Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Great suggestions Laura!

I'm wondering, do you have to have a merchant account with PayPal in order to generate live buttons for your website? I do have a merchant account so can't try it without. There are fees involved on transactions like you'd pay for a credit card service but no monthly fee. It's quite affordable. Once you open a merchant account you can create custom "Buy now" buttons with instructions on how to insert them onto your web page. It takes reading and doing and some time but I find people are more apt to buy right then and there if they can rather than having to email back and forth. If you don't want to take the time to learn all that then adding the info similar to what Laura suggested on your "order" page is a great idea. On the listing page for each bear you could put at the end: "Click here for ordering information" with a link to your order page.

That's why I said that a collar is "their only tracking option". Of course there are other options out there. Perhaps in the future......

Dr. Rogers has said Hope is still too small for a collar which is their only tracking option from what I understand. I've thought about them taking her in to the center and raising her. That would be TOTALLY intervening and defeat the whole "Hope Study" though. However it would give us all a first hand look at what is involved with raising and releasing a bear cub so all wouldn't be totally lost I guess.

I'm sure Lynn and Sue are at just as much of a loss here. We just have to wait....... hate that...... I'm not a patient person!

Hope is missing.......... again............

I'm beginning to like it better when I wasn't aware of what went on the wild! This is so stressful and mainly because we're witnessing events we have no prior knowledge of to know if this is "normal" bear behavior or not. We apply our human emotions and child rearing beliefs to the circumstances but that may not be the appropriate thing to do as these are wild bears we're dealing with... not humans. I'd like to think they have similar instincts but we don't now!

If Lily and Hope get reunited again I think they need to be tied together until next spring. Parents get "leashes" for their kids but in this case I think Hope needs a leash for her Mom.

Trying to understand the relationship between adult bears is a hard one for us to grasp too... and apparently also for Lily. The fact her own mom doesn't want her anywhere near by is heart breaking to us though natural in the wild. I haven't read what a territorial bear might do to another momma bear's cub.... and I don't think I want to know.

I agree with everyone else.... it looks great..... attach it to the body and get it stuffed and I bet the double chin you see will disappear. If it doesn't THEN do more trimming!

What size eyes did you end up using? I hope one of the pairs I sent you worked. His eyes look great here!

They have her!!! YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!
Now to find Lily. Wonder if they can put a mini GPS on Hope now that they have her? I haven't been able to keep up with all the Facebook chatter so don't know if this has been discussed. I haven't read it in any of Sue or Lynn's posts though.

What if Lily doesn't accept Hope? This isn't quite over until there's a happy reunion. At least Hope will be well cared for by Lynn and staff if Lily rejects her.

Living in black bear country myself I saw a sight this morning that left me both happy and in tears. I saw a momma bear cross a semi busy country road while the 5 or so cars near by slowed to a stop (we do that here... see wildlife and every one comes to a screaching halt to watch until they are totally out of sight) and shortly two little cubs came waddling across the road behind her. It's was just so precious to see. They seemed to be trying to chase eachother and play at the same time they crossed the road, not a care in the world. Mom disappeared in the woods while the little ones continued their silliness at the edge of the road. Just so adorable!

Then I remembered Hope.....

There's just so much we never knew and still don't know about how wildlife lives, behaves, what's normal, what's not.... and unfortunately and also fortunately we are learning with the experts so don't have answers until things have unfolded. We have to be prepared for things to happen differently and animals to behave differently than they would in the human world. I really hope Hope is OK though. She's introduced us to so many new and facinating things... her job has only just begun.

I keep checking too.... and not giving up Hope....

Cleaning instructions for Prefurs synthetic fur is on their website:
http://www.prefurs.com/articles/how-to- … ux-fur.htm
.

Sorry guys, no mystery, no drama. I deleted the thread. I started it so I had to the choice to delete it. I'd simply wanted to share news I received about a big sale on Tissavel as I know many people on TT use synthetic fur. I'm very sorry that it turned into the mess it did!

The thread became a run away train serving no purpose, offering nothing productive and potentially harming an otherwise highly reputable business over one mistake. I agree those who received fur from a recent shipment affected by moisture were rightfully disappointed and inconvenienced. Seeking a resolution with Prefurs was the right thing to do as a consumer. And as a customer service oriented business they publicly announced the cause of the problem, taking ownership, and provided those with affected fur the option to contact them to receive a refund including shipping. Some who were shipped the offending fur were credited without even contacting the company. In most cases the fur didn't even have to be returned! Prefurs tried to do all they could to make their customers happy. There really is nothing left to discuss.

Unfortunately the negativity towards Prefurs didn't stop even after one of their representatives joined TT to address everyone numerous times in effort to resolve the issue with members here. Because of the conversation, some may even mistake the smell of chemicals/dyes/etc. used during the processing for the mildew odor, causing unnecessary concern. Prefurs reputation doesn't need to be destroyed over this. Rodney (from Prefus) even expressed his concern about the thread haunting them in one of his posts. They are resolving the problem the best they possibly can given the circumstances. If you have a problem with an order you've received take it up with someone who can do something about it. Contact Prefurs. Their website is: www.Prefurs.com Their email is: info@prefurs.com and their phone number is: 800-962-0320

I don't think any of us would want a unintentional mistake of ours to be posted publicly on a forum and beaten to a pulp, threatening our reputation and business. Especially not if we'd already acknowledged the error and done everything in our power to resolve it.

Nope... I'm just a little behind in sharing pictures!

Thanks, girls!
Debbie - I just posted him yesterday... you didn't miss anything!

Wonderful photo... all 3 of you look fantastic! What a gorgeous job you both did with the bear!

Mom has a carin terrier named Angus and this little guy's face has a very similar expression so naming him was easy!
Angus the bear is about 10 inches tall and made of hand dyed schulte mohair. It's been a couple of years since I made a bear especially for mom. She absolutely loves Angus bear, especially his color.... and best of all, he doesn't beg, have to be taken out or yip!

She has the sweetest expression. Love that fur too! Best of luck at the fair!

Your article was the best part of this whole issue, Mireille! Congratulations! It's always fun to see your bears and to learn more about you in this article made your work even more special!

Don't get me started on the manufactured bear on the cover thing. I called Laura the second I got my issue a few days ago in a tirade over that. I've been so supportive of the US magazines over the years through subscriptions, advertising $$ and being sure they were represented at the shows I organize but I've gotta tell you... it is getting very hard to continue that support for a miriad of reasons. We need them, they need us but something isn't working any more. Too much focus on manufactured and antique bears in my opinion. We need an "Art Bear Quarterly" in similar quality and focus on artists as the Stampington magazine called "Art Doll Quarterly" gives doll artists. They don't lump artist dolls in with manufactured dolls. They treat artist made dolls as art with value and originality.... an entirely separate entity from manufactured dolls. Like I said, don't get me started!

Mireille, thank you for sharing your art with us!!!!  :hug:

I don't know the names of knots but what I do for tying eye floss/thread together is to bring the ends together then tie a knot as if it was one piece of thread. Just like you'd do to anchor thread when closing up seams. I usually do a double knot to be sure it doesn't slip because if you are using sinew it does tend to slip. Make sense?

If you see a pattern you like the looks of but the head isn't quite big enough all you need to do is enlarge the head pieces until it's the size you want it!

Alison, I use the "C" quality and I belive Laura does too. I have massive amounts of it that I'm trying to get rid of. I sent you a PM in case you're interested!

Scissor trimming the face. Shading. Brushing. Those finishing touches.

I used to love doing noses best. I'm sure if I looked back at the last time we discussed this that would have been my answer. But I don't seem to be able to do noses to suit me any more.

Yes, Jane. You can't come asking us a question like that with out explaining yourself! 

I've heard that Morning Glory is no longer being made. Not sure if that's true or not but would explain why it's nearly impossible to find. Isn't Morning Glory similar in texture to Mountain Mist? Have you tried it? You can get Mountain Mist at www.JoAnn.com (JoAnn Fabrics)

Like Gail, I buy direct from Airtex which is where you end up by following the links in Gail's post above. LOVE that stuff because it's silky soft and bouncy. Not good for noses but I use stuffing from Montery Mills for that. However Airtex is VERY different from Morning Glory and if that's what you like, you won't like Airtex.

I'd try some Mountain Mist if you haven't. 

You might find these links to recent discussions on magazines helpful:
http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=34623
http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=34579

Personally, I get the paper version of both US mags... Friends and Review. Friends comes out 4 times a year, Review 6 and the subscription rates aren't bad at all. I also subscribe to the imag version of Review and England's Teddy Bear Times.

Shanna - Edinburgh ships with both UPS and USPS and they'll ship the least expensive way depending on weight/size of box once order is packed (unless you have a preference and let them know)and they charge actual shipping plus $2.50 handling which I find very fair given they package everything very carefully.... eyes in bubble wrap, etc. Intercal and Edinburgh are pretty much it for suppliers in the US. Shipping charges, no matter where you order from and be it bear supplies or shoes or whatever, seems to have gotten to be outrageous!

Cute! Cute! Cute!

From someone who can't STAND perfume smells and hates receiving smelly bears/dolls/fabric.... try to avoid smelly sparys, dryer sheets, etc. Fresh air is the way to go - no question! Put those totes out in the sun for a couple of days too!

I've got a couple of plastic totes that STINK! I keep dishes in them now that won't absorb the odor and will have a spin in the diswasher before use anyway. Try buying a different brand... they don't ALL stink.