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What next?!
It finally hit me; I have no shows for next year. Because my cats are so complicated they usually cost $300+. My primary shows were Disney and Washington D.C. EXPO. Both are canceled. It's amazing how quickly the shows are falling! Who would have ever thought these shows would fall! Disney had been around for at least 20 years and I'm sure Washington EXPO has a similar record. It's a dilemma? I still have the collectors from these shows, several have called me in a panic. THey wanted to know where they could see me in 2009? Not that I'm so great, it's just there are loyal collectors whom have attended these shows from the beginning and follow certain artists. Then there is the internet. I could have cut out shows entirely and used the internet for my sales, I have enough internet collectors, but that worries me?! What if we don't have shows? Already, many known artists have stopped doing shows. Many of these artists have a loyal following and decided to opt out of shows. But how do you acquire new collectors? The TB&F news is a little frightening. OK, quarterly issues, but then Mindy bails as editor and I assume TB&F monitors this site; yet we've heard no reply from Mindy or the new editor when the question of the change was mentioned? Can we survive with the internet, alone? I thought it would be impossible but I look at wonderful artists like Krista (forgive me Krista but I had to mention you) who has created a business that is run through the internet. She has a great newsletter and a strong collector base. She has basically cut out the middleman and gone straight to her customers.
Anybody have any stories about how they are handling the changes? Any opinions? Any crystal balls 
Karen
KJ Lyons Design
sweetie, Mindy didn't bail as an editor, she got a promotion. The news was in the latest email advert and the dec TB&F editorial. She's not leaving Mavador and still going to be very much in the loop at TB&F - she told me so personally when I sent her a congrats after reading the editorial.
I think the change with the magazine is really for the best, I'd rather have 4 fat issues a year that seriously deal with soft-sculpture as an art - along with the new kids magazine for all the boyds and gund stuff.
I don't have any suggestions as far as shows go, I didn't know that DC Expo was out - ouch! (isn't that Teddy Bear Review's show?")
I think that TB&F is about the best magazine we've got out there. They treat our work as art, display it as art in a really classy format, and it promises to only get better. I was appalled by the thiness of the current issue, and I partially blame myself for not supporting them as a subscriber for the last 5 years. I won't let it happen again.
(ps - as a single mom transitioning to a new position, I'm not sure she has time to read TT every day - and I'm sure the new editor is busy as a big dog herself settling into a new job).
Back Road BearsIts a new world for every "industry"!
There are still other shows out there, Karen. Disney and EXPO aren't IT! TBAI attracts serious collectors. I was very impressed this year! The Hunt Valley, MD show brings in dedicated collectors as well and has been a huge success. The Chicago/Schaumburg shows bring in lots of serious collectors and under new leadership are sure to bring even more... in fact even some artists who haven't done a show in ages are coming back to the show scene for the Oct. 2009 Chicagoland Show! Shows are only going to be as good as the artists are who participate in them. The more artists, the more collectors... and despite the seeming number of 'old timers' who have stopped doing shows there are many still doing them and lots of new and talented artists hitting the show scene which is exciting for collectors. No, shows aren't what they used to be but there are still plenty of good ones out there!
As for Expo... it's not a dead show... there were many reasons why it won't be held in '09 but Joe Jones says it'll be back for 2010!
Many of us have speculated on TB&F...... Mindy's change over to Doll Reader, etc. and it's all potentially good! Really! We don't need two almost identical magazines content wise in the US any more. A sign of the way things are going in the bear industry, yes. But I think we'll be pleasantly surprised with the change in TB&F and I think the new format is one this industry could really use.
I see nothing wrong with having an internet based business - it is the way things are headed.
Whether you make teddy bears or automotive parts or own a restaurant... everyone is in a panic and seeing negative changes and feeling the need to make a change to keep the cash flow coming... and in the state of our economy I don't think there is an easy solution for anyone and what works for one, doesn't for another. We all have to try things out to see what works best for our individual businesses. I don't have the time or desire to build an internet collector base large enough to sustain my business and enjoy the face to face selling at shows .... I find doing both works for me. There are others who only do the internet and it works for them just as you've seen. Will internet sales continue without shows? Often the collectors online aren't the same as the ones who attend shows. So, yes, probably. But if you are concerned there won't be internet sales without real live shows then I hope you'll find some shows to do some where to support them and help keep them going too!
Kelly Dean,
I'm with you on that. TB&F is the best! But did you get Mindy's editorial comment? She said they would add a few extra pages to the first issue and would add more pages if the advertising funds improved. Mindy quote: "....we have decided to take a new approach to the magazine for 2009. We're adding pages back in - just a few at first, but more if the community supports the changes."
Karen
Wazza Bears AustraliaHey karen. Why don't you try the online shows????? Nancy has has 2 a year on NCTB http://www.northcountryteddybears.com/main.htm and we have 2 a year in Aus that now caters for international artist. We just had our first online show with great success. I picked up a new collector. http://www.teddybearsandcritters.com/
There are a lot of successful artist online that only work from the net. You just need to be on top of every little promo and free ones, to get your name out there. BUT on the other hand, you have a name and a great one. I really don't think you will have a problem from working online only. But the online shows are a thought.
Kelly Dean,
I'm with you on that. TB&F is the best! But did you get Mindy's editorial comment? She said they would add a few extra pages to the first issue and would add more pages if the advertising funds improved. Mindy quote: "....we have decided to take a new approach to the magazine for 2009. We're adding pages back in - just a few at first, but more if the community supports the changes."Karen
yep, I read that, but I took it to mean that they were adding additional editoral departments slowly, more fiber arts, etc.. . it stands to reason that if the mag goes quartly, the individual issues will be bigger, not smaller - and I'd say as a community, we'd better do our best to make sure that it happens - and submit, submit, submit, subscribe & support.
Plum Cottage BearsKaren, your thoughts echo some that have passed through my mind recently. All of the shows and the teddy bear clubs are gone in the county where I live and work. I find myself with a couple of dozen bears in the finishing process, as though I'm getting ready for a show, but what show, where within a hundred miles? Karen, I have had the pleasure of seeing your cats in the fur, and they carry the wisdom of ancient Egypt in their eyes and stance. Something is lost when a collector cannot bond with a piece in the fur and acquire the piece from the artist's hands.
Nevertheless, I think we have to accept the realities of change and trim our sails to the breezes of the times. Shows are expensive, for both the artist and the promoter. Security, surcharges and reduced flights turn travel into a chore or a duty, not necessarily an easy time. Fifteen years ago, I was a pioneer distance education instructor, teaching technical computer classes over a text based conferencing system for universities in the East. From those experimental days grew the sophisticated, transparent Seaport and Blackboard systems used for distance education instruction online today. Technology has passed me by, but I recognize change when I see it, and I recognize also the need to adapt.
We need to adapt our businesses to the times. We work on our pieces in isolation, and perhaps there are few or no other Teddy Bear artists in our respective physical neighborhoods. Shows provide an opportunity for artists and collectors to meet, and for artists to network. However, we also network here on TT. Others network on social networking sites like YouTube and Facebook. I am not on those sites, but I understand that they are places for connection. We need to look to the internet for the future of the Teddy Bear world. That means educating ourselves about things like e-commerce, sitebuilding and photography. Teddy Bears and their fuzzy friends convey handmade unconditional love. We need to go forward with the technology that enables us to virtually reach collectors worldwide.
Canna Bear PaintAs has been mentioned, Expo isn't gone, it's just regrouping for a year and will be back in 2010. I will back up also that there are still good shows left out there. The best US ones for loads of great artists and great collectors right now (in my humble opinion) would probably be TBAI, Hunt Valley and the spring Timonium show, in that order. Karen, I realize you're in a very niche market with your high end cats. Seriously, may I make a suggestion? If I were in your shoes, I would be trying something very different, like signing up to be a vendor at a high end cat show. Here's one I just found in a quick internet search, the National Capital show in Chantilly, VA. http://www.nationalcapitalcatshow.com/ It's the same time of year that Expo used to be, and I'd hazard a guess that your Expo cat collectors might be willing to travel 30 miles over to Chantilly if you were there, in addition to hopefully finding some NEW collectors who could afford expensive cat collectibles! Just a thought of course, I don't know a thing about that show, or about cat shows in general.
Everything will get better in time, but it may take a while. I do think it's a good time to get creative and experiment with other venues if your old ones aren't working. Of course, that's good business sense in any economy!
I had a funny kind of thought last week at a show. I think it may be harder, perhaps, for online-only artists to grasp changes in sales. When you attend a show, you can still see people admire your work. They see your bears, hold them, love them, and talk to you about them. Maybe they can buy the bear, maybe they can't. But you know they still love your bears. When you're only online, you don't get to see that. You only know that the bear did or did not sell, and the price it sold for. And when a bear doesn't sell, or sells for less, the confusion and rejection must seem overwhelming for some people. I'd just like to assure anyone who is struggling right now that it's not you, and it's not your bears. If people loved your work before, they still do now, and will in the future as well. Hang in there, everybody.
Edited to add: If anybody wants a chance to get into TBAI for 2009, submit your application NOW! Cindy assured me that a record number of people have submitted their apps, and the initial jurying deadline ends I think at the end of the month.
Best wishes,
Kelly
Little Bear GuyI have to agree with Daphne and Kelly, TBAI and Hunt Valley are two really great shows Karen both have serious collectors that come to buy buy buy. The internet is great and works for some people but not for everyone, I still enjoy picking up a bear and feeling it before I buy it.
big hugs
Shane
Thanks, everybody. You're all so great!
But I didn't mean this discussion to be about me. Believe me, I'm ok, I have private orders out to at least a year. I wanted to discuss the future of us all? So far TBAI and Hunt Valley are hanging in there. They're both great shows but are they the last? Where are we going? Where can we go?
Karen
Plum Cottage BearsFrom my viewpoint, technology has changed the delivery of commerce as surely as technology has changed the delivery of education. Shows exist for one or two days, a temporary environment that is gone when the show closes and the artists pack up and leave. Face-to-face classes meet in a given room at a given hour on a given day of the week, for however long the term lasts. Quarter terms are usually ten to twelve weeks long, while semester terms can be fifteen to eighteen weeks long. If a person cannot come to a show or a class at the scheduled time, the opportunity is lost.
The internet is worldwide, anytime, but lacking the personal touch of hearing a teacher's live lecture or meeting the artist who created the bear that gets adopted. There will always probably be some shows, just as there will probably always be live, in-person classes. However, I believe that an internet presence will become more and more important to artists as we get further into the 21st century. That internet presence could be an individual artist's website, a virtual shop on something like Ebay or Etsy, or a virtual booth in an online show. For what it may be worth, I miss shows and always will, even as I speak of e-commerce and technology.
Karen you pose a very good question. How in this chaotic world does a teddy bear/critter fit in ???when money is being used to rescue people from natural disasters never mind the ones that man himself creates. And then this is with the money that is available.
With it being a hard cold world, share holders, companies, look at the bottom line and if it does not show the results they want changes have to be made.
Living in South Africa, bear makers have to look at other ways to get their work promoted as we do not have any major shows and the collector market is small. Selling on Ebay is another problem as Paypal will take funds out of your account BUT will not pay funds into your account if you have a South African bank account, and most buyers are encouraged to pay with Paypal on Ebay. After many months of headaches I have now got my one account set up to receive paypal payments, so selling on the Evil bay becomes another option for me.
Again many influences that are affecting shows is that the organizers are now retiring and making way for younger blood to take over. Daphne is a good example of someone who is getting this off the ground by introducing new events and for her to succeed she needs all the support and help from the bear community.
In Korea and Taiwan, again it is younger blood that is getting involved in the bear business and here I see so many young collectors and bear makers which is what the market needs.
I see this as interesting times as many new ideas will start developing and who knows maybe we have a whole new teddy bear collector base sitting on Mars waiting for the bears to arrive.
Lynette
Strange BearsPleas eodn't forget that compeitins are another great way to support magazines, the industry and attract new collectors. Magazines such as ours in Australia (bear Creations) TB&F and other run competitions to do all those things. They might seem expensive to enter but the publicity and time spent promoting the nominees and entrants is extensive. So please don't dismiss the value of entering. For those nominated in the new competiiton in our mag this first year the kudo's will be enoumous and as we do require the critter in the fur the possibility of attracting collectors in Australia is also huge fro this overseas nominees.
So some competitons willoffer as great if not greater possibility of attracting collectors.
Sandra
I was chatting to some local bear makers re the Oz Bear Magazine. Our SA teddy bear magazine went out the door and was replaced with a "Stitches and bears" much to the disappointment of SA bear people.
With being able to get your magazine in SA people are paying the higher price to get the "real" thing. Your magazine is enjoyed by many.
Lynette
Hi,
I'll mention again that Expo isn't gone - just delayed ;). I don't know the particulars, but I do know that Joe was having a hard time finding a location and date for Expo 2009 as they were not happy with the hotel it had been at. It can be a little tricky to find a venue to host an event that large - not to mention needing time to properly plan it all.
In 2009, the Golden Teddy Awards will be at Hunt Valley, MD show (and MD is 60 miles from DC)... the GTA and TOBY awards always brought in more artists and collectors when they were held at other promoter's shows in the past. (before Friends and Review got their own shows)
As for what do do about Disney being gone? I'll repeat what someone else suggested... IDEX. It's in Orlando!! The TOBY award breakfast will be at this show. But if you're interested you better hurry... it's at the end of January! Mindy has posted a lot of info about IDEX : http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=26281
