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Posts: 751First and foremost I must say MARGARET HUTCHINGS with her "Teddy Bears and how to make them". Although they know look basic indeed, this was the first "real" teddy bear book on bear making. Margaret really was the start of it all for me.
Secondly I would say JANET CLARKof Teddystyle. I have been to several of Janet's Workshops and it was with Janet that I learnt to needle sculpt, use nut and bolt joints (they had alway been plastic before that!) and glass eyes. She also taught me how to get a flawless finish.
For beauty and perfectionism I adore GREGORY's work - I would advise anyone to go on a Gregory course if they can. His courses are so instructive but also great fun - I had such a great time on his course.
The person who taught me to scissor sculpt was JANET CHANGFOOT. Oh I just love this lady ... her gentle patience with her class was just outstanding. She also taught us to use the copic airbrush system - not one of my success stories! Her bear are truely outstanding - so beautiful in every detail.
And of course the grand-daddy of teddy art - TED MENTON!!!
DENBY BEARS:love:I guess my first book and kit was from Jessica Lainge, probably spelled wrong. then of course Nancy Tillberg and her wonderful books. Also learned quite a few things on the course at EBEARZ U Very good classes. Now I am being mentored by Ellen on the Teddy Tutor. Some day maybe I will be a bear artist. Right now just a bear maker. I also have a book by Ted Menton. I do not make enough bears at this time to get that much experience, but I love to make them when I can. I also attended two workshops in Pennsylvania hosted by Sally Winey of Winey Bears, but they stopped doing that and I lost sight of her. Sally & her husband were great bear instructors and the classes were so much fun, I would have kept going back had they not stopped doing them. Great fun. So thats my story and I'm sticking to it.
aRTy BearsI've only been into bear artistry for a short while but have made so many friends already.
Judi of Christie Bears has been very patient with me, a great help and I started with one of her kits so in great gratitude to her.
Jane of Pipkins Bears also saved my life with ladder stitch and her CD workshop is brilliant.
But for pure admiration I will always say Paula of AllBear. I just absolutely love her work. Can't tell you why, but I do lol.
As a side note I would also say I love Bears upon Soar and the noses in particular just blow me away!
Oh also, Dawn is doing a great job with TBT so far and of course Nancy for her online courses. Must also be greatful to Hugglets for some fantastic shows.
Is this too many people? 
Richard
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THere are a lot of modern designers I admire but my start came from a very old book on toy design. WaaaY back when I started there were very few books available and no classes. The book was Nursery Toys by Mary Vellan, first published in 1956 in London. Some of the pattern names were: March Hare, Brother and Sister Rabbit, Monkey and Baby, Classic Teddy Bear, Little Deer and Pierre the Poodle. Simple designs with clear diagrams and lots of tips on how to create your own patterns. Still love this book 
Some of the old tips I love- Leather dyes for coloring fabric - Kapok for stuffing(no polyester, yet), and my favorite The metal discs of potmenders obtainable at any ironmongers' are excellent and split or cotter pins can be bought at the same place.
Past Time BearsBeverly Port, John Paul Port, Denis Shaw, Ted Menten, Linda Mullins, Diane Gard, Martha Burch, Carol-Lynn Rossel Waugh, Flore Emory . . . just to name a very few of the multitude of pioneer artists who had a hand in starting our beloved industry.
Fulrfun BearsThe first bear I made was a Loris Hancock pattern. Of course I had no idea even when cutting out the pattern how small it was going to be! Ignorance is not bliss! Australian Bear Creations helped enormously, more so for the patterns, my first 'successful' bear was a Jennifer Laing bear but I had never done any classes due to my isolation in the outback(!) until doing Felted Faces late last year with EbearzU. I am now finding that my biggest inspiration is me and while that may sound big headed I mean that it is my imagination that is unlimited and I am not afraid to experiment. I don't consider myself to be a bear artist - rather a person who makes bears but one day I hope to get there!
BrisbaneFor me its Aussie artists who helped me learn all about bear making... Lisa Dopking (my first mohair bear was made using her pattern!), Silvia Durrer, Linda Benson, Monica Spicer to name a few (I have done a tonne of workshops!!). I also have to mention Nancy Tillberg and Ebearz -- so glad I found that website! And Ellen Borggreve for her Teddy Tutor and gorgeous bears.
Tuppies TeddiesTed Menton for me....his explanations are so easy to follow....and then comes Nancy Tillberg....that was way back in the beginning, but now as well as those two people, I get a lot of inspriation from you girls and the bears and critters you post on here......I wish I could comment on everyone.....
Plum Cottage BearsWhen I had a shop, Jennifer Laing came to teach there several times. She taught me a lot about design and sculpting. I also used to take classes at Edinburgh Imports when the Blocks owned the business and it was located in Thousand Oaks, California. Now, Edinburgh Imports is located in Torrance, California, and it is focused on internet mail order. I miss my shop and the teachers and customers who used to come there. However, the lessons that I learned from the teachers have at least given me some confidence in bear making and design.
When I first started collecting artist bears after starting with oldies, I was tickled to be able to get one from Corla Cubillas of the Dancing Needle. :dance: I truly loved her work, and I still have that bear! And then as I went to more shows and conventions (loved them!), I saw so many wonderful artists, including Denise Purrington of Out of the Forest, Kathleen Wallace of Stier Bears, and Claudia (Weinstein) Wagner of Weini-Baeren. I had made about four bears from fabric store plush and patterns in a book whose name I can't remember, but then I took a class from Claudia where we stuffed and finished a bear she had presewn...I didn't go back to those patterns in the book but started right then and there designing my own and using mohair (soooooo much better than fabric store plush!). That was in the summer of 1996, and here I am. 
There have been so many bear artists along the way who have been inspirational for me. Jennifer Laing and her books have been a blessing, and she's such a nice person and teaches a mean class. 
Elke and Ron Block and their openness in having classes at their Edinburgh Imports were also so helpful for me. :hug:
I can't name them all, and all the recent fabulous artists I have seen and met and chatted with--wow, what a great group! I love this "family"! 
~Debora
'Bear' Bottoms OriginalsI look up to SO many bear artists, most of them right here on TT! I owe my start in bear-making to Kim Basta of Wild Thyme Originals. If it hadn't been for Kim's selflessness and willingness to help get me going in the right direction, I probably wouldn't be here today. Kimi Springer of Son Blest bears is my partner-in-crime when it comes to mulling over new techniques and swapping ideas and such! 
As for books, my 'bible' is The Encyclopedia Of Teddy-Bear Making Techniques... I love that book so much that I happened upon a single copy at J R wholesale store last week, hiding amongst piles of crafting books, and I felt the NEED to 'save' it from being lost in the shuffle. Yep, I bought it. It's now cozied right up beside my original copy that I've had since the beginning of my bear-making days...
The Littlest ThistleWell I collected for a number of years before I started making, but for my start in making bears I'd have to say the lady from Bear Bottoms in Durham, who sold me the makings, including pattern, of my first bear at a tiny fair in East Kilbride 7 or 8 years ago. Next up would be the lady that was always running the shop for Honeydew Bears in Johannesburg when I went out there (I think she was actually the mum of the owner), who encouraged me to start designing my own bears in 2007. Then there's Ted Menten, whose book 'Teddy Bear Studio' gave me an idea of how different things worked in pattern design, and Linda Mead, who's 'ABCs Of Making Teddy Bears' also helped when I actually tried to make up a pattern in 2009. Finally all of you here that contributed to the library articles that have helped me try a number of new techniques, and Nancy Tillberg's sculpting class at EBearzU .
Posts: 751What I love about Ted's books is the humour he puts into them. I guess thats why I loved Gregory's workshop so much too - lots of tips but a lot of humour too!
I think Jennifer Laing's work is superb - I feel SOOO jealous of all you who have been on one of her courses. Yes, she is indeed a Teddy Artist "icon"!!
Karon
