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It's been a year since I gave up working in the hairdressing salon. I started work in hairdressing aged 20 after studying at art college...while there I worked in a salon on Saturdays and just knew that I have found my niche. I loved every minute...and I was good at it so it was a natural choice...if a disappointment to my mother who thought hairdressing was a poor choice..yet I never looked back.
So when I began making bears part time I cut my days in the salon down and down and then I finally hung up my scissors and comb in June 2011.
I don't mind and do a full day every day working long hours just liKe when I worked full time in the salon but I do find it very difficult socially. I feel that friendships are so hard to forge and I do miss having that camaraderie and chit chat...I feel very much in a bubble. So much so that I have even considered going back to the salon for a day...but I am sure that would be difficult now after a year.
Being part of groups and forums helps but I think it can be hard because it's not 'real' in the sense that the friendships are not tangible and at times I feel unsure about the wisdom of networking....you just never really know who you are talking to. I don't think that you get a true picture of the industry either, unlike in an office or a shop where you meet face to face.
So what do you think....? Are you happy working in a bubble or do you , like me, feel a bit trapped by it?
Jenny, it is interesting how this experience of teddy bear making can influence our lives on such different levels. Every one of us have a different story.
I also have a university degree in foreign languages that I never really used for any job. I used to own a shop and sold artificial flowers, did flower arrangements and such things. Then I met my husband, he was from another city and after some years of back and forth from the two cities sold my shop to go live with him. We had two children, I had a part time job as a secretary in a sanitary district...when our life took another turn, my husband lost his job and found a very good one in a different country. So, from Verona, Italy, to Rheinfelden, Switzerland.
My life has changed on so many levels: now I am a housewife, and basically my job is to care for the children, and learn German! And as I found more and more time for myself, I got back to an old passion that had been left behind for some years. Yes. Teddy bear making. To me, making teddies, and entering this magic 'bubble' is a window into another world. It is also a goal, a broadening of my perspective. I don't mean that it is a social life, but to me it is a little something that defines who I am. I'm not only a mother and a housewife. I also love creating teddies, and sharing this process with other people.
Well, I hope I didn't bore you stiff with the story of my life... 
Hi Jenny, I am thinking more or less the same as you. I left my part-time afternoon job in November to do bears full-time and constantly agonise over whether it was the right thing to do. I really miss the general chit chat of the office too, the conversations gave my brain something else to think about besides bears. Also when bear sales are quiet like now in the summer it helped to have that regular bit of cash coming in, but its the people and chat that I miss the most. I know fairs are nice to meet people but it is still bears all day and I worry that I will lose my social skills and confidence eventually so I can talk about nothing but bears. I do go to a sewing group on Mondays which I enjoy and get to talk about things other than bears which does help and I do Zumba twice a week and Ballroom and Latin twice a week, that gets me out and exercising but there is no talking, just dancing (my other love besides bears). We have got our house on the market at the moment and hope to move to a different area soon and when we get settled I am definitely going to look for something else around 12-15 hours to fit in with the bears.
Chaska, MinnesotaDear Jenny: I don't have personal experience with working from home but I know others that do. They too find it isolating but at the same time, they love not having the drive to work (save gas money) and other time savers for them. I think joining some groups in the community that get you out of the house could help. Examples joining a card or knitting group. maybe take some classes at a local community college or community center. With that said, I love your bears. So the hair industry's loss is a gain for the bears. I hope you can find a balance with this Jenny. Long story short, join some community groups. that is my advice.
I don't know if this applies to your former field, Jenny, but I really miss the collaboration that happened in my teaching job. (At the time, I would have sworn that I preferred to work alone! ;)) Collaboration is not necessarily a part of one's social life, I suppose, but it's what I miss when I'm working in isolation. I liked having to deal with (and being engaged by) different points of view.
As you've said, friendships are difficult to forge, especially when we're past a certain age. I think casual phone calls to friends a few times a week are helpful (NOT on a cell phone - that makes it too hard to just chat), as is any kind of get-together with friends (once a week or so, at least). It's not the same as daily contact with people, but occasional contact with your true friends can be even more satisfying, I think.
Becky
TC Folk OriginalsAlthough I am not working full time for a living in the bear industry, I am retired and home all day, not only with the bears, but with various other hobbies. My husband is still working and is a real sweetheart when he comes home and listens to bear talk, among other things. I agree with Becky about phone calls to various friends and relatives for nice long chats. You can do hand sewing while you talk! I have 4 grown kids, and I talk to at least one of them everyday, not so much about bears. I also have a few friends that I go to lunch with occasionally, some in the bear field, some old friends from my work days. But I must say, life being what it is and people being what they are (greener pastures, etc.) I am very happy with the isolation. It is my choice, I can always go and join a group or volunteer if I wish, and so far, I haven't. I've been doing this since 2006! Good luck in finding your happy medium!
I have to say that I personally like setting my own schedule and hours and managing my business. I have never thought of it being lonely, maybe because I have been doing it for so long? I sort of fell into being co-manager of a community garden. A fun group and I love helping new gardeners learn how to grow vegetables and watching how excited they get with each new crop 
I also belong to a group that organizes a fantastic garden tour each year that raises over $25,000(one day tour!) that we give to worthy organizations. What makes it even better is that we meet at different gardens every month and each person brings a dish and a bottle of wine 
THere are usually at least 20 people at the meetings so it is an amazing meal in a beautiful setting. Sure, I don't get paid for doing these things but it doesn't feel like an obligation. It's great fun and it's basically free, important point with my budget 
Karen
desertmountainbearI quit my job last year to work on bears full time, only to find out I did not like it. It is not the people I miss though, it was that I found the bears to be a chore rather than I pleasure when I worked at them for 10 hours or so a day. I went back to work for my husband. I am still here in the house all day, but not sewing all day long. I am very happy with the arrangement.
I am a true loner, I enjoy quiet and solitude, to me working by myself is the perfect thing.
ps Francie, I loved reading a little about your life, not boring at all. I had no idea you had two kids.
Newcastle, OntarioI worked as a secretary for 5 years and hated it, when I was very young. I've been at home since our kids were born, as hubby and I both wanted it that way, so I have years of practice with being home and I Iike it. It suits my solitary nature. I sold a variety of art at craft shows for 20 years before I stumbled onto bear making. I did have a nice network of friends involved in art until we moved to our current home, 6 years ago. It's difficult to make friends when I don't like joining groups, so I spend my days alone, other than hubby's two days off and a couple of hours each evening. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have company occasionally but for the most part I am happy doing what I please. My schedule is so odd, I'm best on my own, I think.
Gosh it's been great to read all the responses. It's heartening to know I am not the only one!,
I love making bears and have been self employed for over 30 years but working totally alone with no contact outside of that can be difficult..
Sometimes Iam fine with it...at the moment the sun is shining...but sometimes I feel like I don't speak to a soul for days. That said I am lucky as my sister lives next door and we do see each other every day.
My sister says that I should not be part of forums, she thinks it can be extremely destructive. I agree that it can because it can be a source of upset and the fact that we don't really know eachother properly and the consequence free anonymity can lead to hurt feelings which I find difficult when I am working alone with no one to bounce off. I am not fortunate to have a family that 'get' bear making either . My husband gets it but never understands the passion and the networking between artists. He says it's a hiding to trouble, that it isn't possible to be 'friends' when you never meet up in person.. I understand that but I have a slightly different take on it. I think it's possible to be friends...in a different way...that you can connect but it really does depend on the people doing the connecting. I have learned that not everyone is what they first appear ( both in a good way..and in not such a good way, I have to say that is true in all relationships) ....and that has made me be very cautious about who I relate to now. I am quite gregarious and like being with people..but I can also go into myself and my tough outer shell belies a less confident inner self..but isn't that everyone ?
There are therefore times when I feel very isolated ...but it won't make me stop making bears and get a ' proper'
;o) job...I think I will be doing that till I kick the bucket!
