Banner Sponsors

Love Bud Bears Oct 27, 2005

Hi, I was just wondering what size bear is considered a miniature?
I just made Michael & he turned out to be 8" so I wasn't  sure if he's small enough.
Here's a picture of the very first bear I ever made. His pattern is from STB BEARS- he's 3-1/4" tall.
I named him Roughy Toughy for the hard time I had making him. I should have started with a bigger bear.

matilda Oct 27, 2005

My local bear and doll club  when exibiting a bear, they consider 6inches and under as a miniture. They then have sections which cover the 1" 2" 3" bears.
I have no idea about other clubs. GOOD QUESTION I am interested in what others says.

rikkisbears Oct 27, 2005

Hi,
my understanding is a true miniature is 3 inches or less. at the Sydney Teddy Bear Fair back in 2002. The catergory was Open Bear  3" & under.The next size up was a fair bit larger.

A couple of online miniature groups used to allow up to 5 inches.

I read somewhere that a miniature is based on the 1/12th doll scale ie those beautifull doll houses we see,the dolls for instance are 5 to 6 inches tall  which represents a 5 to 6 foot person ie 1 inch equals 1 foot in real life
therefore a miniature bear that is 1,2,or 3 inches tall would reflect a 1,2,  or 3 foot teddybear in real life.
Unfortunately I can't quite remember where I read it ( possibly one of my miniature bear books) or else one of the Dollhouse miniature groups I belonged to. They were a great source for miniature accesories for teds.

My local bear and doll club  when exibiting a bear, they consider 6inches and under as a miniture. They then have sections which cover the 1" 2" 3" bears.
I have no idea about other clubs. GOOD QUESTION I am interested in what others says. :teddybear:

Amanda Oct 27, 2005

I too get a bit bogged down with 'whats a true miniature' but I suppose its anything that 'looks' small and fits in your hand. Could be less than 3" but I have seen bigger bears that look so sweet and small. For me its anything that does my head in and I want to give up making! I do keep going but at the moment there is a few half made small bears!

Shelli Retired Help Advisor, Banner SponsorOct 27, 2005

You might consider using the contests for guidance on this question.  Both the TOBY and Golden Teddy "rules" are available right now -- although not close at hand for me at this moment.  They specify size categories for miniatures.  I want to say last year it was 4" and under... but I can't be sure.  Other contests will have similar rules available; I cite these two only because they are the familiar, US contests, with which I have some limited experience and knowledge.

It probably doesn't really matter how explicitly one defines "mini bear" except for contest entry/competitive purposes.  So long as the idea is that it's a small handful of bear -- whether 2" or 7" -- I think you draw the same general collecting audience.  But this is, I admit, a bit out of my area, as I do the bigguns... ;)

Interesting question!

Dilu Oct 27, 2005

And beautiful bigguns at that.

I think small would be 4-7 or 8

minis 3 and under

miniminis  2

So the question is: what do I know!

I like Shelli's idea of going by the rules that the big contests have.

Back a million years ago when I made antique reproduction doll house furniture, the scale was 1 inch to 1 foot.

So I may be still functioning under those old rules.....and talk about mixing apples with ornages....wood vs mohair......

Where are the experts?

starlite Oct 27, 2005

The UK contests I have entered usually class miniature as 6" or less
Tried one other contest in US and I am sure it was <5"
:hug:
Anne

kbonsall Oct 28, 2005

When I list on ebay - i list them as minis unless they are over say the 8" mark.  I personally consider anything 5" and under mini... and anything 2 and under really mini LOL

Love Bud Bears Oct 28, 2005

Thanks for all your responses I guess it's back to the drawing board for a smaller result.
I think going by the contest rules is a good guidance & a good way to narrow it down.

clare14 Oct 28, 2005

I personally consider everything under 5" to be miniature, well they're fiddley enough aren't they!!  :lol:

I once made a bear at 1 and a half inches, phew, never again, but I did persevere!!  :teddybear:

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.  :hug:

Daphne Oct 30, 2005

It would be nice to define miniature size once and for all.

Some call their 8" bears mini and expect to get more $$ for them by doing so. Is this fair to those making 1-3" bears that truly are minis and definitely deserve to get a lot of money for them? Real minis are a lot of work, and in a totally different ball park than 'small' bears.

All in my opinion of course but some rule needs to be set!

Shelli - I agree that Contest guidelines as you mentioned are the best ones to follow!!!  :thumbsup:

Daphne

melissa Oct 30, 2005

I agree with you Daphne...I would say 4 inches and under.  I know that there is a heck of a lot of difference between my 4 inch bears and the 2 inch ones I occasionally attempt.  The four inch ones are easy peasy and the two inch fiddly diddly and take me twice as long two sew.

I agree with you about the 8 inch minis and the way people also call them "midi minis" - they're either mini or they're small!!  I also hate how people measure the sitting down height so that they appear smaller to the punter.

Having said that, I've snuck some of my 4.5 and 5 inch bears into my "miniature" section on bearpile.   :redface:

Jellybelly Bears Oct 30, 2005

Anne, I love your little bear on your avatar.  So precious  :angel:
Hugs sarah