoy your new machine!  They are PRICEY here - going for hundreds of dollars!

Luann

Thanks for the info.  I thought the identity of the bidders was only hidden on items over a certain dollar amount.  None of the stuff I was looking at was even remotely high dollar.  One item started at $39 and every single bid showed a bidder id like I was describing, except for the last one, who was the winner.

Just seems a bit strange to hid the identity of the bidders until after the auction is over, and then see the real identity of the winner.  Ah, the electronic world!

Luann

I've been watching some items on e-Bay and noticed that some of the bidder ids were something like e***f.   The more items I looked at, the more I noticed that the bidders all had exactly the same style user id.  Always a letter, then 3 asterisks followed by another letter.  The weird part is, if you looked at all of the bidders on a particular item, every single one of them had the same style user id.  None of them were anything different like bearbabe02 or iluvbears, etc.  (These are just made up names - hopefully not real.)  This same id pattern was showing up on just about everything I looked at, and almost without exception, all of the bidders were different.

Is it just a coincidence that hundreds of bidders have this type of id or is this a new sort of scam that is startng?

Luann

Hi Bobbie!  I'm a "wheatie" collector too!  I have no idea how many I have.  My hubby's grandmother collected them and we ended up with her collection.  She had some other old coins as well, some very old, which are very interesting. 

I didn't see the program about tracking the bills, but the premise is fascinating.

Thanks for the heads up!

Luann

Sue Ann,
That is a pretty neat Camo bear.  It would look neat next to UGBunn.  You should think about bringing "IT" to Albuquerque or / and Austin.

Jeff

Wow!  Talk about wacky weather!  Sue Ann and I live about 3 hours apart, and I'm in shirt sleeves this afternoon.  the only reason I put on shoes today was because it was raining when I went to the mailbox.

I guess I'd better take a look at the weather, as I may need to bring my plants in for the night.

Luann

I think this piece is just adorable!  Besides, who doesn't love bunnies and weenie dogs?  A great combination!

Luann

I work with my hubby doing outside construction during the summer and spend 10 hours a day in the sweltering hot Texas sun!  I'm fair skinned, and no matter how much sunscreen I put on (and I use a lot of it), I'm usually as brown as a bean by the end of the first day.  I'm very conscious of using sunscreen, but when it's over 100 degrees, every time you wipe your face or arms, the sunscreen is gone.  Luckily, I've had no problems yet, but my husband has had several lesions removed.  Not sure if there's a real answer for those in our situation.

We were at the Grand Canyon on Friday and the temperature was about 19 degrees.  (It was 3 degrees Saturday morning.)  Anyway...guess who got a tanned face?  I guess the combination of sun and the reflection off the snow was what did it this time.

Luann