Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

A total cutie! Adorable little face
michelle

    Oliver is stunning I love William Reddington too (great name) Your bears are all wonderful such personality and beautiful fabrics/ attention to detail
michelle

I'm with Vicki great nose and muzzle shaping and I also like his eyebrows
michelle

Well done Tony! Your bear looks Fantastic That's it now you are officially a bear maker. Can't wait to see your next....
michelle

Oh hello that's a surprise! That's my boys with Peter  Can't understand German but still thrilled,  its the first time my bears have been in any kind of publication. Thank you Peter  It is because of collectors like you that so many of us can continue to do what we love and help keep the bear community fresh and exciting. It is great that you have been recognised in this article well done! We always appreciate your comments and support
michelle

Isn't nature just wonderful!
michelle

I love to pictures of peoples hugs! Great trio Becky Harrold's my favourite (but don't tell the others    )
michelle

Thank you Thelma, Francy, Sue and Vicki!  Your very kind x
michelle

this is a little bunny I did before Christmas but have only just got round to photograph.


Grandpa Lincoln
Bunnies live life in the fast lane so at only 2 years old Lincoln is a great grandpa several times over. The good thing is he was able to take early retirement to spend time with all the grand bunnies. Not that he gets chance to take it easy he sometimes thinks that he is busier now than when he was at work! As he loves his fruit and veg’ he likes to invent new ideas for delicious juices and smoothies and of course the little ones come in handy to be his gunny pigs.
michelle

    Stunning cat! Superb shading/colouring!
michelle

Beautiful bear!
micelle

Very nice!
michelle

    So sweet! and how cute is that baby bear!
michelle

Beautiful colours and style quite Art Deco in a way. I just had a go at crochet again after 20 years and discovered I am rubbish at it lol so I am in extra awe of your amazing skill with the hook!
michelle

No surprise she sold so quickly wonderful bear Sarah J!
michelle

I do like the doll/animal cross. What is the correct term for these originally do you know? great work lovely faces
michelle

beautiful!
michelle

I know its a bit Heath Robinson but I fashion my 'light box' out of a clothes hoarse and a white sheet on the kitchen table. I looked in to buying a light box but thought it would be too small for bigger bears (btw how do others manage the bigger bear shoots?) but for the same reason as Jenbee I did invest in some good lights. Joanne your so lucky having all that natural daylight and I am loving the work in progress shots.
Just another thing on postage - be careful of the 'with another item' as I stupidly just added a bit of extra reasoning that two bears going together would be cheaper and also a way of offering a bit of a discount for some one buying two. The thing is if someone buys a mini with say £10 postage first and then adds another item a big bear who could be as much as £50 to post that's where you can come unstuck but if it was the other way round the mini could easily go in with the big bear for free. I suppose it depends on if your bears are roughly the same size or not. I really like having an etsy shop but I think you have to put a lot of marketing in to get the best out of it which I am planning to work on this year.
Looking forward to your shop opening Gail let us all know when and I will pop in for some support     
michelle

Oh I love ginger kittens! My last cat was a ginger tom he was the best   
michelle

I am sure you will enjoy doing a bear fair it is great experience and a good opportunity to meet bear artist and collectors. I have only done two so my experience is from a newbee point of view.
How many bears really depends on the size of bear you are taking and the sort of look you want to go for. What I did was do a mock up on my kitchen table with bears that I already had (not all my own creation) so I had an idea of the minimum amount I needed to make and then later on did a mock up again so I had an idea of how to display them and for a quicker set up on the day. You will need a sheet/material to cover the top and at least 3 sides and some kind of display to give different heights. I would say 8 small/medium size is the absolute minimum but it is better to take as many as you have even if you keep them under the table to replace the ones sold.
I wouldn't bother investing in a card net machine for your first show most collectors bring cash or I think you can do a sale (make sure it as instant payment) on your smart phone if you know how to do it.  I took a cash float of £80 in £5 £10 notes.
I didn't have a sign, left it to the last push and ran out of time but wish I had. I think it is important for people to know who you are unless your bears are so well recognised that you don't need one.
Bags- plain paper bags lovely colours with handles can be bought at hobby craft or if you lucky you might find some nice bear gift bags in the pound/cheaper card shops. It is much cheaper to buy on line in bulk but it depends how many you will need. I got mine from http://www.shopfittings-ltd.co.uk/ as they did small amounts and it was easy for me to go into their shop and choose and save on postage.
The first fair I did I was very nervous and didn't have much confidence to talk to anybody but the second I enjoyed much more as I knew what to expect. I think bear fairs have to be viewed as a PR exercise as well as sales. If you can drum up promotion before the show this also helps.
Anyway good luck which one are you thinking of doing maybe I could come along and say hello  ?
michelle

  Beautiful bear and quite a large one for you
michelle

All three are amazing but this is my favourite! Stunning work as always!
michelle

michelle

Your bears have such lovely little faces!
michelle

    Makes me smile love his spotty nose
michelle