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Posts: 8,574Ahhh Miss Marie, when people start to share an emotion you are feeling it means that the are empathic, emphasizing with your emotions. This is very good----keep these people as friends. I think it shows that they react to anothers feelings, pain and joy....
It is not as common in the states.....people are so wrapped up in what I call their mini soap opera....that they can't feel what anyone else feels, because it isn't in their script.
When I find a person who can emphasize I count it a lucky find.
Dillydoodle
Posts: 1,277Penny and Dilu, you two are the funniest! :lol:
I hate talking bears with anyone other than family or friends...okay, not all of them! One of my friends is amazed that people pay such money, and mine are in the very modest range. And she ruffed up my newest bear today. I'm still pi$$ed.
Most people don't get it...before it's over with I'm trying to convince myself. 
Past Time BearsHey, Mark . . . good to see you posting again! How did you like your first show at Schaumburg?? Inquiring minds want to know - or something like that!
DoodlebearsJust yesterday, when I was at the clinic where I have my weekly blood test, the woman taking my blood said to me in a very condescending manner, 'and what would you be doing right now if you didn't need this done?' I told the daft woman that I would be stuffing a bear. Her reply was 'Ow ain't that sweet you still like teddys at your age, maybe one day you could share your hobby and give us one for the raffle'
Blasted woman, she wasn't even very good at taking blood, I've a huge bruise this morning. I found out after that she is a trainee...and no she will not be taking my blood next week. GRRRRRRRRRRR!
Jane
Irenours-bearsWith rude question, i will just ask: WHY 
This little question is very embarassing for people
Baird'sBears What a great thread. And what rude people we all know! I've never had to explain being a Bear Artist, because no one outside my immediate family gives a rat's backside, but I do remember being asked if I was a stay-at-home-mother, or if I "worked". You could have heard the explosion for miles!
When everybody but me was dropping stay-at-home mothering for "work", I was asked, very condescendingly, by a dressed-for-success-in-huge-shoulder-pads woman what I did to "justify my existence". Usually I just stand there stupidly with my jaw on my shoes, but this time I managed, with unaccustomed sang froid, "What do I do to justify myself to whom? It wasn't much of a coup, but she walked away in a huff, which was good enough for me!
On the topic of Bear Artist, I have to share a definition from the glossary of Christie's Century of Teddy Bears, by Leyla Maniera, who established the Teddy Bear Division at Christie's Auction House, and then joined Steiff as an official keeper/researcher of their records. This lady knows what she's talking about. This was published in 2001:
Artist Bear: A bear designed by an individual and finished by hand.
So it seems to me that if you design Artist Bears, you must be a Bear Artist, right? If this is good enough for Christie's and Steiff, I guess it's good enough for me! :rose:
I absolutely live for the day when I can steal Michelle Lamb's bon mot, as reported by Shelli (tell me if I've got this wrong, Shelli) some time ago. When someone noticed the fur all over her clothes, and asked if she worked with dogs, she answered, "No. Bears!" It can't get better than that!
Eileen
I absolutely live for the day when I can steal Michelle Lamb's bon mot, as reported by Shelli (tell me if I've got this wrong, Shelli) some time ago. When someone noticed the fur all over her clothes, and asked if she worked with dogs, she answered, "No. Bears!" It can't get better than that!
LOL!!!! Yes, and then just walk away.....
Wild Thyme OriginalsWhen someone noticed the fur all over her clothes, and asked if she worked with dogs, she answered, "No. Bears!" It can't get better than that!
Oh, I've had that happen to me in line at the grocery store two times when I've run out for something shortly after working with mohair!!! One lady even "guessed" the breed of dog that I owned! I actually felt bad for her when I explained that it was mohair fuzz.... she seemed embarrassed. :redface: She just thought that she just thought she was bonding with another doggie lover... and since I don't currently have any pets, it ended up that she felt like she was pointing out my messiness! I told her about my bears, showed her my card which has a little picture of one of my bear faces on it. I told her about how I trim and pluck the mohair around the muzzle and faces of my bears. After we straightened out the whole thing and I assured her that she hadn't offended me in any way... we both had a good little chuckle about it! Turns out that she is a dog groomer who operates a business in a neighboring town. She gave me one of her cards as well! She told me I should stop in an see how she trims "her" muzzles! A couple of weeks later, I did stop in, and dog groomers do have some wonderful trimmers and scissors that they do their trimming with! I thought my nice sharp embridery scissors were expensive..... you can't believe how much their tools cost... I'm sure it's the same for hair stylists (right Jenny!?) i did pick up some great tips by watching her work on a couple of show dogs! How to properly hold the scissors, the angle of the scissors in relation to the head vs. the effect you are trying to achieve, etc., etc.... Things I had never really thought of because I just kind of slowly hack away and "wing it!" Anyway.... I was glad I didn't get offended and that we had a little chat, because it did give me some new knowledge!
Now.... being asked how much money you make IS essentially a pretty rude question, I mean, folks are probably just curious. I might be curious when someone tells me that they do something kind of unique and different... but I certainly don't inquire as to how much money they make.
Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals
Pandy Potter BearsI have been self employed since I was 21 and am now 37. I have owned a menswear shop (loads of money at the time, but things never last), a pine and teddy bear shop (not enough money in it), a slimming group leader(not Weight Watchers, Slimming World, still do that) and I make bears. I just say I help people lose weight, its loads easier than explaining about the bears. My husband helps me with the slimming and he does not have to get 'a proper job'. He has the harder time explaining. Only the other week my Mother-in-law said she thought we were both claiming sickness benefit, nothing wrong with that, but we aren't sick! I know some people scam this goverment, but crickey, my own family think that. Its hard when you don't do a conventional job, but all said and done what we do for a living doesn't define who we are. Still, people must wonder how we get by, I'm sure their imagination must run wild.
Baird'sBears
Good point, Kim!
I guess I'll have to figure out how to have it both ways . . . how about,
"Do you work with dogs?"
"No. Bears! [grab sleeve here before she gets away]But are you by any chance a dog-groomer?"
Works for me.
Actually, I've been trying to get around to visiting some local dog-groomers, just in case they have some good felt-worthy cuttings. I guess the best season for this would be early summer.
Eileen
"O really....(long pause,eyes glaze over)......anyway i have to go and see where my husband/wife has got to"
Penny, you just crack me up! Try telling people that you're a librarian and a bear maker.
The standard response is...I love reading, lucky you to spend all day reading books. uh no, I work in a health library. I spend most of my day on the internet sourcing material from all over the world for our patrons and currently most of the things that cross my desk are to do with nasty things like cervical cancer, post-mortem fertilisation (don't even ask) and other greebly things. I love my job but people so don't get it. Then to add that I spend my spare time making teddy bears - they can't get away fast enough. Either that or tell them that you work for a government department and suddenly everything that the government is doing is personally down to you.
Dilu - I love love love your responses : )
Delartful BearsOh Melissa, I gotta ask... Post Mortem fertilisation............... ploise explain! Send me a Private Message if it's too gross to aire publicly - but I really wanna know LOL
Danni
oops danni - typed this all very hastily (venting you know!!) and realised I probably shouldn't have put that there...
LuxembearsNOSY PARKERS
...Penny I have not heard this since I was a child!!! LOLOLOL!!!
I'm in...people do the same to me as many of you are saying. "How Much for a stuffed animal????"....then I like to tell them what some of the auctions from artists have gone for....and how about that Steiff bear that auctioned for 174,000$$$$! and smile...:):):):)
It gets tiresome, having to explain why I quit my job as a RN to stay at home and live my dream as an artist. Our money is just as green as any doctor or laywer...I wonder if they love thier jobs as much...hhhhhmmmmmmm
Kim-Bee BearsJudi - Anyone would love to be able to make a living off of their dreams! You are so very very talented! If I could just stay home and make bears, I would, but I would probably starve! LMAO
I find that anyone who enjoys art, bears, creates art understand the bear artistry thing.... Like I said, there are certain people who look at me like I have two heads when I tell them that I make bears... that is ok, as long as I am happy and I have you gals who understand me and my hubby and family supports me, that is fine
Luxembearsas long as I am happy and I have you gals who understand me and my hubby and family supports me, that is fine
AMEN to that Kimmy!
I also think that there are so many people who are just not educated in the world of bear art. I remember the first time I picked up a TBF magazine...I just about dropped my jaw when I looked at the bears and thier prices...a bit of a shock at first. SO that is why I think people often react the way they do.
Posts: 8,574You made me laugh with the mohair and threads hanging off you.....I always have threads or mohair or both. But Hubs came home from work to report that the guys were ribbing him because the back of his shirt had severl threads, different colors too....so he had to explain....
I always tell him I have to vacuume every day because if I died the house would be a forensic scientests nightmare trying to figure our the cats, vs. dog, vs bird, vs gollys, vs bears, vs human shedding
Kim-Bee BearsLMAO! Well, if anyone was in your house and they had a suspect, they would easily be linked to the scene by fiber analysis, as demonstrated by your hubby!
Jare Hares & BearsI just cam across this post and boy! What a hoot!
People at work as me how's the bear business and I tell them that I have orders upto my eyeballs. No one there asks such rude questions about how much I make. They might ask how long it takes to make a bear. But I have been around long enough and have "taught" most of them what all goes into making bears and that it is expensive. Most understand, by now.
Here's a typical conversation at work.
"So you work at home too. What do you do?"
I make teddy bears and rabbits.
"Oh well my sister's best friend's cousin collects Boyds bears. So are they like that?"
or
"My mom makes bears out of cloth or used jeans"
or
"So N So makes bears and I have several of hers in my collection" (We have several "So N Sos" in our area who make craft bears, there is no artistry put into the creation of the bear. They simply make it to make money like other crafts. Or they claim that their bears are patterned after Stieff bears, when they haven't even seen one. It gives me a headache! Anyone got any Advil?)
Another co-worker answers for me,"Oh no Jared's bears are much better than that."
"Really?"
I respond with...
Do you have a computer and internet?
"Yes"
I write down my web site and mom's and then say go check this out and you can see them for yourself.
Plus a big help this year was the cover of Teddy Bear Review. It gives me a great deal of credibility.
If they don't understand it after that then it is their lost. But like Shelli said
Inevitably, these are the very same people wearing $300 Prada shoes or driving $80,000 German luxury cars, when a $35 pair of Nine Wests from TJMAXX, or a Honda CIVIC, would serve those purposes just as well!
I feel not for these people but pity.
LOL Jared!!!!
Flying Fur StudiosMy boss, after seeing one of my bears and laughing that people would pay so much for something like that, asked me why someone would pay that much.
I just simply answered,
" and why would anyone pay more that $10 for a painting?? "
Funny how he didn't have an answer.
People can be soo darn rude!!!
Heather
