Banner Sponsors
For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
ToadBriarwhen you give a bear you've made to a friend or relative, do you
do the hangtags & certificate of authenticity & all that?
if you receive a bear from an artist pal, do you want your friend to
include that stuff?
What if you make a bear for your mom or your sister in law?
I don't know if the recipient would think it was neato that I made
tags & all, or if they'd roll their eyes & think I was a pretentious dork 
I mean I am a pretentious dork, but for so many OTHER reasons! 
Sophie Z'OursI did give quite a few bears as gifts, and most of the time I did put my usual handmade tag on the leg.
I did not make certificates for the bears I gave to the children.
I made a certifiacte for the bear I gave to one of my friends though.
I guess it just depends to whom you give the bear!
You could make simplidfied certificates for very closed relatives.
Beary hugs,
Sophie.
Matilda Huggington-beareI don't know if the recipient would think it was neato that I made
tags & all, or if they'd roll their eyes & think I was a pretentious dorkI mean I am a pretentious dork, but for so many OTHER reasons! :cool:
:crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
I see it as a sign of respect that all the tags and paper work are included.
How else can they brag that they have a OOAK Matilda Huggington-beare Platypus or bear, critter , creature. :redface: 
I also include the paper work because Who knows what will be the future.
Wendy :dance:
WienKim,
my 2cents about that- and I know MUCH about giving away teddies as presents as otherwise I wouldn´t get rid of them :crackup: :
give them everything the bears you sell also have: hangtags, birthcertificates, driver´s licenses, whatever.
People who get them feel honored to have the full monty, and besides: receiving one of your bears must make them go over the moon anyway!
...and the donate bears should not feel that they are missing soimething, just because they were not sold
Have fun
Gaby 
Back Road BearsI think you have the answer....
Give it ALL to them!!! :dance:
It truly makes it more special and exciting and wonderful to get an official artist bear if everything that makes it such is included!
I've had family members ask me to sign the bear's foot or tush tag or even an ear..... my signed hang tag wasn't enough for them! 
UKhi Kim, I've made bears as xmas presents for my family and ia lways include a hang tag and sewn in label with the bear, 
Posts: 8,574Because when you die and the bear is passed down to some grand grand grand niece she would want to know about you....It would make the bear even more special to have all the components.
Maybe this is a carry over from quilting....but as my gollies get better i am begining to include papers and such.....
need to do hang tags huh?....and labels...?
If you got 'em I would do it.
Mine go out with a little heart -hand made with love- and silver cross....when i send a second or third golly to the same person I don't continue to include those things......cuz if someone has bought three, actually I think it is five gollies, yikes! my fav customer 
, I figure she already knows i made her new little friend with love. Which in this person's case i really have!!!
Just my penny worth, on account my brain is only half here.! :crackup:
Posts: 8,574 
Snowy Day BearsI gave a Friend at work a bear as a birthday gift today. She was as impressed with the tag and the box as she was with the bear. She felt honored to get the whole package. She actually put the box on display all day.
I made a bear for another friend a while back and didn't include the tag and everything. She asked for them. She said that as a collector I should have know better.
Sandi
ToadBriarhah wonderful! thanks so much, you guys - I will totally include the full monty in gift
bears, then! I know mom-in-law is such a stickler that I sign any sort of thing I might
draw, so I suppose it is the same thing
Bears by JodiYes go all the way girlfriend !!! It is a special gift and I think that makes it more special. If they don't understand and roll their eyes just explain that all artists bears come that way and it makes them more valuable !!! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE a bear as a gift ANYTIME!!!
Jodi Falk
LuxembearsKim..I'm with the rest. I like to add the tag. They can always take it off. A tag adds a special little touch...I think so.
Teddy Bear and FriendsDefinitely include all the goodies. You never know who's going to end up seeing the bear! Besides, it's a mark of respect to your giftee to give them the full treatment -- and a sort of affirmation that yes, indeed, your creation is collectible artwork worthy of all this paperwork. You're not giving them the outlet version, it's the real deal.
I've also decided to start encouraging all bear makers to add some sort of permanent tag to their bears. It can be a fabric tush tag, or a shrink plastic tag tied to the back, or whatever. Something small, discrete, and permanent. I've already got bears who have somehow become separated from their tie-on tags -- or never had them -- and now I don't know who they are or who made them! I thought I would always remember, but I don't. You may see a "Who are these bears?" article soon. :)
It's funny because we all know the stories about the bear boom in the early 1900s when so many manufacturers made bears, but didn't ID them in any permanent way, and now we can't ID those bears. I really never thought it would happen in modern times, but here I am with my small-but-growing "anonymous" club... (Granted, I've moved my office six times in 12 years, which may have contributed to the problem, but if I'm having trouble, I'm sure there are collectors who are or will, too.)
Mindy
Mountain Dreamer BearsI agree with everyone about doing the whole nine yards.
I think Mindy summed it up quite well:
Definitely include all the goodies. You never know who's going to end up seeing the bear! Besides, it's a mark of respect to your giftee to give them the full treatment -- and a sort of affirmation that yes, indeed, your creation is collectible artwork worthy of all this paperwork. You're not giving them the outlet version, it's the real deal.
This brings a new question to my mind, though. I've read all the posts about hang tags and tush tags, but what sort of information do you all put on your certificates?
always curious here...
Bine-TeddiesMindy, that is exactly why I have decided to include a picture of the bear on the tag or birth certificate. I thought, my "business" name and logtype would be enough, but what if someone has a lot of bears and gets the paperwork mixed up? So now I print tags with the bear's pic on one side, text on opposite, logotype and safety warning on front, then folded like a little double card. I also do signed buttons with my name and perhaps the bears name, sewn on or tied on. I used to do laminated birth certificates, but now do the small folded cards. I can't tie them onto minis as the card is almost larger than them :crackup: , but they go in the gift wrap.
Bonnie, I write name of the bear, birth date, designer name, materials list, pic of bear, logotype, warning that the bear is not safe for children. I do write OOAK somewhere too.
Mountain Dreamer BearsThanks, Sabine.
That is all the info I had planned to put on a hangtag.
Somehow I got the impression that some artists do a hang tag and a certificate. (Reading back through this topic, don't know why I thought that though.) It just made me wonder if they put the same info on both or put something different on the certificate. Just being curious, like I said.
Bine-TeddiesHi Bonnie,
I think some artists do both a tag/birth certifictae kind of thing and an adoption certificate. I have done that on occasion to make it extra special. Do whatever you feel like. I love getting these little extras with a bear and put them on display with it.
ToadBriarmy hangtag has printed on it Toadbriar & my name, & a message on the back
that the bear is an art piece not a toy for children under 14. Inside the folding tag
I write the bear's name & the date & that it is one of a kind. The info about materials
& stuffing etc is what I put on the certificate (I use a lot of materials & it takes more
room!)
