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Posts: 28Is there anyone here who collects manufactured bears as well as artist bears? Manufactured bears are about my only option at this point. I can't afford most artist bears.
What kinds do you like? Me I'll go for any bear as long as it doesn't have certain fur types. There are certain textures that make me feel ill if I touch them and this includes the feathery type fur you find on a lot of manufactured bears these days. I avoid them like the plague.
My collection is mostly Ty since there are several stores in my vicinity that stocks Ty merchandise. I have a vintage Care Bear and AG Bear from the 80s A couple newer Care Bears, Four Vermont bears. a Harley Davidson Bear, two Poohs and a black bear I made at the Build a Bear workshop named Darkpaw. The rest are Ty.
I'm always looking to add to the group. I don't really care about the brand so long as I like the fur texture. I'd love a Steiff someday, but it's unlikely I'll ever be able to afford one. I'm also hunting for a place within driving distance that stocks Boyd's. No luck so far.
It sounds as if you have quite a collection!
I also have several Ty bears that I couldn't resist, and some that came to me as gifts from friends. They're just as welcome in my hug as my artist and antique bears.
My favorite manufactured bears are from Steiff, and there are some bargains to be found on eBay. And if you don't mind buying bears from a photo only, one online company I like that sells Boyd's and others (and has sales and specials, too) is www.beaconsglow.com
Becky
PennsylvaniaYou can afford a Steiff. :)
Steiff makes a couple different lines of Bears. There are the collectible mohair Bears. There are some mid-range Bears made from synthetic plush and there are a few Bears for more budget conscious collectors or children.
http://thetoyshoppe.com/product_info.ph … ts_id=2004
Look around and you can find plenty of nice Steiff Bears for under $100.
http://thetoyshoppe.com/product_info.ph … ts_id=2018
If you really want a collectible mohair Steiff you can always save your pennies. That's what our humans do.
They put a coffee can on the kitchen counter and toss in all their spare change when they come home from the grocery store.
50¢... $1.00... $2.00 per day adds up.
Saving up an average of $1.00 per day adds up to $100.00 in just over 3 months.
If you can put away $20.00 per week you will be able to buy a $200.00 Bear in just 10 weeks!
It's all just a matter of how you look at the problem. 
For your other question: We are a mixed hug of Bears. We are manufactured and artist Bears. There are one of a kind Bears. There are mass produced Bears. We are Ty. We are Boyd's We are Gund, Steiff, Hermann, NABCO. We are all kinds.
Our humans like different fur types. They like mohair, synthetic, real fur and all sorts of types in between.
Some of us are commercial mascotts. There is a "Snuggle" fabric softener Bear living here. There are Campbell's Soup and Hershey's Chocolate Bears living here. Our humans collect us mainly based on style. There are a lot of Gund "Snuffles" Bears in our hug.
Here, take a look at our den. This is where we live: http://homepage.mac.com/randystankey/bears/bears.html
Woodbury Park BearsI have a big hug too about 700 bears not counting my own artist bears that I sell sometimes they don't make it to my website 
every size from 1 inch to 36 inch I am re arranging them in new rooms at the moment. I have been collecting for over 15 years (I remember that because thats when I moved to this house with my little hug of around 50 bears). I have artist bears , manufactured bears, promotional bears, football and other sporting bears and my daughter has around 70 Beanie Beans (similar to TY's) I think thats the beauty of collecting bears they don't have to be terribly expensive. I also have books and prints and art pieces and no two are a like. I love bears can you tell 
Raewyn
Raewyn
FenBeary FolkHi Patchworkbear
I too have a huge collection of Ty from the mid 90's, I have some Boyds (they often can be found at good prices on ebay)
I also own some Steiff, they have been bought in sales and by buying from a shop that does layaway.
I own 2 precious artist bears, which came to live with me via a swap (organised by this forum) and my 3rd artist bear will be on their way to me next week (when I have paid my final instalment)
It is worth considering asking if an artist does layaway (I do) or often you will find that most shops will be happy too, the key is to give small amounts and often or why not set up a savings account especially for your hug
:hug: :hug:
Boechout, AntwerpHi Steve,
I understand your problem. The bear that got me really hooked was a Steiff bear, but one of the "cosy range", so not a limited edition, but one suitable for small children. I still love this bear, although many more have joined my hug since.
As US Bears rightly mentioned, not all Steiff bears are expensive. Just check out the Steiff USA website and go to the "cosy friends" http://www.steiffusa.com/SteiffStore/pr … oryid=cftb. You will find lovely teddies, starting at US$ 20,00.
Another affordable range of bears which are really gorgeous are the Charlie Bears : http://www.charliebears.co.uk/ This is an English company, but they have a list of shops in the USA that carry their bears. They have a very affordable plush range (starting at about US$ 40,00 ) and a more expensive mohair range.
When I first started my hug of teddy bears, I thought that Artist bears were extremely expensive and certainly out of my price range. Granted, some of them are expensive, but certainly not all of them. Many artists make smaller bears, because they are more affordable for the general public. I suggest you check out the "teddy bear & friends" section on TT and then click on the website of the artist whose bears you like. Many of the artists are happy to offer layaway, so if the bear you fancy is too expensive to pay at once, you can always ask the artist if he/she will accept payment in a few instalments. Most artists will be happy to oblige.
One of the exciting things about adopting an artist bear (besides knowing that you have a unique bear) is that you can communicate with the person who made the bear. For instance, when I have adopted an artist bear, I always take some photos of the bear in his new home and send them to the artist. They love to see their bears in their new home with new friends. It really creates a bond between you, the bear and the artist. 
. So I definitely wouldn't rule out artist bears.
Hugs, :hug:
Peter
My own collection of Charlie Bears so far:
I also collect artist bears, I tend to either save up for them, put them on layaway or get them for Christmas/birthdays.
Bubble Up Bears!Nice collection Gemma.
Sophie Z'OursI collect Merrythought Cheeky bears. I am in love for their smile... See in your thread of the new member section, I added a photo.
I also collect artist bears.
As a teddy bear maker, I try to make bears affordable for a wide range of customers, starting at pretty low prices for collector bears. So I too suggest you have a look to our websites if there are some of our bears that appeal to you.
Beary hugs,
Sophie.
I have a big hug of bears...I have a lot of the TY larger bears that were given to me; an Old Pooh bear that I love...An original Bilosky; several Boyds bears and, my favorite huge bear that my hubby found in the street run over by cars! I always check out the bears at junk and antique stores....
The Littlest ThistleMost of my bears are artist bears or bears that I made myself, mainly because where we lived for a lot of the time when I was growing up there was a huge fair twice a year. I saved up my pocket money and birthday/Christmas money and bought myelf one every time. I've also received bears from my parents for Christmas and birthdays, and they tended to be artist bears too. I do have some commercial bears, mostly commemorating something, be it a trip I've made, or an event I've attended, and I don't have a clue what their provenance is, sorry! I also have some Merrythought bears as it was Telford that we lived in all those years, home of the Merrythought factory.
Posts: 28Wow! I wasn't aware you could get a Steiff for under $100. I'm definately going to have to look into that. Sooner or later I'm going to have to check into getting an artist bear or two as well. I've seen some nice ones in the short time I've been here.
And Gemma, that is an awesome collection of bears.
Emo BearsI have a lovely Boyd's Rabbit and 2 Charlie Bears. Charlie bears are a great way to get an artist bear look for not much money
All the rest of my bears are artist bears; I currently own 8. I like to save up, and keep an eye on eBay; second hand artist bears are very often more reasonable. I bought an artist bear, direct from the artist for £70; and picked up a similar bear, same design but secondhand for £30.
Is there anyone here who collects manufactured bears as well as artist bears? Manufactured bears are about my only option at this point. I can't afford most artist bears.
See:
http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=32719
What kinds do you like? Me I'll go for any bear as long as it doesn't have certain fur types. There are certain textures that make me feel ill if I touch them and this includes the feathery type fur you find on a lot of manufactured bears these days. I avoid them like the plague.
My collection is mostly Ty since there are several stores in my vicinity that stocks Ty merchandise. I have a vintage Care Bear and AG Bear from the 80s A couple newer Care Bears, Four Vermont bears. a Harley Davidson Bear, two Poohs and a black bear I made at the Build a Bear workshop named Darkpaw. The rest are Ty.
My sister used to collect Ty bears -- and/or beanie babies. Part of my hug does contain some "huggable bears" -- that is to say, some beanie teddies, "from me to you bears", etc., as gifts from friends and family, and I tend to go to sleep cuddling "hippo" -- a hippo from Build-a-bear, before their teddy bear range went to shit. He wears red pyjamas. See:
... albeit an old photo graph. :)
I'm always looking to add to the group. I don't really care about the brand so long as I like the fur texture. I'd love a Steiff someday, but it's unlikely I'll ever be able to afford one. I'm also hunting for a place within driving distance that stocks Boyd's. No luck so far.
This is always the right way to do it -- a teddy bear need not be expensive or of a particular type for it to be any less or more valid -- it's your decision, you do what you like. :)
I have lots of artists teddy bears, but then the style of the bears I like usually is only found by people making specific types of teddy bear -- like the bears dangerbears makes. :D
-- Thomas Adam
Fulrfun BearsYou could always join one of our swaps! Then you get an artist bear for free! Well in exchange anyway and I have never been disappointed.
I collect manufactured and artist bears. I have everything from Steiff to artist to Gund to unknown bears, and I love them all.
As others have said, not all Steiffs are expensive. My husband and I own Sunny Bears (www.sunny-bears.com), and we even have some Steiff mini mohair bears under $50. We also offer layaway plans.
PennsylvaniaWow! Chrissie! You've got a nice selection of Bears at your web store!
patchworkbear... This is the Steiff Bear you need to get!
http://www.sunny-bears.com/inv/steiff/c … 036125.php
He's a "White Tag" limited edition Bear. He's only $130, marked down from almost $150 and Sunny-Bears offers free domestic shipping if you buy $100 worth of merchandise!
You can't beat that deal with a stick!
Seriously! Grab that Bear right now!
If you don't, I just might!
Posts: 28I wish I could Us Bears. But with Christmas coming up, the monthly Bear fund has to go to buy Christmas gifts for the family. I won't have any bear money till January.
PennsylvaniaThat's okay. I know how it goes. We're on a budget in this house too.
We have a highly tuned sense of "Bear Radar" and we have to learn to appreciate them from afar instead of adopting every Bear we see. When you have as many Bears as we do you have to learn to be choosy.
Even Bears have to learn their priorities, dontcha' know! 
However, there's nothing wrong with putting a Bear on your Christmas list!
If you are a very good girl, maybe Santa will bring you a Bear. 
Posts: 28I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a Vermont Teddy Bear for Christmas, so I won't be totally bearless this month. I've gotten bears the past three Christmases. It's kind of a tradition now.
Thomas Adam, I love your Hippo...I have an old kitten I got from build a bear...she is so sweet and she wears a cheer leader uniform for the St. Louis Cardinals...
