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PennsylvaniaMost of you guys are Bear makers but what about Bear collectors?
We are collectors. Melanie's mom makes Bears occasionally but the vast majority of our Bears are adopted.
Our hug has quite a few members.
We were wondering about other Bear collectors.
How many Bears live in your den?
How long have you been collecting.
Do you have a specialty?
Us Bears want to know! 
Country BearsHello Us Bears!! :hug:
Here at this den we have between 40-50 bears (have lost count and the kids are sleeping so I can't get an exact figure!) LOL!! They are a mixture of artist and mainly old bears. I guess I've been collecting since 1996 (ish). I don't know what they get up to at night but very often they have fallen over when I see them the next morning! 
YorkshireHello Us Bears!
I bought my first artist bear in 1989 when I walked into a bear shop and fell in love with my first mohair bear. I was then hooked and continued adding to my hug until I had my first child in 1997 then I stopped buying artist bears (but I never stopped buying cuddlies )
I started buying artist bears again about 18 months ago but like most, I have to be more careful with my pennies now and I am limited to one (reasonably priced one) a year. This is the reason that I started to make my own bears last year and am happy to continue this as my hobby.
I have about 35 artist bears, three Charlie Bears and ALOT of cuddlies in my hug and my eldest daughter (now 11) has two artist bears and two Charlies bears and a bedroom crammed full of cuddlies. My youngest has so many cuddlies you can't see her in bed!
I couldn't possibly say which is my favourite (THEY might read this 
) but I am thrilled have some bears from TTers (two bears from Kim, two from Pauline (Valewood Bears), and two from Mandie (Honey Pot Bears)) and I am the proud owner of two mawpaws bears and madabout bears (I think I have a thing about getting two from each artist )
Well you did ask! Hugs Ali x 
Apple Dumpling DesignsI started my collection of artist bears/friends in 2004/05. I have about 28 bears/friends (mostly bears) ranging from 4 inches to 16 inches...but most of them are in the 6 - 12 inch range which is what I seem to prefer. I have several favorites...I rotate them around on my nightstand so they don't get jealous. Right now I have two sneaky little ones I know are raiding my pantry at night (you artists out there know who you are...what did you tell them before sending them my way...huh?)
Now...I've don't throw stones at me but I've actually been considering putting a few of my bears up for adoption as my tastes have changed since I began this adventure and I think these bears deserve a new mom/dad that will love them as much as I did in the beginning and not just them sit in the same place EVERY DAY. Okay...I'm ducking now but I did say "considering"!!!
Happy Hugs,
Hi Us Bears!
I've lost count of how many I have in my collection but I reckon it must be around 50+ 
I've been collecting since 1995 and the bears range in size and just about all of them are artist bears with just a few Steiff, Merrythought and a very old Farnell.
I don't have any favourites as I love them all 
Though I make bears myself it is still a joy and thrill to own others - wouldn't have it any other way
Hugs Lyn
PennsylvaniaWell... Okay... Here goes...
I met Melanie in 1994.
At very first, she said, "I have something to tell you..."
I thought she was going to tell me she had a terrible disease or something like that. But, instead she told me she had a large Teddy Bear collection. My reaction was, "Oh? Is THAT all?"
When I visited her house for the first time, the first three words out of my mouth were, "Oh! My God!"
She had several hundred Bears in her collection! We don't know exactly how many.
We lost count at somewhere between 600 and 700.
Yes, I said seven HUNDRED! :wacko:
I have always loved Bears but never got into collecting them until we met.
I worked at F.A.O Schwarz (the toy store) during college. During that time I bought one Bear. The toy soldier Bear, of course. He has always lived on the dresser in my bedroom as my "mascott" ever since.
We've been together for 14, going on 15, years now. We've been married for 6.
Every holiday, birthday and special occasion brings another Bear or two into the Den.
For Christmas, there are at least 10-12 new Bears. For Birthdays, there are one or two. Wedding anniversary... A Bear. Valentine's day... Easter... Sweetest Day... You guessed it! More Bears!
This does not include Bears that others give us as gifts. Nor does it include "rescue" Bears... Bears we find at places like the Salvation Army Store, etc. Then, of course, there are the "Just Because" Bears.
We adopt, probably, somewhere between 20 and 30 Bears per year.
At that rate, we have somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 Bears living in our house!
(If you counted Christmas tree ornaments and other "Bearaphenalia", that number would be even higher!)
There are all sorts of Bears living here. There are store bought and artist Bears. There are Dakins, Gunds, Steiffs. We even have a Patchkin Bear, the 1991 Golden Teddy. She's Bear #100/100. Signed by the artist.
We have SO MANY Bears we just don't know what to do anymore.
There are Bears in almost every room of the house!
Except for the bathroom (humidity) and the kitchen. (cooking odors) But we do have "Bearaphenalia" in the kitchen and the bathroom is done up in rubber duckies.
(Teddy Bears need to have pets, too, don'cha know! 
)
One of the things we really need to do is catalog them all and get an official head count but with so many Bears, it's a difficult task.
We tried asking them to all count off, starting at one, but they all raided their paws and shouted out, "One!" at the same time.
We also really need to get a handle on "Den Management."
There are 1,000-plus Bears here who all need to be dusted, gently brushed and given some attention.
So, if any of you guys out there have large hugs, we'd like to hear your tips on Den Management.
Oh! By the way... Just in case you think I'm full of fluff...
CLICK HERE for a partial view of our Bear Den.
That's not all of them.
There are too many of them to fit into pictures like that. Besides, there are a few who don't like to have their picture taken.
(Valuable, sentimental or special meaning, etc. - Of course, you're not going to see the Bears who live in the bedroom with us, either.)
I figure about 2/3 of our Bears are represented in these pictures.
What a wonderful collection.
A picture of some of mine.
Wendy I hope you see where my Puddles is sitting.
Lynette
First, I love the story of when you and Melanie met... and you met her bears. That's a great one! Wow those were great pictures, what a wonderful collection! I LOVE your bear room... and the "trees" where the bears hang out
My den is around 125 - 150 bears (& friends) I think. 3/4 or more of those are artist bears. My smallest bear is 1" tall.... my largest is a wonderful 22" Heidi Steiner bear.
In addition to the bears, I also collect bunnies - actually as a child it was bunnies I collected!
My collection also contains several dogs and puppies, and I have just started a collection of lions! Judy Eppolito's lion started all of that ;)
I have bears from many TT members... and am still working on adding more! I add bears to my collection at bear shows and on the internet.
One of my favorite past times is to change around my bear display. When we looked at buying our current house several years ago, I asked my husband "So, where would your diecast model collection go... and where would my bears go?" Yes, we bought our house based on where I would display my bears :crackup:
PennsylvaniaYes, we bought our house based on where I would display my bears :crackup:
We did too!
When we were house shopping we even turned down a couple of places because there wasn't enough room for the Bears. With more than 1,000 of them you have to!
Melanie and her friend painted the trees in Bears' room.
I spackled the walls and painted them sky blue. Then I put the shelf rails up on the wall.
They painted the trees and the meadow. We put in the shelves and covered them with batting so the Bears wouldn't get grid marks in their bums. Then, finally, after about a week the Bears got to move in.
They think it's great! They think of it like a clubhouse. 
Sophie Z'OursI started my collection while in England in late 2003. I first bought some Cheeky bears from Merrythought plus a couple of memory bears from Oxford plus a small Paddington bear.
Then, thanks to teddy bear swaps on forums, i added some artist bears to my hug. I eventually began to buy artist bears too.
I tried to count my bears but quickly lost the count. All I know is that I have got a little over 50 bears. I also have other critters like one platypus, one kangaroo and one bilby, all from my dear friend Wendy. Thinking about adding a lion too from Nina Potter some day when finances get better.
I try to restrict the number of bears I add to my hug each year to have enough room for the humans and the cat to live! Our house is small.
Beary hugs,
Sophie.
LuxembearsOh my. How many bears n my collection? In my bedroom alone I have over 65, then two in one of my bathrooms, then two curio cabinets full...then a high plant shelve with bears ( and a Queen Cow), then the sofa, and my kitchen has bears....I even have a tiny cheeky bear in my purse. Then there are bears in my children's rooms,,,they have artist bears as well as Steiff and Merrythought.
One of these days I should count them all.
Some of my favs are Merrythought. I love my collection and play with bears on a regular basis.
Bears by Edie
I just did a quick count and it's almost 500 bears - and that's not counting the dogs, cats, and Steiff animals. I have a lot of vintage bears, newer manufactured bears - mostly Steiff and Merrythought - and artist bears. Most of them are in my doll and bear room but there are a few scattered in most other rooms and on the steps leading to upstairs and a glass cabinet in my living room as well. Here's a couple photos showing part of the doll and bear room.
PennsylvaniaEdie;
Can the Bears slide the glass open from the inside?
How can they get out when they need to get a snack from the fridge?
Don't tell me you keep your Bears in jail!
One hundred and seventy-three bears, bunnies, cats, frogs and assorted other critters. Some are in cabinets. Others are in baskets. Some sit on beds and dresser tops. Most all of them are rotated from room to room on a decorating whim. That way they are never bored and can visit and make new friends. The only group that stays together are the TLC bears. They're a motley crew and don't take kindly to being moved around a lot. They prefer a place of comfort and familiarity. They don't see well and they're in quite a delicate condition. Oh, but I do love the motley bears, even if they can be a bit cranky at times.
Anyway, one hundred and seventy-three!
Hugs and hugs, :hug:
Aleta
I'm happy to say, there are several special bears living here with me. I don't have photographs of them all, but here are a few I can share with you:
Beautiful miniature 'Valentine' was made for me by Sally Lambert ... there's a teeny tiny jointed bear inside the delicate cage Valentine holds!
My first Chiltern 'Big Ted' (his pal belongs to my other half)
Abigail, by Frank Webster of Charnwood Bears - an early 90's bear and my very first artist bear
'Little Joe' A handsome Jane Humme Bear from the Netherlands ... I took a pic of him in the garden and it was the front cover for an issue of Teddy Bear Times magazine back in the 90's!
Gorgeous 1930's Chiltern
Black 1990's Little Folk 'Sebastian' limited edition standing bear, shown with Barty, A lovely Chiltern Memory created by Pam Howells who used to design for the Chiltern Hygenic Toy Company back in the 50's.
Morpheus was a special birthday present made for me by Sandra Wickenden, shown here with a dainty Mac Pohlen bear from the US.
A selection of my favourite vintage Chiltern Hugmees from the 30's to 50's.
The dark brown bear, shown standing, is called 'Angus', he's an 'Auntie Bear' ... I recently added him to my collection by purchasing him from auction ... this really was a case of destiny, because this handsome bear was originally made in the early 90's by my sister Fiona!
Among others, I am also lucky enough to own a fantastic realistic grizzly 'on all fours' called 'Yona', made by Sandra Wickenden of Wickenden Bears ... this bear is an incredible piece of art. Sorry I can't share a pic but I have packed it away carefully for the time being (since moving house) until I can display it properly. My enormous 'Sir Hugh' (short for Sir Hughmungus!) by Frank Webster, a massive 30 incher, is also temporarily packed away ... but they'll both be brought out again when the time (and space!) is right!
Woodbury Park BearsI haven't counted mine lately but at the last count a couple of hundred or so they range from artist bears to manufactured what ever talks to me I have 5 display cabinets and a spare room with a double bunk bed covered in them and I love them all. Many have been gifts from friends and family I have lots of bear themed stuff too and now I make them as well. I have been collecting for a long time. My mum collects and so does my daughter and one of my sisters so I have rubbed off on all of them. I have no plans for stopping anytime soon.
Raewyn
PennsylvaniaIt looks like "Little Joe" is lying in wait, there on top of the armoire, just itchin' for somebody to come close.
Then he'll jump down and hug the stuffing out of you!
LuxembearsGreat! Next time I want another bear and my hubby says, "You don't need any more bears" I am going to show him these posts!
Your photos are great. It makes me want more bears!
Now...I've don't throw stones at me but I've actually been considering putting a few of my bears up for adoption as my tastes have changed since I began this adventure and I think these bears deserve a new mom/dad that will love them as much as I did in the beginning and not just them sit in the same place EVERY DAY. Okay...I'm ducking now but I did say "considering"!!!
I don't think you need to duck for cover Shantell. I think it's all part of this collecting lark. I actually got my dream bear via a resale. When the bear was originally sold, I was in no position to buy her....but that bear haunted me I even kept the printout of the ebay auction for years, and then one day, stumbled upon her being resold on ebay. I was so happy to get her and at the moment she's the one bear in my collection not packed away. (BTW her name is Stinkerbelle and she's a grumpy fairy bear by April Dawn)
I know some people get upset when their stuff is resold - but tastes and life circumstances evolve. As it happened the person I bought my dream bear off, was one of my collectors and she later sold two of my bears. One of them sold to a person who had never seen my work before - she contacted me via the info on my tag and has since become a regular buyer - so that resale can actually turn out to have a positive effect for all parties involved.
As for my own collection - it's tiny - both figuratively and literally. Most of the bears I collect are under three inches - I live in a tiny house and those are the only bears that fit. Due to the poor NZ$$ my bear buying money doesn't stretch very far so I carefully choose a new bear or two each year and my list of must haves far outweighs what I can actually buy.
At the moment I have somewhere between 10-15 artist bears (and ducks, bunnies and bluebirds too!) and I have a couple of spaces reserved for "big" sized bears that I hope to buy on a trip to the UK. My bears are sadly in a box at the moment, awaiting a new display case, where they will be sharing space for my rapidly increasing Blythe collection.
Bubble Up Bears!Beautiful bears everyone! I have enjoyed all the wonderful pictures!! :clap:
I haven't started making any bears but have all the supplies needed to do so. Even a beautiful antique sewing machine I purchased from Cathy Forcino. I hope to give it a try soon.
I started collecting in 04 after the death of my Mother. My daughter who was 16 at the time was so devastated. I had tried to help her in many different ways but depression was taking a severe hold on her. The bond between the two was much more than Grandma and Granddaughter. They were soul mates and knew each others thoughts from the moment we adopted Rebecca at the age of 7 days. The two were inseparable. Then I discovered Artist Bears on eBay. It was if my Mom had a hand in it. When that first bear arrived it was just what the doctor ordered!!
We now have a collection of over 300 artist bears. I have a hand full of Steiff animals but would like to someday have nice antique bear.
Newelley.BearsToo Many To Count...Artist Bears, Deb Canham, Steiff, Boyds, Gund, Ty, Deans, Merrythought, Ganz Cottage Collectables, etc. Not to mention my Boyds resin figurines. My rather small room is bursting at the seams with teddy bears & their friends.
Matilda Huggington-beareThe BIG question!!! How do you keep a hug as big you all have CLEAN?
PennsylvaniaAh, yes! This does become a problem!
The Bears do like living in their special den room but there are so many of them it becomes hard to take care of them all.
This is something I have been meaning to ask.
How do other arctophiles with large hugs manage to take care of all the Bears in their dens?
