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Braille TeddiesI'm just curious about the different perspectives on bears from makers and collectors. Do you think your bears should be displayed and just looked at or do you think they are friends to be cuddled and hugged? I know I'm kind of weird, but I know people who sit their bears on a shelf and hardly ever pick them up. I may be crazy, but I feel so bad for those bears that it makes me cry. When I got my Retro, I could tell that his previous owner was a collector who put him on a shelf. It didn't look like he had been hugged very much at all and I felt so bad for him. It was like he said to me, "Please hug me. I have so much love to give." Also, for some reason I have a phobia of putting my bears in glass cases. I don't know why. I heard that it protects the bears, but when I think about getting a glass case for my bears my skin crawls.
For those of you who put your bears behind glass, I'm not criticizing. I'm just curious to hear your opinion.
desertmountainbearI will confess and say that I am not a real cuddler. I do collect, and they stay in my workroom on a shelf. But they have an important job there, to inspire. I surround myself with them in my room because just their presence makes me happy. Many of the bears I have are old, and have had their fair share of cuddling from previous owners. I do take them down sometimes and brush them and make sure they stay free of dirt and dust.
As far as cuddling I have pets and they really like to be cuddled and loved. I think that if I ever tried to replace their time with me with a teddy bear they would be so sad, so I save the cuddle time for them.
Joanne
Braille TeddiesWell I cuddle my cat, but I also cuddle bears. I guess that's okay if you can see them, but if you can't you probably wouldn't even know they were there if you didn't hug them. I just feel so bad for a bear that just sits on a shelf. My poor Retro was scarred for life because he spent his whole life that way. Arcto cries at the thought of not being held and cuddled.
desertmountainbearYou are a true bear love Wubbie.
Joanne
Braille TeddiesYep, some people think I'm crazy, but the bears and I know better. I'm just crazy about my bears.
Emo Bearspersonally mine mostly sit on a shelf and look sweet 
They are there to make me smile. Having said that I do have one that I sleep with, it helps me get to sleep although I have no idea why it works.
Like Joanne I have pets for cuddling; 3 Chinchillas (and soon to be 4). They are the softest thing you could ever imagine! Although they don't like to be cuddled much they are far too independant for that!
I'd say there are a lot of factors and a lot of ways that people enjoy their bears. First, bears do get dusty, and although I don't much like the look of glass cases, I do sometimes wish that my (many) bears and critters didn't get dusty. Anyway, mine do, so they get vacuumed once in awhile.
But in terms of cuddling, there are still several "kinds" of bears at my house. There's a group that sit next to my computer and give me encouraging looks while I'm working. There are others on a shelf above them, and they're kind of out of reach, but they make me smile every time I walk into my office. (With my eyeballs, I'm able to enjoy them without touching them, and a couple of them are kind of delicate due to their age.) Then there are the guest room bears, and they probably get handled the most since they are moved and then re-arranged fairly often. (I like to group them differently every time a guest goes away and they get their room back.)
Finally, the bears speak to me every so often, and then I might pick one up to pet and cuddle, or I might bring that one to bed with me. Anyway, all of my bears are out and about, and I enjoy every one of them. (How was that for a long answer? :lol:)
Becky
i display, and cuddle a bit, carry them about and ask them if they are ok lately !!!!
cat xxx
Braille TeddiesI'm glad someone else carries her bears around. I thought I was weird.
i am a soppy old thing :-)
and my children get it - hehe !!!
Braille TeddiesYou think you're soppy? I wish you could see me right now. We're not able to have kids, so my kids are my cat and about 100 bears. I spoil them rotten. If I had a lot of money, I would adopt every artist bear on this site and rescue every manufactured bear from every yard sale and thrift shop and attic around the country.
Most of mine are on display... but every once in a while I have to grab a bear to watch a movie with... when I can sit that is LOL!
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)Aw, Wubbie - yours is a True Heart!
many mini hugs
Bobbie
Braille TeddiesI love watching movies with bears. Right now I'm watching old Big Brother episodes on Youtube, except I've got it on pause so I can hear my screen reader, and I have Arcto in my arms, Joanie, an artist bear by Becky Chase, on the right side of my keyboard, and several little plushies on the other side. Of course, there are also the majority of my bears all around me in here.
