Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I LOVE this sister idea.  Sort of like a Foreign Exchange Bear program, unless you happen to be in the same country.  But...I like it.  I've been doing this for years anyway with a couple of my friends.  Some of them are great bear artists but due to health reasons or logistics problems they can't make it to the shows any more.  In fact, plenty of people have given up the business entirely for those same reasons. 

Good feedback from everyone and really interesting reading....where have I been and what have I been doing when I wasn't checking out TT????

Oh, you should see Joan Woessner's mice!!!  They are adorable!  Her house is decorated with bears and antiques and it's wonderful!  I know she moved to a bigger house since I last visited her home.  I can imagine it's even better than the last one!  She still does shows here in California. 

Susie

I've just caught up with the thread, I was away most of the day.  I hope anything I wrote did not make anyone think I don't like internet bear artists.  Actually I buy half of my bears that way!  I was just saying that most of the people I send postcards to don't use the internet, at least not yet.  I only get to attend a few shows a year and it pains me to think of all the great shows I've missed doing as an artist or attending as a customer!  Donna will tell you that I LOVE the Nevada City show, but I don't do it because it's three days and I usually only have about six or seven bears after a show I do in March!  But I certainly try to go and buy bears. 

I'm new on TT, and this weekend happened to have more time than usual to sign in.  Hopefully I'm not making any enemies with what I've written.  If someone isn't sure about the tone of something I wrote, please email and let me know so I can explain.  I have a size sixteen mouth from sticking two size eight feet into it all the time! 

Sue, if the FenBears you show on your Avatar are any indication of your talent at making bears, I certainly don't see anything to worry about!  They are adorable!  I know how it is to come home without selling much at a show, but I usually feel better about it because my throat is sore from all the visiting I've been doing!
I'm looking forward to trying to do any of the shows you girls put on, just send me the info and I'll certainly try to be there!!  Susie

The grass is always greener on the other side....until you get the water bill.... :crackup:

Ok, I'm reading now too.  I'm fairly new at Teddy Talk.  I'm not very adept at computer stuff but my friend Donna has been pushing and prodding me into action, in fact we just got off the phone and she told me to log back on and read what this thread was all about.  I agree that MOST of my collectors are not on the internet.  I reach them through post cards and giving away issues of the bear magazines that I have.  When I get the chance I bring extra copies them to a show or drop them off any place people have to sit, wait, and read.   I always appreciate when  Teddy Bear and Friends and Teddy Bear Review bring issues to pass out.  I'll take old ones, new ones, anything.  I've said before, I take them everywhere I can, and Donna does the same thing.  I'm guilty of having too little time to make bears to take to shows.  I think I had seven or eight at the last show and most were in the $115 range, a few a bit more, like my bunnies.  So, I will try and do more shows if possible, and give myself an excuse to use those frequent flyer miles.  I'll try to keep up with Teddy Talk too and encourage others to do the same!  Keep giving suggestions and I'll keep trying them....  Bear hugs to you all    Susie

According to the email I got today, he's house bound much of the time due to his health.  He told me he has recently started making bears again and putting them on ebay.   :clap:  So, if you are a Ted Menten fan like most of us, keep an eye out for them.  I told him that I missed seeing him at shows and he says he misses everyone in the bear world too.   

For the record...badgers are really scary and dangerous creatures.  Yup, I've seen one up close and personal when I was young.  They are mean, snarly, and very scary.  And when you are a child they are HUGE!  Luckily I was smart enough to get away and run back home to tell my Dad.  It scared him just knowing there was one on our property and my Dad wasn't afraid of much!  I never saw it again and I wonder if my Dad went out and shot it. 

I've been reading about the squirrels and laughing.  I've had squirrel, rabbit, pheasant, snapping turtle, practically anything that walked, crawled, swam or flew!!  Until I moved out to California I thought that was NORMAL!

Susie

I just got my check back with the contract unopened so I'm pretty sure that means the whole thing is off unless someone else comes up with a new plan!

Oh Brenda, I agree with you about not feeding the wildlife.  My husband and I try to put the cat food in before it gets dark.  Occasionally we come home and we're too late, the food is gone and it just means they will come back again.  We were in Yosemite driving through when we stopped to use the restroom.  I was trying to get out to go back to the car and the biggest coyote I've ever seen was waiting outside for me.  I couldn't get to the car until Dale scared him away and it wasn't easy to do that.  All from people feeding them.  A bunch of tourists were giving their children food to feed him as we were leaving and we drove up and explained how dangerous that was.  Who knows if they understood what we were trying to tell them...  Bad for the animals, bad for people.  I know they have trouble with bears in Tahoe because of that too.   We had a cat door that only opened one way so they could get off the deck but the raccoons figured out how to grab it and pull it up so they could get in.  So...goodbye cat door!  Now they're stuck inside all night but at least they're safe!

I have lived in Lompoc for 23 years and never had a problem with the raccoons going after our cats that I KNOW of until the past several years.  When summer hits and there is less food for them they get hungry and will eat anything they can get.  We take in the cat food at night to keep away the skunks, raccoons and the possums.  We live one block away from the hills so we see a lot of wildlife.  We had SEVEN baby skunks on our deck once when we forgot to take in the food.  They were tiny, standing in the bowls and NOT afraid of us.  Cute but...well...you know.  Not to mention the raccoons and skunks carry rabies and other disgusting things.  Also, raccoon poop has a parasite in it that can make other animals and even children very sick.  If memory serves me a small child died (possibly Santa Barbara?)  and they traced it to raccoon poop in the sandbox where he played.  One more reason to keep them away from your house.  By the way, their poop resembles granola.  So...there is your YUCK for the day!! :doh:

We do not like raccoons.  There was a litter of kittens a stray cat had right under our porch that we were trying to catch, along with the mother.  Dale found them all decapitated when the raccoons decided to eat them.  One poor kitty escaped, the rest were eaten...all but the skulls.  My poor husband called me actually in tears about that....he's 6'1" and 265 lbs.  He has such a soft heart.  They have cornered my 19 year old cat several times trying to kill him, luckily we were there in time.  We've blocked off an area where the cats can sleep without fearing for their lives.  I agree they are cute in pictures but they are terrible predators.  I hate any animal to suffer pain, even raccoons, but I will defend my pets against them any way I have to!!!  I wish I could get that poor kitty to sleep in the house but he refuses to, so we do what we need to do to keep him safe!  Beware....cute is not always nice!