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Melbourne, AustraliaI was reading the "professional bear artists" posts and found it very interesting. I then (after reading Bobbie's post) got to wondering just how many of us are still around?
More to the point how many are still around on TT reading my post?
Fulrfun BearsHi Sandi I have spent the weekend going through my old Bear Creation magazines and also DB&C. There were lots of artists in there that I have not heard of for ages which I found interesting. I was a huge fan of Catherine Cardellini for one but have heard nothing of her for many years now. there were many others listed that I had never heard of - makes you wonder what happened to them. Economy? Change of life? Lost mojo? Changes in legislation making it too hard? Would be interesting to hear from some earlier artists to see what has happened.
I was reading the "professional bear artists" posts and found it very interesting. I then (after reading Bobbie's post) got to wondering just how many of us are still around?
More to the point how many are still around on TT reading my post?
Hiya
I have been around 25 years next year! I remember a lot of people from the old Yahoo forums.
Suddenly - I am feeling very old!!!!!!!!!!
Benson BearsWell, you know I'm still around Sandi. Must be something like 27 or 28 years! Arrrrrrrgggghhhhhh!
Melbourne, AustraliaHi Clare ... Bit of a shame she's no longer making bears, I have one of Catherine's big bears in my collection. 
Hi Dawn ... I know the feeling. Like Sue Ann, I am beginning to feel a little on the old side too! LOL!! Who else from the UK has been around as long as you and is still actively making bears?
Hi Again Linda ... you recupertated from Woodend yet? I guess we could call you the Granny from Downunder...or is that Loris? Just as well we are all still young at heart.
desertmountainbearI began making teddies in 1987. Sadly though I am not consecutive. I stopped selling in the mid 90's and came back to it in 2007.
Joanne
Bobbie is right, when I stepped back into the market. I really did start all over again. When I left all there was was shows, no internet. That is why I left. I had a small child, no more shows. When I came back it was all internet. For someone who never learned the computer it was especially hard.
Still plodding on here too! I started making bears in the early 90's ...
Hi Clare ... Bit of a shame she's no longer making bears, I have one of Catherine's big bears in my collection.
Hi Dawn ... I know the feeling. Like Sue Ann, I am beginning to feel a little on the old side too! LOL!! Who else from the UK has been around as long as you and is still actively making bears?
Hi Again Linda ... you recupertated from Woodend yet? I guess we could call you the Granny from Downunder...or is that Loris? Just as well we are all still young at heart. :lol:
Hi
There are a few that I definistely know who were around before me and still making bears - HM Bears who I consider to be true pioneers of British Artist Bears - they rode round the US in a camper van promoting their bears in the late 1960s early 1970s and are still very active on the bear fair scene today. Sue Quinn, and Pamela Howells - I believe Pamela has attended every Hugglets show there has ever been.
I find this whole subject fascinating - I have started writing some articles about the 'early pioneers' in Teddy Bear Times.
Hugs
Dawn
Past Time BearsI didn't start making bears until the last half of the 90s and I was already pretty long in the tooth. Internet selling wasn't very well established at that time, so I did enjoy the excitement and camaraderie of going to shows for many years. I became a victim of the online explosion and economic downturn, however, and now find it a bit daunting to try to hang in through the tough times. I don't have many good/active years left, and would like to make the most of whatever time that is. It seems a change is in order, so will see what happens next.
I started making my Crew members in the summer of 1996, 14 years ago. For a few years in there, though, I took a period of "hibernation" and just came back to working with the fur and fluff this March. I have been enjoying making my bears so much and have made a lot of new friends on the internet who also love our little furry friends. 
I do sometimes wonder about some of the bear artists whose work I loved when I was actively collecting. I have a few of my magazines that I still pore through and enjoy. 
Interesting thread!
~Debora
And Sue Ann, I hope you have many, many good, active years left. :hug:
The Littlest ThistleI wasn't a maker in the 80s and 90s, but was a collector at that time. We used to live in Telford, home of the West Midlands Teddy Bear Fair that used to run twice yearly. As a kid I used to love going there with my saved up pocket money to work out what I wanted to spend my pennies on, and seeing who my mum and dad adopted too. I do think that many that we used to buy from have disappeared though 
Melbourne, AustraliaThere are a few that I definistely know who were around before me and still making bears - HM Bears who I consider to be true pioneers of British Artist Bears - they rode round the US in a camper van promoting their bears in the late 1960s early 1970s and are still very active on the bear fair scene today. Sue Quinn, and Pamela Howells - I believe Pamela has attended every Hugglets show there has ever been.
I find this whole subject fascinating - I have started writing some articles about the 'early pioneers' in Teddy Bear Times.
Hugs
Dawn
Dawn ... I would find those articles interesting to read, and I'm sure many of the newbies would too. I have often browsed through old mags and thought what happened to "......".
Paula ... I have been sorting my mags out and givng some to my students and of course you can't sort without flicking through and I saw a photo of a younger Paula in a an old TBCI. The article was about you and your sister ... I must say I enjoyed the read!
Joanne ... It is very difficult to when you have a break and have to begin again, for some it's just too hard, but a few manage to stick with it through thick and thin ... you have and I'm sure you continue.
Sue Ann and Debora ... To the 80's artists, coming in the mid 90's we were the newbies on the block, but we all had fun here on TT just the same. I'm sure you will both continue for a long time yet ... it's in your blood!
Sue Ann and Debora ... To the 80's artists, coming in the mid 90's we were the newbies on the block, but we all had fun here on TT just the same. I'm sure you will both continue for a long time yet ... it's in your blood! :thumbsup:
I do hope to continue for a long time to come. I am so enjoying seeing the little faces come to "life" and can't wait to see who the next one will be.
I was feeling like I've been making bears a LONG time (since January 1998 with no breaks) but after reading these posts, I feel like a newcomer! It's great to know so many have been around for over 20 years - I hope I'm still making bears in 2018!
Hugs,
Janice
Newcastle, OntarioI started making stuffed toys, including large teddies, in the 1980's and sold at large craft fairs. I switched to minis in 1994 and am slowly working my way back to a bit larger bears, because of my hands. I know a lot of the early bear makers I admire are no longer on the scene :o(
Wilmslow CheshireI have been making since the early 90's too !
Louise x
I have been making mohair bears since the mid 90's. Before that, starting in the mid 80's, I made muslin bunnies, cabbage patch style dolls, and small thread jointing bears. After a 2 year break, I started up again around 2002. Selling on the internet was really starting to take off. It's very interesting looking at the old mags. No one had an email address or a website.
gugu;s teddiesHello All this site seems to pretty well uptodate question and answers so PLEASE can anyone help Shows Or Fares 2011 Any Country or perhaps someone could advise me on the best as Travelling from SA exchange rate not very good also what other Bear Magazines are there to subscribe to we dont them in SA i managed to get my hands on 2004 Austrialian Mag Good Bless thanks to all who will reply new to Bear Makeing i need all the help i can get
Paula ... I have been sorting my mags out and givng some to my students and of course you can't sort without flicking through and I saw a photo of a younger Paula in a an old TBCI. The article was about you and your sister ... I must say I enjoyed the read!
That's so good to hear Sandi ... and incredible to think you are on the other side of the world all these years later, reading about Fiona and me! I love revisiting those old mags ... they make me very nostalgic!!!
Melbourne, AustraliaPaula ... I have been sorting my mags out and givng some to my students and of course you can't sort without flicking through and I saw a photo of a younger Paula in a an old TBCI. The article was about you and your sister ... I must say I enjoyed the read!
That's so good to hear Sandi ... and incredible to think you are on the other side of the world all these years later, reading about Fiona and me! I love revisiting those old mags ... they make me very nostalgic!!!
Hi Paula,
I would have read the article back when I bought it (I always read mags from cover to cover at least twice), but probably wouldn't have had a clue who you were then. :lol:
Now with the internet, everybody knows everyone, even if they don't really know them ... my heavens look at what Facebook has done for linking up all the teddy bear people! But for all the internet's advantages, I still enjoy a good read of magazine articles about artists and what inspires them !!!
ATTENTION EDITORS ... A "This is your life" or a "Where are they now" would be a great read!!
Benson BearsThat would be a great article, Sandi. Maybe with a pic of early work and a recent creation! Could give the newbies a giggle!
Boechout, AntwerpThat would be a great article, Sandi. Maybe with a pic of early work and a recent creation! Could give the newbies a giggle!
That's exactly the same thing I was thinking, Linda. Wouldn't it be a great idea if we could see some of the bears (or other critters) that were made by the artists in the 80's and 90's and maybe put them next to a contemporary bear?
I'm sure that most of the artists who were already active in the 80's and 90's still have photos of their work back then?
I also love browsing old teddy bear magazines and books. I have ordered a copy of Ted Menten's first teddy bear book "The teddy bear lover's catalog" and I can't wait to see what it's like (I think it was first published in 1987). I also found an article about Paula and Fiona Carter in one of the (must be careful what I write next :crackup: ) "older" issues of Teddy Bear Scene.
Hugs, :hug:
Peter & the bears
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)For the second time I've had the chance to revisit one of my teddies from more than 15 years ago. The first time was in 2008 at the Sauder Village Ohio show, where Leann Busser (cannot remember her new surname..) was wearing my Cubblet a tiny seated realistic polar bear, which she said then that she would be wearing to shows - he was SOO wonderfully worn and aged looking, as she'd made a little harness for him to sit in and wore him as a pendant. His pix are somewhere in my computer an I'll find them when I have time to sort!
But last week in Tucson Mary Ann Neicz (sp?) brought one of my fabric polar bears from the mid- to late 90s:Polar Reclining, made with the Malden Mills' long pile.
He looked as brand-new and fresh as the day he left my hands - Mary Ann must have glass display cases.
It was modeled after the middle bear of 3 in that popular photo image of The Lazy Boys of Summer by Robert ________ - cannot remember the photographer's surname. I even have the image as the background on my business checking acct!
But I was trying to do realism in miniature in the 90s but found that it was too difficult to do it, as 3" - 4" just doesn't allow you to get in as much detail and curves and darting in as you need for shaping. That's why needle felting is so much more adaptable.
I took a few fast images in between teaching - not exactly studio lighting and quality, but better than nothing as I don't have any images of my fabric work from my early years. Digital cameras are so great, however did we do w/o them???
So - here is my 4" 'Polar Reclining'.
Past Time BearsLooks super, Bobbie! Think you will ever make any more fabric bears?
