Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

CONGRATULATIONS Penney  :clap:  :clap:  :clap: You're Polar Bear was fantastic, a real winner.  Look forward to seeing your bear in December.  I heard on Saturday that my entry had been chosen, I had convinced myself that seeing most people had already heard, I hadn't been successful.  This is my first competition entry, so it's all very scary, but also very exciting too.  GOOD LUCK 

CONGRATULATIONS Samantha  :clap:  :clap:  :clap: , you must be really excited.  I too received my letter on Saturday, I was convinced as so many had already heard, that I hadn't been successful, this is my first competition entry and had no idea what to expect, but now I'm really excited.  Look forward to seeing you and your lovely bears in December.  Good luck to everyone.  can't wait for December!

Great looking bear Connie, she was worth all the work. Love her.

Aw Mikki, Patrick is wonderful, such a great expression and amazing colourings.  Fantastic felting, how do you do it?

Hi Shelli, I had a studio a few years ago which I shared with my husband, he makes cut glass sculptures and I was glass engraving at the time.  We had a very generous landlord who owned a bespoke furniture company and allowed us to supplement our rent by doing odd jobs around the building, painting fire escapes, walls etc.  Unfortunaltely we found that having our own space specifically for our art seemed to totally stop us from being creative and in the end we gave it up and went back to working from home. 
The best idea I have seen here in Bath is a local artist group BANA which rent out small workshop spaces inside an old auction house.  This seems to work well for most people as it also keeps the rent down as so many people share the same bills.  If there is somewhere close by, perhaps this could be an option for you?
I have found I am at my most creative at home, but the main thing that annoys me is having to stop every 5 minutes to do dinner/lunch/tea/school runs/cleaning etc. I wish I could be able to just get on with my bearmaking, and school holidays are just a major no no.
Perhaps one day I can have the space at home and have a dedicated room I could go too....I'll have to get bear making and earn more money to move  back to the mohair!
Hope you have better luck.

Thanks to you all for such a wonderful show  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap: I really enjoyed my visit to the show and being able to see such wonderful bears for sale from all over the globe.  WELL DONE EVERYONE, hope you've all caught up on your sleep.

Bad luck Sandra, that must be really annoying to say the least.   I hope you can get this resolved, perhaps you should give the auction site a go and report this rogue seller, they really should have some sort of system to stop people from ripping artists off.  Hopefully you'll be able to get the sale suspended and the seller barred.

WELL DONE Lisa, many congratulations, what a great idea I hope she does well for you, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.  Just popping off to have a look at the other nominees.

Hi Charlotte, welcome to the forum.  I'm not an expert on this sort of thing but personnally I prefer to work with a small embroidery needle (approx 1") to do my sewing, as all my bears are hand-sewn.  I have never worked with 20mm mohair, but have used long synthetic fabrics and have worked quite happily in this way.  I think it's what you feel most comfortable with. You might find the needle difficult to find amongst all that fur though! I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice on this subject.  Good luck with your bear, can you post a picture when you've finished ? I'd love to see it.

Thanks for those Judi and congratulations to you both on second place :clap:

Thanks for those Tammy, wonderful pictures.  You are really fortunate to have such wonderful scenery around you.  I love autumn, it's my favourite time of the year.  I think it's the beautiful range of colours you get in the leaves.  Where were the photos taken?  Things are starting to change slowly here in the UK, it all seems a lot later this year, probably due to the wet and dismal summer! Loved the little critter 

Brilliant. Thanks for those it's always good to have a laugh!!!!!!

Hi Kathy, Your mouse is fantastic  , incredibly cute, love the little arms and feet!

Hi Mikki,
Rosie is wonderful she has such a lovely expression, very realistic.  I especially like the fact she's made over wire which allows her to be posistioned.  Great work 

Brilliant work Chloe, I love him, the colours and texture of the fur in wonderful, your customer will adore him.

CONGRATULATIONS Samantha, Benjamin is stunning.  Sorry to hear your news about your job, I hope something comes along quickly for you.

CONGRATULATIONS Jane and Samantha, love the bear Jane she's adorable Well Done to you all you must be really proud!!!

Thankyou Jane for all your wonderful photos, It was great to see the fair and to see so many fantastic Bears under one roof.  I am hoping I will be able to attend the next one in Feb. as it looks great fun  
I followed the link from another forum and discovered a whole new Teddy Bear world and have just joined up.  Looking forward to meeting everyone.