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Posts: 18I am not an expert in mohair quality, but do all Steiff Teddy bears have the same quality of mohair, or do they use better quality ones only for limited edition/replicas?
Also say if the quality is pretty much equal, quality-wise (mohair in general), how good is the quality of mohair from Steiff? eg. the best grade, or middle of the ground? Thanks!
Bumpkin BearsAs far as I am aware Steiff use Schulte Mohair, considered to be the highest quality mohair on the market. There are many different types of mohair within the same manufacturer, from sparser varieties to kid mohair (this is the richest, softest, most dense variety). I hope this helps a bit. I'm sure some others may have ideas too.
Bear Hugs
Catherine
The Littlest ThistleSteiff use only Schulte mohair, which can be purchased from some online retailers. You can apparently tell if it's Steiff Schulte mohair if it's got green thread in the selvages 
You can read more about the connection here http://www.reinhardschulte.de/en/geschichte.html
Posts: 18Ah I see, thanks for the link.
I don't make bears so to be honest, I probably can't tell the difference between a top quality mohair and a lesser quality one anyway, haha...
BeauT BearsSteiff has always used Schulte mohair for their mohair bears but, I think it was about a year ago, Schulte Mohair was acquired by Steiff. Since then it is officially Steiff-Schulte mohair. For most bearmakers (Steiff) Schulte mohair was and still is THE best mohair, or as Schulte used to state: Schulte mohair, the fabric teddies are made of (or equally ) and they always aim for top quality.
Hugs from Holland,
Marianne
Posts: 18I see. I've had a look at the video of how they made the paper bear, amazing stuff.
Sacred Bear StudiosAs has already been said, as far as I know steiff uses only Schulte, however, they also used to only manufacture in Germany. Now they are farming out some of their production to a factory in China, so who knows. Their material quality and design innovation over the last 10 years has.....declined 
BeauT BearsAs has already been said, as far as I know steiff uses only Schulte, however, they also used to only manufacture in Germany. Now they are farming out some of their production to a factory in China, so who knows. Their material quality and design innovation over the last 10 years has.....declined :/
@BlackmoonBear: I was wondering the quality of what materials exactly you are referring to? Is it the fabrics (mohair, alpaca, synthetic plush) that Steiff uses for Steiff collector's items, or for their (lower budget) soft toys for kids (those - the toys, not the kids 
- are b.t.w. as far as I know the items that are mainly manufactured in Asian countries and they have been for many a number of years already)
And as for what you are saying about poor design innovation I must admit that I do not like all new Steiff items that have been developed in recent years (but then, I still prefer the older ones) but to say that both design innovation and material quality are actually reclining to me seems a bit harsh 
. Have you actually seen any of the new items that were introduced in the past decade in the fur yourself? But perhaps it's also a matter of whether or not certain Steiff items are appealing to you. I have had the privilege to be present at the annual introduction of the new Steiff collection for quite a number of years now and to actually see / feel the new items, and believe me that's different from watching them in a catalogue. Perhaps that makes a difference.
For me personally, as a bearmaker, (Steiff)-Schulte mohair was and still is one of the best fabrics to work with, and that goes both for quality and 'design'.
Regards,
Marianne
Posts: 18Can't quite comment on the quality between older and newer generation Steiff since I am still new, but if I am not mistaken, limited edition from a few years ago were packaged in their own unique boxes with the names on them right? Looks like recent limited editions come in generic blue/white box with Steiff animals picture on it.
I wish all limited editions and replicas come in their own boxes with the name of the edition on it like what they used to be. For limited editions I don't actually mind to pay extra $10/$20 or so if it can be packaged in a nice presentation.
BeauT BearsCan't quite comment on the quality between older and newer generation Steiff since I am still new, but if I am not mistaken, limited edition from a few years ago were packaged in their own unique boxes with the names on them right? Looks like recent limited editions come in generic blue/white box with Steiff animals picture on it.
I wish all limited editions and replicas come in their own boxes with the name of the edition on it like what they used to be. For limited editions I don't actually mind to pay extra $10/$20 or so if it can be packaged in a nice presentation.
All Steiff ltd. edition items are packed properly in Steiff boxes and always (should) have their certificate of authenticity with serial number and the total number produced worldwide. What I don't know, however, is whether there are different kinds of boxes in different countries.
Quite a lot of times Steiff is ordered by third parties to produce a replica (e.g. by Teddybears of Witney or by Sue Pearson) which come with something extra like a book with details / pictures on the original item or packaging with picture of the item.
For what's the standard for packaging of ltd. editions in the US you could ask the Steiff Club USA through http://www.steiffusa.com/ClubHome.aspx No doubt they can give you a more detailed answer than me
Hope to have helped you a bit with this.
Regards,
Marianne
Steiff ltd. edition items are packed properly in Steiff boxes and always (should) have their certificate of authenticity with serial number and the total number produced worldwide. What I don't know, however, is whether there are different kinds of boxes in different countries.
The Steiff limited editions and replicas that I've gotten in recent years have come in a black cotton drawstring bag with the item's name embroidered in yellow. As someone with a lot of bears and other stuffed animals, I find these bags much easier to store than the nice, but bulky snap-top boxes.
Becky
BeauT BearsMarianne wrote:Steiff ltd. edition items are packed properly in Steiff boxes and always (should) have their certificate of authenticity with serial number and the total number produced worldwide. What I don't know, however, is whether there are different kinds of boxes in different countries.
The Steiff limited editions and replicas that I've gotten in recent years have come in a black cotton drawstring bag with the item's name embroidered in yellow. As someone with a lot of bears and other stuffed animals, I find these bags much easier to store than the nice, but bulky snap-top boxes.
Becky
Hi Becky,
You are right about the embroidered drawstring bags. I had forgotten about them!
Posts: 18I got Steiff Yes/No and also the small 1910 bears. They are both limited editions but come in identical Steiff generic blue/white boxes (with stickers of model numbers of the bear underneath the boxes. They do come with certificates though. One is 2009 edition, the other 2010, and maybe they don't make those special boxes (or cotton bags) anymore for recent releases? It's a shame though because I like those special boxes with the names of the limited edition/replicas printed nicely on them, and the certificates don't look as nice as older ones too. Just a little nit picking but it's good to have something nice for special bears.
Posts: 18Back to Mohair, I also notice that different bears may have different mohair blends. For example, 75% mohair 25% cotton, or 50% mohair 50% cotton. I guess the less mohair content is more economical, but I am curious about the blending with cotton affect the mohair? softer or harder? And is there such thing as 100% mohair Steiff?
BeauT BearsBack to Mohair, I also notice that different bears may have different mohair blends. For example, 75% mohair 25% cotton, or 50% mohair 50% cotton. I guess the less mohair content is more economical, but I am curious about the blending with cotton affect the mohair? softer or harder? And is there such thing as 100% mohair Steiff?
I don't know about the 'blended' mohair types; guess you are right about the cotton/mohair blends being more economical. I do know that Steiff also has mohair/silk blends, but haven't used these so far (wasn't particularly attracted to the cotton/mohair blend fabrics I have seen / felt, but that is my preference and not more than that). The mohair/silk blends look OK and feel good to me, but I prefer the 100% mohairs. Yes, there are 100% mohair fabrics, be it that the backing usually is made of cotton and it's the fur that is the 100% mohair. Amongst the 100% mohair fabrics those made of so-called 'kid mohair' (first cut from the young angora goat) are even softer than 'regular' mohair.
Oh, and I agree that it's, as for packaging, nice to have something special for a special bear. After all you are paying enough for them !!
Marianne
Back to Mohair, I also notice that different bears may have different mohair blends. For example, 75% mohair 25% cotton, or 50% mohair 50% cotton. I guess the less mohair content is more economical, but I am curious about the blending with cotton affect the mohair? softer or harder? And is there such thing as 100% mohair Steiff?
I think you may be mis-reading the 50? cotton/50% mohair labels. The backing is cotton. The pile is mohair.
I've never seen a mohair/cotton blend, but I have seen mohair pile blended with silk and viscose (rayon). From Schulte and from Steiff, I've never seen any blended mohair pile.
Becky
