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LuxembearsHello friends.
I am wondering how many of you have sold a bear that you wish you would have kept.
I have for sure!
But what I also have are a few bears that have become so attached to me that they won't leave! No really, I decided a while ago that I had to keep a few that I really like just in case, one day, I might be feeding a calf some calf pellets outside and a frieght train falls out of the sky on my head.....then my kids will have some of my bears to keep forever...and hand down to thier childred and so on and so forth.
It would be a shame to sell everything and have nothing special for my children someday, when I become an angel......at least I hope I will someday....a loooooong time from now.
So, have you ever let a bear go that you wish you kept? I bet a lot of you can relate , but i have had people tell me, Oh, you can just make another one.......but I can't. Even if I try, they still come out different...even if they are similar they are not quite alike.
How about you guys?
I have no idea why, because it's not really all that fancy, but THIS is the bear I wish I could have kept; BABOO. He was sold through my east coast retailer, Collins Gift Shop (they carry some wonderful artist bears, if I may refer to the OTHER artists represented there! :P) and wasn't even created from a particularly fancy or lush fur. I just... liked him a lot. But the bills, and my commitment to getting a bear to Collins, called, and he had to go. I still miss him. :(
Canna Bear PaintOh yes, I can definitely relate to that one. I adore a certain type of bear... sort of the big, fluffy, 'serious' type... and it's always particularly sad to send bears like this on their way. Actually, I find it bittersweet to say goodbye to ANY bear! I always was hopelessly attached to my teddy bears as a kid, though. I don't think that ever went away.
I know we'll have to be stockpiling bears for a couple of big shows we have coming up this fall, and I'm going to hate getting attached to all of them in the interim. Ah, well, that's business. I have managed to hold onto a few of my favorites from my mother's creations, however. I find that it helps to name them after one of her relatives (insert big wicked grin here). "No, we can't get rid of Calvin, that was your father's name!" All being fair though, she has kept several of mine as well. We just can't keep ALL of the ones that appeal to us, or I don't think we'd ever get around to selling anything.
Cheers,
Kelly
Past Time BearsOhhhhh, Shelli, Baboo is such a cutie!! No wonder you wanted to hang onto him!! I kinda still wish I had the first bear that was ever nominated for an award . . . Lexie. She was nominated for a TOBY in 2001. The reason I REALLY want her back is that the lady who bought her gave me a hot check, then disappeared!
I NEVER heard from her again even though I sent her MANY pieces of correspondence . . . even a certified letter. AAAAARRRRRGGHH!
Back Road BearsOh Boy, Judi.... good one! I have two that I really wish I had kept. "Chip" was (well, he still is) a 10" chubby guy out of the alpaca/mohair blend, brown with black tips. His little nose came out perfect and that sweet expression. He was difficult for me to photo as I didn't have all the technology I do now so I don't even have any good photos of him. I took him to my first show with intent of him being a sample to take orders from. Well, a woman wanted to buy him so badly right on the spot and she was buying two others as well. How could I say no to such a big sale at my very first show??? There is nothing good to be said for greed! Anyway... I've made two more since but contrary to what folks think, you can NEVER make another one. Just like us humans.... every bear is an original to some extent.
The second bear I wish I had kept I sold at Christmas time last year.... losts of need for money at that time of year so I put him on eBay along with his brother. Both sold to different people. A few days after shipping them I got an email asking where one of them was... the one I wish now that I had kept. He was the first out of a new pattern I designed and there was just something about him. Anyway, he never did arrive - or so the lady claims. Yes, she got her money back after the PO reimbursed me (thank goodness for insurance) but I still wonder where that poor guy is. I thought of him on christmas day all alone in that box, perhaps tossed upside down, under a table or in a corner where he was overlooked. Then again he may have been toasty warm at his new mommy's house who also needed money for the holidays so claimed he never arrived. (She was a very nasty and distrustful woman, accusing me of never having sent him!)
A funny side story (I'll try to make it short!) My HUBBY tends to fall in love with my bears more often than I do. One bear I warned him from the start HAD to go to a show and be sold. Well, regardless of this knowledge he swore it was his favorite one yet (that's what he said about the others before it!) and that he wanted to keep it. I brought it to the show and sold it!!! Someone I had never met before walked right to him and bought him. When I got home that night there was the bear, sitting on my hubby's side of the bed! He's sent a co-worker in to buy the bear! I still laugh when I see that bear perched on hubby's bureau gazing at me smugly!
But I'll never loose the best bear of all... my hubby-bear!;)
Hugs,
Daphne
Fool's Gold BearsGood stories, girls, tho not all happy. 
I don't have any real regrets about selling any of my creations. It may sound corny, but I feel like I carry them in my heart. I have pictures of most of them, and the ones that slipped by without a photo while I was in a hurry, I mostly don't remember, except "Kindle", a floppy jointed 25 inch bear with long, kinky-curly mohair fur. She wore a long, floppy, stocking cap. She went to a local family counselor who uses Kindle and several other bears she has gotten from me as friends for counselees to cuddle while they are in her office. I think if I missed her badly enough, I could probably pay her a visit....'course it might cost me $75.oo an hour. 
DoodlebearsShelli, Babbo is wonderful! My son just walk passed me and came back to see the picture. His comment was "Wow! I really like that one look at it's lovely eyes." I agree with David, Baboo does have lovely eyes.
I don't really have any regrets on selling one of my bears but I do regret running off to the bathroom at my very first show only to get back to find that Sarah, my daughter had made my very first show sale. I didn't get to see who bought the bear or to sign the adoption certificate and hand it to the buyer. So somewhere the is a Doodlebear without an adoption certificate gone into the wide, wide world...that's the one I'll always miss.
Jane
Just Us BearsWhat lovely stories (although some sad ones in there too:(). My personal feeling Judi, is that you should most definitely keep some of the bears that are extra special to you for your family. I know when you get good money for them it is a guilt trip not to sell them.....but once they are gone that's it...and the money pretty soon disappears too. Maybe the best thing to do would be to give your children and hubby a bear each....not one after the other,because that's not practical, but when a special one is born which you feel that extra something for....be kind to yourself and keep it! There will be plenty more bears to come...and like you said, if the unthinkable happened or you became disabled..those bears you kept would be so precious! A year or two ago, a quite well known bear artist here in Australia died...and a few months later, there were emails being circulated from her husband, desperately trying to buy back some of her bears....as he had none!
A friend here in Oz encouraged my to keep my earlier prize winners, even though at the time I was inclined to sell them because we needed the money...and now, I am so glad I did. There will be other bears for me to sell...but these ones are significant and special.
Daphne, I think what your hubby did it the ultimate compliment.....what a honey! A he bought it fair and square so you can never sell it now..and you got your money...win-win situation:lol:
Shelli, Baboo is a real charmer and I can see why he won your heart. That great background colour really sets his fur colour off beautifully too! You need to be kind to yourself too...and allow yourself to keep the next Potbelly bear that makes your heart flutter! Tell yourself you need to keep a sample of your work "to show visitors";)
Sue Ann..I'm so sorry about Lexie...it's bad enough that you would have liked to keep her, without the added insult of no payment and a nasty mummy for your bear.:( Sometimes we are just too trusting huh?
LuxembearsOh Ladies I got goose bumps reading your stories.
Daphne how simply wonderful of your husband to buy one of your bears. That speakes volumns.
Laure I agree wirth you about pictures. They are a must. I have photos around my house, of my bears, just as I do my children...even though my kiddies come first.;)
Shelli, I wish I had Baboo. Maybe someday;)
I have only done two shows as I like to keep the cash flowing on a regular basis. I find it difficult to build up stock. WHen I did my first show I had a beautiful arctic fox fur bear that I had no intention of selling but still wanted to show. SOOOOO, I priced her very high...and wouldn't you know it...she sold... I hugged this bear so tight before letting her go.....infact this buyer had the bear wave bye to me. I almost cried.
Then , my daughter cried when I sold a red curly lamb fur bear. She wouldn't speak to me for hours. I had not realized she really wanted that bear.
Isn't it funny how these bears are so real as if they are alive. They are real to me. They speak to me....and I talk back to them.:)
LuxembearsOh Sue Ann. How infuriating! I am so sorry that happened to you. It is shame that people do that.
I had a customer, a very very very great customer do that to me. She had won an ebay auction, and had me do a custom order for a red fox fur bear. She owed me more than $1,100.00 for the pair. I always sent her bears COD (CASH ON DELIVERY) . In one year she spent almost $8,000 on bears from me. She was always dependable . She even got a special PO box for me to send bear to so her hubby would'nt find out (but that was her business)
Anyway this last payment by check was bad. And to add insult to injurt , I had to pay a bank fee for her bounced checks!
This was over a year ago and I still don't have my money. I was sick over it. I looked her up onthe internet to find her home phone number. I called her, sent her nice letters and got nothing. I even hired a check recovery firm to collect my money...I still don't have it.
Beware of COD's infact I no longer will ship any bears COD. By the way, I thought COD meant CASH on delivery, not "check". hhhmmmm!
Canna Bear PaintThere are definitely some sad stories here! Judi, that story makes me wonder if her husband finally found out? Daphne, your hubby, on the other hand, is a keeper... what a wonderful story, I bet both hubby and the bear were feeling pleased with themselves!
Cheers,
Kelly
ontario, canadaDaphne! what a lucky girl you are!
thanx for sharing your stories ladies!
Winneybears and FriendsI too thought COD means "Cash On Delivery "...but then a check is suppose to be like cash.. I wonder if you could specify " Cashiers Check upon Delivery " for the delivery person to collect ?....Winney
Fool's Gold BearsPenny, Dear, Sorry to know you're feeling blue. Hope it's over soon. :)
Big Fluffy Hugs,
Posts: 3,177O no Laure
I'm only feeling sad about selling me bear - as usual i'm as happy as a pig in poo :D
Penny 
Fool's Gold BearsOkay!! Gullible Laure here, saying 'ya got me again, Penny!' Have fun mucking about!
Oh thanks for starting this thread! I never would have really thought of this. I've kept the first bear I made.. and I made one for my daughter from when I was still taking classes... but I really need to keep one of "my" bears!
Daphne, your hubby is just a sweetheart!!
Shelli, Baboo is just adorable! I can see why you'd want to keep him... but then.. if I was you I'd want to keep all your bears :lol:.
Kelly! You certainly have a unique way of keeping the bears you want...that's GREAT! In fact, I'd been wanting to use my dog's names for some bears... but know that I'd NEVER be able to part with them if I used their names! Now I know what to do... when I make a bear I want to keep... I'll use my Girls' names!
Holy Cow Sue Ann!!! That's just awful!! 
:mad: I'm so sorry for you! I mean, it's bad enough already to get a rubber check... but especially when it's for an extra special bear on top of it!
Laure... "I think if I missed her badly enough, I could probably pay her a visit....'course it might cost me $75.oo an hour. "....:lol::lol::lol:
Awww Jane! It's great that the bear sold.. .but yeah, I'd want to have been there for my first bear sale too!
Hayley.. you hit the nail on the head when you said: "you need to keep a sample of your work "to show visitors" Since I sell most of my bears on my website & eBay, I often do NOT have a bear around of my own. And when friends come over they ALWAYS ask to see one of my bears! Great idea/justificaton !!!
Oh Judi... how sad about the 2 bears... but... how ANGRY I am for you about the bounced check!!! Yes, after selling $8,000 worth of bears to a person in a year.. you feel you almost know them, thus trust them. How very sad! I'm so sorry! But thanks for bringing that up too!!
Awww Penny! I'm so sorry! But now that you're a gardener full time... when you make that next "extra special" bear.. you won't feel bad about keeping him/her!
