Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Yes Murrieta. We have lived here for 20 years.  Where about are you Jenn?

Melisa I had to laugh at your post. :crackup:
Kids are like potato chips, you can't have just one!! Sounds like you have been triple blessed.

Jenn,
What a beautiful son you have!!! Just precious! 

The best thing about being a Mom for me was watching the humor develop in my child.
I was always a cut up as a kid and would put on shows for my family and in my spare time as an adult I was a comedian and worked the clubs in Hollywood with some wonderful comedians such as Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg and Roseanne Barr.
I love the things that little ones say. )  :clap:
I remember when my daughter (now almost 21) was about 4 years old and I told her we were going to go through her belongings and give away stuff she no longer used or had out grown to Goodwill, a charity organization here in the US. You would have thought I was ripping her heart out!!!    I could understand some of the toys but shoes? Outgrown dresses, pants and coats?  She was in tears over having to part with any of it! It wasn't like I was asking her to part with a beloved teddy bear or her old tattered blanket!!!
My Mother called as we were right in the middle of sorting and Rebecca ratted me out!! With my Mom on the phone she was barely able to catch her breath as she sobbed and said "Grandma!! Mommy is giving all my stuff away to good ol' Will!!" :crackup:
I will always cherish the innocents of youth.
I was unable to give birth to my own biglocial child and Rebecca is adopted. I will always be grateful I was given the opportunity to be a Mom.
No complaints here. 

Sorry to rattle on..........

Oh Boy!! So many interesting and well thought out replies. :)
As many of you know I'm a collector not a bear artist. However most of my over 300 hundred bears are artist bears, just a few antiques and a couble of Steiff.
So speaking as a collector when I find an auction with a bear I like and know nothing about the artist I research her/him. I do most of my buying on eBay and from the artist's website. I have only been to 4 bear shows. So with that said I rely on the photos, reputation of the artist and what she says about herself regarding not just her awards but the materials she uses, techniques, and how she became an artist and what inspires her. Yes I do read everything she has to say. Everything. As it has been pointed out collectors are not dummies and know how to find a good bear. Seasoned collectors can look at a picture and tell if it's a quality bear. But nothing gets my fur up more than an artist saying she is an award winning artist when she is indeed not. As said here shows/competitions have their own way of scoring and awarding but I feel it is up to the artist to not misrepresent herself. Not for me to try and figure out if she has been truly awarded. Does award winning persuade me? I would be lying if I said it did not. But that doesn't mean by any stretch that I buy only from winning artist. This is just one part of what I look for in a bear.
What really is difficult for me is the whole process of awarding. It brings back such irritating memories for me!! Back in the mid nineties when I was coaching my daughters baseball teams we had to give every child on the team a trophy. We were not allowed to keep score so no team lost. We were not allowed to give the player with the most hits a "High Five" without giving every player one. What were we teaching our kids? That you can never lose? or feel good that you did the best you could do? Or realize your mistakes and work on them? That there are no players that are better at batting or some that are better at catching? That life is always fair? That you don't have to work hard to be better at what you do or to improve yourself?
I saw an auction a few months ago and the artist included her ribbon for the bear. And in the title of the auction the artist said "Award Winning Bear". The pictured ribbon which was the award said "Cutest smile". Huh? Don't get me wrong the bear had a cute smile but did it have to get an award? Or was it just a token award? Yes it was a ribbon and the artist called it an award. I don't think for one minute all bears have to be award winners but if it's going to be advertised in the auction or website I want to see a bear that has won "Best in Show" or best in the category in which they entered. 2nd place is fine too or runner up.
Are there such categories as "Cutest Smile", "Sweetest Nose" and Most Darling Eyes"?
Sounds too much like "No One Loses" to me. 

Thank you for the link.

I'll take the second one from the left.

Beautiful red Abyssinians!!!!! 
I raised and showed Abbys in the late 80's early 90's. Such a great cat!!! I miss em!! 

Oh I won't tell you what I was doing tonight. It's not too kind to the rodent community.
Cute picture though.

Thank you for the info. 
Sad indeed but what really gets me in an up roar is the many commercial pet food companies that use ingredients in their food such as euthanized cats and dogs. Unthinkable but it is true.   
I have spent many years investigating and fact finding and it makes me sick to my stomach!!
If I may recommend two books;
Food Pets Die For (Shocking Facts About Pet Food) by Ann N. Martin and Stop The Shots! (Are Vaccinations Killing Our Pets?) By John Clifton.
I have several copies and if anyone is interested in reading them please contact me. I will send you a copy free of charge. Free shipping too. All I ask is you share and spread the word. I have no monetary gain from these books and I buy them by the dozens with my own money. That's how strong I feel about these two subjects .

Oh that's a good one Nancy!!
I use to look for bears in the walls of my hospital rooms.

It reminds me of my 120 pound Rottweiler who thought he was a lap dog!! 
I love big dogs that don't know they are big!

Sue,
Faith is a Chow mix that walks on her 2 hind legs. I got to meet Faith and she is a great dog!! So very sweet. She actually had 3 legs but the front one was deformed and atrophied and was amputated. The 2 Chihuahua's that I know of have both back legs. I have never seen one with only 2 front legs. :)
I'm so glad Jude is taking this little pup. I can't think of a better home for him.   
Thanks for sharing this story Tami. 

What's really sad Krista is someone had to of turned you in. Some people have nothing better to do with their time I guess. 
Of course I will re bid.
Thanks for the heads up. 

Oh how funny!!  :crackup:
I have one of those in my front flower bed. I have no idea why because my neighbors dogs can't read! 

I will Melisa.  :hug:

Oh another cutie!! I love those Pandas! 
Especially the one on your profile. Gee I wonder why.....

Good one Jane!
I'm surprised the goat isn't eating it! 

I know I wouldn't mind getting one of your bears Joanne and I'm sure neither would any of the artist who participate. 
I guess I'm going to have to make bears if I'm ever going to be so lucky as to join in.

Thank you Melisa.
Like you said until eBay your bears sat on a shelve.  And your bears, I should know because I have bid and won from you sell really well on eBay. 

Bottom line is if you don't like eBay don't use it.
Selling on eBay has provided many artist with a great avenue to sell their bears and making many some great money! There's always going to be complaints but you don't throw the baby out with the bath water.
As a collector I won't buy from any sites other than eBay and the artists' personal website. I like the ease of eBay, the security it provides me and quite frankly the draw of the auction and the competition to be the winning bidder is fun. And for me there is no other site that provides that. But I'm just a collector who has spent over $250,000.00 in the last 5 years. What do I know!!!

Beautiful creations everyone!!! 

He must of thought they needed a new couch!!!!!:)

Melisa how sad! 
I have heard many many stories about things dogs will eat but that tops them all! I'm so sorry!

She looks like a Becca to me.

Amen Denise! 

I questioned that statement. I can understand if they were being killed off in record numbers but from what I understood they were trying to kill a few rogue coyotes that were attacking adults and teenagers. Most that would consider attacking humans go for small children and pets. I worked for Animal Control for several years before becoming a pet shop owner and groomer and have a degree in animal behavior and in all my training I have never heard of such a thing....
I'm sure I will be corrected...