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Country BearsHi All!
I know everyone is different, but I was wondering how many bears on average you make a month? What with having just moved house and the kids getting ready to break up for summer and me being the taxi to all their social occasions, my bear making has had to take a back seat (much to my disappointment!!) I also work every day so time isn't as free as I would like to be sewing away!!
Sorry if I sound nosey, I am really interested, well and nosey too!!
Oh and those of you lucky ones who do the shows, do you find they sell better at different times of the year?? Are there good shows and bad shows or a steady flow? And those of you who don't do shows, what do you find works the best for you to sell??
No, I've got to admit, I'm sooooo nosey!!!
Humour me.........!!
Pandy Potter BearsHI Clare. Not nosey, just interested! I have loads of time to spare. I work one day a week (for slimming world) but am on a go slow at the moment. With it being summer I suppose its slow sales wise too. I need to get some of the advice together like websites and correct photography. I need it to be done by the autumn ready for christmas.
I think your mood plays a part. I don't feel as upbeat as usual (next doors kids playing loud music!!!!ahh!!).On a good week, its one a week. I think I need to pull myself together, get in my spare room (it is away from loud music!) and get sewing.
When I had a bear shop, before christmas was of course busy, but also not too bad the weeks just after when the ladies spent their christmas money. People have other money commitments at this time of year.
Good advice from everyone on my 'ebay advice please' post. Thanks.
Past Time BearsClare, I try to get two bears done per week . . . but, sometimes it doesn't happen! There are all sorts of things that pop up to get in the way of that goal!! I'm not sure how you younger ladies with jobs and kids get ANY bearmaking done!!! 
As for shows . . . yes, for sure there are good and bad ones. By that I mean that I can sometimes sell well at a show, then maybe the next one will be not be nearly as successful. One can never predict. I have found that the shows I've done right after Christmas (January, February) usually aren't my better ones. I'm sure other artists who do shows may have a different experience, but that is basically my take on things. Hugs,
Delartful BearsI'm the same as Sue-Ann, I try to get two done every week - but it's more like two done every 8 days. I don't work as i'm not well... so I find it's wonderful to have something useful to DO and something to think about!!
I'm loving this bear business! LOL :lol:
Danni
Back Road BearsI'm also a two-a-weeker.... more or less. But that would mean 100 bears a year or so....hmmm... do I really make THAT many??? I really only average about 75 per year. This year will be less.
Amanda is right, it does depend on one's mood. The bears I made earlier this year look like I felt.... ugly and grumpy and sad. I saw that so figured it best not to make too many! Now they are looking a bit more hopeful and quizzical and there are more of them!:)
I work best when my husband is home - not sure why that is. "Having all my chicks in the nest makes me less stressed" or something like that. (Just made that up!) He's gone 13 hours/day so no wonder I don't get much done!!
Daphne
Kiprie BearsHi Clare,
I can make only 1 or 2 bears per month and
max of 3 in a month. 
But this is if I have
pattern ready. I've designed about 5patterns only in past and if I need to make a new pattern(which I am doing now) it will takes more time !! :rolleyes:..... I have full time work so I make bears on lunch time and night time and weekends. :)
As Daphne said, I can make for faster if I have
a company with me, such as Hubby, my mom,
friends. If I'm alone, my fingers move sooooo
unbelievable slow. :P
Hugs/Marie
DoodlebearsHi Clare,
I make around three every two weeks. As I sew by hand it takes longer, but I am happy enough with the amount of bears and golly-wobbles I make.
Danni, sorry hear that your not able to work because of you not being well. I can't work either because of a balance problem (I fall over easily) Because of this I am not doing too many shows this year. But hey, look at all the time we can use making bears! :)
Hugs from Wibbly Wobbly Jane
Delartful BearsOooh poor wibbly wobby Jane!!! I was unable to finish school, and had to drop out when I was 16 due to being sick. I'm still not better, 8 years later. I became interested in crafts, I think mainly to keep me entertained.
So, I'm soooo happy to have found bears, I just love them!
Danni
DoodlebearsI'm with you there Danni, I love bears too. they are always there for us and never complain , they listen to our woes and are just the thing when you're feeling down.
I saw on your website Danni that you have CFS, my daughter had this for seven years and now it's lifting and she is able to do far more. CFS as well as being stuck in a wheelchair from ten years old till she was twenty was no fun. Sarah was home tutored when she became ill but she is very clever and has managed to pass every exam that she's taken. She is doing lots now and hoping to become a doctor once she has finished her studies. She will finish her degree in October and then it's a few years of medical training. I find this wonderful and I am so proud of the child that I pushed around in a wheelchair for so long. She walks with one stick now but has far more energy than I've seen in her for years. CFS will eventually lift Danni so chin up, thread up and make some more of your beautiful bears. Just think, but for the CFS you may not have made the bears, joined this forum and become one of our Teddy Talk family and we all love having you here!
Jane
Past Time BearsI heard on the news just last night that some research people have found what might be a treatment for CFS. Hope that means help is on the way soon!! Now if they could figure out something for fibromyalgia which my daughter has.
bears by beesley TMHi guys. Jane and Danni my heart goes out to both of you. Nothing worse than feeling lousy. I love both of your wonderful creatures. Sometimes if one part or more of the body fails you, another picks up the slack. The Mind! You both are very talented and very creative minds and do great work!
As for the number of bears? I try to shoot for 2 a week but usually only manage 1. Garnet, (the old guy) tries to shoot for 1 a month and usually ends up with 1 every 3 months. He is wonderful in helping to design patterns, cutting bears out and running me all over hell and back for supplies. (Gosh.. I'll keep him)
Hugs to all
Louise
Winneybears and FriendsWow, yes...I have Fibromyalgia. I am a lot better now than I was a few years ago because I read up on it and am taking several nutrients and supplements ..I am positive that is in part why I am a heck of lot better...I refused to end up in a bed or wheel chair.
People who have FMS very often have CFS too ...or people who have CFS have FM too...read that in many, many articles. I sure hope your daughter gets better....Winney
Winneybears and FriendsI think IF I was well all the time Id get 2 bears a week done.
Of course time depends on if the bear is an design already done once, otrherwise it would take longer figuring in the design time .
Hey, I ran across an old article on Ted Menten . They asked him the same question ...He said he has made 3000 bears in ten years...that figures out to 6 1/2 bears a week ! I have his book, he glues the ear bottoms together and sews them into a seam in the head...that save SOME time...but not enough to excel to 6 1/2 bears per week.
I am thinking guys may create in the mind of arcitectural engineers ?
I use to paint a lot and the guys in my class painted landscapes,the sea, boats, still life, etc. and the work as a whole looked very structured, sometimes rough, lots of angles , I can usually tell if it is a " guys" painting ....the brush strokes are stronger , they often have a sense of maleness, however...that does not explain the cottage "painter of lights " whatshisname......... Winney
Thomas Kinkade. Whose work I am... not a huge fan of. ;)
If I'm burning the midnight oil I can make two bears a week but it's more like three in two weeks. And sometimes, like this summer, when I've been distracted (wonderfully so) by my kids home for summer vacation -- and then totally bummed out, because they leave entirely to spend some time with their dad for a change -- and when emotional and physical family issues (none of them really mine, per se) have kept my mind somewhat dark and troubled, I make even less than that. One a week, or one every two weeks.
I do find that I get SLOWER the longer I make bears. I think that's because I keep trying out new things, or trying to "better" what I'm already doing. The curse of the mildly obsessive/compulsive perfectionist; that's what it is.
Great question!
Kim-Bee BearsUsually 2 here... but I do have to admit...sometimes I have bears that arent completely finished that are above the 2- for example, i will finish two completly but I have three cut out, two heads completely done (but no bodies even cut out)... it depends, some days I really dont want to sew or sometimes I just want to cut them out... but I am always in the mood to make their heads and faces 
Delartful BearsOh Jane, what an amazing story!! Great inspiration...
Mum actually has FMS (Fibro). Alot of people think that CFS and Fibro are the same thing, FMS has a lot more pain.
Thanks for the wonderful words of encouragment. I'm mentally feeling a little better since I've found bears - have more of a purpose. That sounds a little sentimental, but it's true!!! It's funny, my sister and I were talking about purchasing a game to play on our brother's X Box and decided not to since "We don't have enough time" LOL That's so funny, we both have NO lives (She's also sick with CFS) and don't work... there should be plenty of time LOL It's a much better way of being though!
Danni
Past Time BearsDanni, are you and your sister identical twins? That's eerie that you both have CFS!!
Posts: 3,177Hellooooo Clare
I make one bear a week - or only one bear a fortnight if it's a dressed bear cos i hand sew everything! I have just cancelled 2 bear fairs as i only have one bear to sell and can't get the stock together in time, even though they are in early Sept and Oct - i'm up to my neck in other stuff at the moment.
I've learnt that it goes completely DEAD during the summer but heats up again pretty soon when the mums can kick the kids back to school and start fiddling the housekeeping budget again - i know, i've done it and i don't believe anyone who says they aint so don't try and deny it girls!
How are you anyway old bean? Keep meaning to sit and write stacks of emails to beary chums but fall asleep in the lazeee boy and dribble into me chianti by 9 p.m. Still using your grandpappy's machine? I love that idea Clare :D
Pennypoodles 
Delartful BearsSue Ann, yes, we're Identical. Strange that we both have CFS, but our doctor was treating another family with a Mother and two daughters that had it.
Luckily my brother is fine...
Danni
Posts: 8,574I think it is very interesting that so many of us are disabled or have debilitating illnesses and we gravitated to bears/gollys.
Perhaps because when we started we were needing bearyhugs. But then when we saw the reception and realized our bears/gollys were bringing visual hugs to others it inspired us to try something different for making a differance in our little world?
And perhaps that difference we perceived also inspired us to keep trying instead of living in our own little PITYPLAY- that's what I call it, unless I am in a festive mood and then it's a PITYPARTY. Hmmm.
I have decided I simply will not die until I have used up all my supplies and that should take years. By the way there is nothing that says I can't add to the collection!
I don't know. But it bears (ha ha ) some pondering on the subject....and do our epiosodes of feeling sorry for ourselves lessen the more into this bearygood obsession we get?
For myself I believe this is true. I think I still have as many episodes but am anxious to get over them so I can get back to "work" Also I find that it is something that occupies my mind durring bad episodes....what if I did....or how about a golly that does that....
I would be interested in knowing what you guys think, from the psych nurse point of view but also on a spiritual level.
I think there is something special that happens when we make bears and gollies. Judi ( i hope she gets back soon) sends hers out with a little cross and a little heart that says ' made with love." I cried when I saw that, because I knew, beyond a shadow of doubt, it is true. And I was so humbled by that special touch.
Am I being hormonal, overy sentimental, or do you guys feel something along the same lines?
Let me know, please....I always need to know how we are wired, why we do what we do....
Gollygoodnight to all of you
Hugs
Dilu
Posts: 8,574G0llygoshgeewhizz
I was serious when I said I would be interested in what you all thought....hmmmmmm
no replies......
okeydokey- guess you didn't ......:D
hugs
dilu
Past Time BearsWell, Dilu . . . at the time that I discovered bears, I was in the midst of an emotional/psychological crisis and I largely credit that discovery and getting fully involved in the whole teddy bear scene for literally saving my life. So yes, I think that some bear artists got started because of the need for a source of comfort. And - bottom line for me - bears equal comfort! Don't know if this is the concept you were speaking about, but it is true for me. My hope is that I can make bears that will bring the same comfort or joy to those that might need it.
Posts: 8,574That's exactly what I am looking at/for. I am wondering how many started out for the comfort for themselves,(me), and ended up giving that comfort to others....and how their health is now and how far they feel they have come both psychologically and spiritually?
ITS THE old are you better off now than you were before the crises-and how long did it take for you to heal from the crises?
We already know you've come a long way-Has it changed your spiritual outlook at all? do you still feel that you need the comfort, of has the comfot getting and comfort giving kind of rolled into an integrated part of your psyche?
What do you think?
Dilu
Past Time BearsOh my, dear psych nurse . . . you ask very hard questions!! YES, YES I am far better off now than I was BB . . . Before Bears! The set of circumstances that caused the crisis has not been totally resolved, but I can now live with myself a lot more comfortably than I ever have. Sooooo . . . is that being healed?? I don't know, but what I do know is that I still feel compelled to continue with bearmaking and enjoy its therapeutic benefits. It's my way of giving therapy to myself, and if others benefit from my bearmaking, then ALL THE BETTER!!! 
bears by beesley TMYou are so right Dilu and Sue Ann.
Garnet and I took Ruth the head of the Elder Advocates (The charity we give to) out for lunch yesterday and I gave her a bear that I had made for her and she cried. She told us she has not cried in 10 years because of the horror stories she sees every day she has had to become hard.
She has been dragged out of nursing homes for causing trouble due to the conditions the elderly are subjected to. She has been arrested for causing a stir over the terrible treatment that the elderly receive in some of these homes. Ruth is 75 years old!
My heart and spirit are lifted each time a baby bear is created. I also feel that same way when I see all of your wonderful creations. We gave Ruth another cheque yesterday and that is what makes us feel good about life in general. We are fortunate indeed. After talking to Ruth I pray for a heartattach before I ever have to enter a home other than my own.
Hugs Louise
