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Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)No way!!
I ruined my finger joints on these minis; they're all knobbly and huge now - and arthritic. Needle felting is so kind to them...I was about to give up bear-making altogether about 9 years ago when I made the switch, and I'm very happy with the change. All fabric was sold and given away.
Take care, miniaturists, squeezing and releasing the fabrics and needles a million times a week?/month? while stitching & turning & stuffing will eventually catch up with you......
I have ordered a copy of Ted Menten's first teddy bear book "The teddy bear lover's catalog" and I can't wait to see what it's like (I think it was first published in 1987).
1985, I think. I have a copy, it's good. My favourite though is Peter Bull's "A Hug of Teddy Bears". :)
-- Thomas Adam
Newcastle, OntarioBobbie,
You've hit the nail on the head - my hands are really bothering me with arthritis and they just ache. I can't close either of my baby fingers at all. That's why I've gradually gone to larger and larger bears 4-7 inches, instead of 2-3 inches. I've always thought I'd like to try needlefelting - maybe I should Hmmmmm!
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)That's one thing I forgot - fingers that won't close into a fist. For me it's middle fingers. Aging isn't for sissies, but it beats the alternative!
Any time you want to give it a go - let me know and I'm there!!!!
q.D.paToOtieSI was reading the "professional bear artists" posts and found it very interesting. I then (after reading Bobbie's post) got to wondering just how many of us are still around?
More to the point how many are still around on TT reading my post?
Hi Sandi!
I'm kind of around but kind of not. I lost my teddy "mojo" over the past year and a half. I'm flip flopping in styles and wallowing in self pity. That pretty much keeps me busy right there! LOL!
Boechout, Antwerp1985, I think. I have a copy, it's good. My favourite though is Peter Bull's "A Hug of Teddy Bears".
-- Thomas Adam
Yes, Thomas, you are right : "A Hug of Teddy Bears" by Peter Bull is THE best book for arctophiles (and I have got an autographed copy :dance: ).
Melbourne, Australiabearlysane wrote:I was reading the "professional bear artists" posts and found it very interesting. I then (after reading Bobbie's post) got to wondering just how many of us are still around?
More to the point how many are still around on TT reading my post?Hi Sandi!
I'm kind of around but kind of not. I lost my teddy "mojo" over the past year and a half. I'm flip flopping in styles and wallowing in self pity. That pretty much keeps me busy right there! LOL!
Hi Lisa...great to see you still here. How are the girls? I bet they've grown some. I wish I could help you find your mojo, you've certainly made some creative bears in your time.
Posts: 214
THUMBS ALSO HURT, WHEN YOU HAVE MADE TEDDY BEARS SINCE 1976. I AM STILL AROUND, AND SO IS MY MOM 
, WHO STARTED
THE WHOLE TEDDY BEAR BUSINESS. I STILL MAKE SOME "ON ORDER". AND SOME SMALL ''HUGS'' OF CERTAIN DESIGNS THAT I LIKE IN
PARTICULAR. MOM IS NOW BATTLING AN EXTREMELY SERIOUS ILLNESS----STILL HOPING TO CONTINUE HER ''HUGS'' IN THE FUTURE.
A VERY SINCERE ''THANK YOU'' TO ALL WHO HAVE WRITTEN.
HUGS TO ALL OF YOU :hug: :hug: :hug:
JOHN PAUL
and BEVERLY
DoodlebearsI'm in my fourteenth year making bears, but I started making stuffed toys when I was seven, which included many bears. They were far from what I make now, so I guess they wouldn't count. 
JOHN: I hope your dear mum gets better soon. :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
Hugs, Jane.
Bears by EdieI'm still here too - after 24 years! (Although l've slowed down a lot in my production so it'll likely take me another 24 years to use up all my fabric stash!)
Past Time BearsI'm still here too - after 24 years! (Although l've slowed down a lot in my production so it'll likely take me another 24 years to use up all my fabric stash!)
So true, Edie . . . I have more mohair/other fabrics than I could ever use up in this lifetime!
Melbourne, AustraliaI'm still here too - after 24 years! (Although l've slowed down a lot in my production so it'll likely take me another 24 years to use up all my fabric stash!)
LOL! Edie I think most of us have that problem...I think it's a common addiction that goes hand in hand with bear artistry.
I've been creating since the early 90's. It is kind of sad alot of artists have stopped making bears.
I just keep my eye on ebay and once in awhile something pops up from an artist that I've been wanting.. lol.
Hugs,
Melanie
Parker BearsI'm still here although my bears are much smaller now. I traded at my first show in 1990 ( I had been making for a few years before that ) and have been going since that makes it 20+ years. Still just as excited about making bears now as I was back then and having loads more fun with the minis.
Hugs Lyn
i am a bit of an odd ball, like to do different things like Lisa of QDpatooties
i started sewing when i was 6 and even sold a few things for £1 or so !!!
then sewed some small dogs in the late eighties and some simple bears and animals ....
became raggyrat lady in 1996, and still make a few ...
our lovely Wendy-Matilda found me on line and invited me here
and i thought, man i always wanted to make those fancy bears and so on ....
so i started dabbling and i have made a great many different things since then, plus another daughter ! LOL
oh
i have been sewing a long time ....
cat xxxx
bears , bears and more bears still feature in my life, selling from my shop, travelling abroad. My first artist bear I purchased while in the UK from Amanda Hughes, heard she is no longer making.
Lynette
I'm a little late to this thread (I just found it on TT's Facebook page) ... but I'm not late to the Teddy Bear World. I've been a Teddy Bear Artist since 1988 and I knew I would be a TB artist for the rest of my life after I won a Golden Teddy in 1989. I spent the 1990s doing all the TB shows around Southern California and I got to meet many of the great TB artists of that era. Whenever I opened a teddy bear magazine in the 90s it was always fun because I had done a show with most of the artists featured. It was a great time to be a Teddy Bear Artist. Now everything is online. In the early 2000s I had to teach myself enough about computers to keep my Bear Business alive. Now 24 years after making my first bear, I'm still sewing 7 days a week because I am blessed to have long waiting lists of collectors ... thank goodness !!! .... because after all this time as a Teddy Bear Artist, I couldn't make a living doing anything else.
This is a photo of my most recent creation.
I've been making soft toys since 1957. Just in the last several years I have focused it down on traditional teddies...my favorite. Although my last bear, Miss Lily Bearbottom was far from traditional. I have made hundreds of soft sculpture dolls...sold in shops in the west. This year I have slowed down a lot because of health. Hope I can get back in the grove!!!
Busser BearsHey, Miss Bobbie, nice words, thank you!! It's Krikau now (crick-cow). I started in the early 90's when it was waning a bit, and then in 2004 I was lucky enough to get nominated for a Toby.
My life has changed so much for the better. Five years ago last December I moved from Ohio to Elkhart, IN to get married to a wonderful guy. We married in June, coming up 5 years in a few months, on a fabulous day where we couldn't have picked better weather if we'd ordered it personally-the weatherman even said that on tv that morning-on the Elkhart Riverboat Queen, surrounded by family and friends.
We now have 4 dogs-you may remember my shih tzu, Annie-she resembled my Toby nominee...she passed at the age of 12 the 2nd year I lived here. I have another shih tzu, Cassie, that my husband got for my birthday 3 years ago this coming September. Plus another dear dog, my Liebchen, my German shepherd passed last year in February, just shy of her 5th birthday. A liver condition that she was born with, my dad passed a month later in March, and my husband lost his father later in the year.
Death can take a holiday from us for awhile.
Our other dogs are Tu-Tu, a yellow lab who lives up to her name-sometimes she's just too-too much...a boxer mix, Tippy. We adopted another dog, Charlie a German shepherd/great dane/mastiff mix..he's a mommy's boy for sure!
I work fulltime, 7:30-4:30 pm, get up at 5am...dang that's early, Monday-Friday.
I don't really work on bears much any more. But I sure do miss seeing my friends. I used to visit Celia Baham in San Jose at least twice a year, and it's been over 5 since we've seen each other. I do miss that.
Good to catch up with everyone!
hugs,
Leeann
Busser Bears
q.D.paToOtieSLisa wrote:bearlysane wrote:I was reading the "professional bear artists" posts and found it very interesting. I then (after reading Bobbie's post) got to wondering just how many of us are still around?
More to the point how many are still around on TT reading my post?Hi Sandi!
I'm kind of around but kind of not. I lost my teddy "mojo" over the past year and a half. I'm flip flopping in styles and wallowing in self pity. That pretty much keeps me busy right there! LOL!
Hi Lisa...great to see you still here. How are the girls? I bet they've grown some. I wish I could help you find your mojo, you've certainly made some creative bears in your time.
Teehee. I can still be found on Google+ - still looking for my Mojo though. And yes, my girls have grown quite a bit:
Pocahontas Costume by qdpatooties, on Flickr
My oldest who is now 8 in a Pocahontas outfit I made for her last week.
Crazy Hats #2 and #3 - Don't Worry Mom, I'll Keep My Eye On Her by qdpatooties, on Flickr
The twins now 7 all dressed up for Dr. Seuss "Read Across America" wearing crazy hats for the occasion.
q.D.paToOtieSi am a bit of an odd ball, like to do different things like Lisa of QDpatooties
i started sewing when i was 6 and even sold a few things for £1 or so !!!oh
i have been sewing a long time ....
cat xxxx
Yep, me and you Cat love to sew those "different things!" Must be the twin mum thing we have going on too!
