Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Most shows I attend provide the "skirt" that goes around the table and hangs to the floor.  I have a country plaid large, rectangular table cloth that I got CHEAP at Wal Mart for the cover.  If I have to provide my own skirt, I have a natural color one that I got at Party City.  If you have a store that has party decorations/supplies/accessories, you'll be able to find one in many colors.

Marie!!  You can have a second career in rap!!! 

Eileen, I agree with Dilu . . . teaching is one of the most difficult careers in this day and age.  You are one of the most important people in the lives of so many, and your physical reward is SO meager!!  So you are to be commended for hanging in there with the students . . . hope the emotional/intellectual reward you get is enough!  Kudos to ALL teachers!!

Great little polar, Danni, and he looks SO sweet in your new avatar!!  Fantastic work!

Cindy, how are you doing, my friend?  Sounds like you are chugging along . . . which is just about all any of us can do!  Take care and many hugs,

Thanks, Shelli . . . Pam really enjoys working with "paper".  She is into scrapbooking, too, but doesn't have a lot of free time for hobby-type stuff.

Debbie . . . I've been participating in bear shows since 1997, and I don't believe I've ever experienced what you have.  If it was going on, it was definitely without my knowledge.  I just keep on taking my older stuff to each show and it usually finally sells.  If at some point I have a bear that just refuses to be adopted, I will "retire" it.  Selling a 13" mohair bear for $50.00 sort of makes me ill!! 

Thank you so much, Louise . . . the brochure was fun to compose!

Daphne . . . will get Pam working on those letters!

Diane, you are sooooo perceptive . . . but then I guess a psyche nurse would be.  Talking about "group guilt" . . . Dallas still carries it around after John Kennedy was murdered here.  I was young, too, just in my very early 20's and working my first job out of college about 60 miles north of Dallas when the atrocity happened.  I don't know if Dallas will ever recover from that stigma!

Jane, what a good-looking group!!  The gollies are really superb and Kallie is toooooo cute.  Great work!

This is an amateur talking here, but a dark bear against a very light background tends to make the bear look darker . . . I've had that problem myself!  What I do is use a medium color for the background when taking photos of dark bears.  I have a light blue piece of fabric that I usually use in that situation.  I don't have a light tent and take all my photos outside in natural light, so can't tell you if it would help or not - but I suspect it would prevent the problem.  Shelli and those who have experience with the tent could fill you in on that.

The letters are 5" tall and the "E" letter is a smidge over 3 1/4" at the widest point.  I should let you know that the set costs $40.00.  You may want to change your mind after hearing that!!   If you're STILL interested, I will let Pam know to start a set of warm letters for you!  No problem about having some for the show . . . I have tons of other stuff to put out!

Jane, a big welcome to the board . . . glad you decided to let us know who you are.  First read the sticky message (top post) on the "Bears for Sale" forum.  There is also info on how to upload a photo in the stickies on the "General Discussion" forum.  If you still have questions about how to upload Hunter, just let us know.  Hope you have lots of fun here and good luck at your show!!

Daphne . . . if you really want some bear letters, I'll let you know when Pam gets the next set done.  She does them in "cool" or "warm" tones.  Which do you prefer?

Eileen . . . the cubes on my table are made of wood and I got them at Linens and Things; but, that was back in 1998.  You might could use the crate type cubes that Hobby Lobby and Michael's carry. 

Thanks, Ladies!

Shelli, the things on the lower left side of the table are, indeed, wooden letters.  My ingenious daughter decoupaged them with cute little bear pictures of ALL sorts.  What I've put up here is what she did for me with pictures of "a few of my favorite things" . . . tra la la . . . bears, cats, raggedy dolls, sunflowers, etc.  She spelled out S-U-E A-N-N and the letters just stand on a surface.  The ones that I had for sale spell out B-E-A-R-S with all the little bear pictures on them and each letter hooks to each other and hangs on the wall like   
      B
      E                                                                                                                                   
      A
      R                                                                                                                                       
      S                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                         

Anyway, I always sell out of them at shows and it takes her forever to get them done, since she's got about 14 different jobs.  I exaggerate, but she does have several jobs.

This is my table at ABC's Schaumburg 2004 fall show.  Hmmmm . . . maybe it does look a little cluttered!!
Shelli, your table looks wonderful with those to-die-for little honeys on it!!

Absolutely on the brochure, Shelli . . . go for it!  I just composed them on my computer and printed them out.  Since I have the basic compostion of the brochure saved, all I do is change what needs it at the appropriate time.

If anybody would be interested in coming to Austin, Texas for a Jenny Laing class, LuLu Bears is offering one on August 13th and 14th.  I'll be in San Diego for Linda's Show on those dates , but the class is for making an ADORABLE dragon in two sizes.  The info is on Luann's site . . . www.lulubears . . . under shows and events, I believe.  There are photos of the dragons that will be made and they are toooooo cute!!

This is the outside of the brochure.  YES, yes I do think your mom's artwork would sell VERY well. 
People just LOOOOOVE anything "beary"!  Hope this helps!

Kelly, this is the inside of the brochure.  I also forgot to say that I have a few of my patterns for sale at my table.
As you can tell, my table probably looks a little "full" at times!!    Dare I say "cluttered"??!!  :lol:

Marie and Catherine . . . both your bears with pulled toes are wonderful!!  And the instructions are very well said.  I didn't volunteer to try to explain it in words because I didn't think I could do it very well, but both of you have.  So now I don't need to! 

Oh goodness, Jane . . . I echo Shelli's observations . . . it must be a really disgusting shock to know that one of the terrorists lived in your town.  So sorry about all the heartache this latest misdeed has caused the UK.  It looks as though your police are working very hard and having a lot of success in bringing those responsible to justice.  The after effects of such a tremendous horror don't go away very fast . . . just know that sane people all over the world support and feel for the British people!

Congratulations, Kerren . . . toot your horn all you want!!  You SHOULD be proud of that wonderful bear and the bonus that it got put on a mag cover!!  VERY well done and the kudos are well deserved!!

Kelly, I'm going to see if I can get a photo up of one of my brochures (3-fold).  I have thumbnail sized pictures of the bear, then to the right side of it, a short description of the materials used, cost, edition size, etc.  Also, if I have been nominated for some award during the year, I try to save room to include it.  I have found, however, that ANYTHING related to bears on your table is going to draw attention.  I have some beary notecards/greeting cards, hand made "puzzle balls" using bear fabric, mousepads with my bears' pictures on them, and small paper mache "photo boxes" using my bear's photos.  I had all of that stuff at the April Schaumburg show, but I know it's hard to see what all is on the table right behind you!      Besides, we were bumping bums constantly and that can get a little disconcerting! Anyhoo . . . people linger at your table for quite a while if there is a lot of stuff to see.  I also give a thumbs down on candy, especially if it's unwrapped!   I have a register book with space for name and address, plus anybody is encouraged to comment if they wish.  I figure it's a great way to add to my mailing list.  I will get back to this topic when I get some pics.

Jennifer Laing's book Constructing Teddy and His Friends gives good instructions on how to do it!

Yes, Nina, I print brochures on my printer of the available bears I have for adoption and have them on my table at shows for anybody to pick up.  I also get an occasional phone call requesting a brochure . . . mainly from people who don't have a computer or access to the internet.  If people are thinking about one of your bears for adoption, they find it helpful to have a photo reminder of what it looks like.  At shows, people spend hours going around the showroom several times trying to make up their minds about which bears to buy.  So, if I can help them out a little, I will!!

Those purple eyes are wonderful Nina, and Shari, the tapestry bear is just sooooo great!  Glad you found enough fabric to make that other ear.  He turned out so well!