Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

No!   BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO that your house sold!  Because this means you're leaving the vicinity around the Nevada City show. :(

Of course, I'm happy for you because I know it's what you wanted, but not-so-secretly and entirely selfishly, I really wish you were staying in or near Cali.  It's a long drive to here, from the midwest... and I missed you once already this year when you weren't there.

But, okay, yes... congratulations.  Sorta.  (lol) 

1. Where is your cell phone? -- Purse
2. Your significant other? -- Frustrating
3. Your hair? -- Growing
4. Your mother? -- Loving
5. Your father? -- Stable
6. Your favorite thing? -- Sons
7. Your dream last night? -- Forgot 
8. Your favorite drink? -- Mocha
9. Your dream/goal? -- Contentment
10. The room you're in? -- Living
11. Your hobby? -- Cards
12. Your fear? -- Helplessness
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? -- San Francisco   
14. Where were you last night? -- Vacaville
15. What you're not? -- Mean
16. Muffins? -- Love
17. One of your wish list items? -- Car 
18. Where you grew up? -- NorCal
19. The last thing you did? -- Wash
20. What are you wearing? -- Jammies
21. Your TV? -- Off   
22. Your pets? -- Soft   
23. Your computer? -- Addiction
24. Your life? -- Full   
25. Your mood? -- Complicated
26. Missing someone? -- Sons
27. Your car? -- Dying
28. Something you're not wearing? -- Earrings
29. Favorite store? -- Anthropologie
30. Your summer? -- Bankrupting
31. Like someone? -- Myself
32. Your favorite color? -- Yellow
33. When is the last time you laughed? -- Yesterday   
34. Last time you cried? -- Yesterday

That does it; I'm moving to England so I can do this show every year!  I'm only half joking, you know.

Sam, you rock star.  You pulled off a show just as high quality, beautiful, and well conceived as your bears.  Superb!!!

The photos are glorious and the bearmaking talent over there, outstanding.  I'm daunted and tickled, both at the same.

This show is covered in awesomesauce!!!

Wow!  How wonderfully exciting to hear so many glowing reports.  I can't wait to see all the pictures I just KNOW someone will be posting shortly. 
:photo:  :photo:  :photo:  :photo:  :photo:  :photo:  :photo:  :photo:  :photo:  :photo:  :photo:  :photo:  :photo:

Samantha -- Best of Luck to you!  If your show is given even half the attention to detail and beauty that your bears are -- I'm the lucky owner of one, myself, people! -- it will be a gorgeous success.  I can't wait to see pictures!

Jane -- Seriously, there's a place in heaven for you, sweet soul.   

Mindy is a rock star!!!!!  XOXOXO

It meanders where it wants to, this thread.  I'm getting about half awesome tips and about half fun reminiscences and funny stories. It's ALL good.

Keep it coming, off topic of otherwise.

Maria -- Excellent advice re: phoning cards and banks in advance of leaving.  I've actually read/heard that even for some who do that, their accounts get frozen anyway.  Luckily (??)  I have a lot of credit cards to choose from!  Or is that UNluckily... ???

Jeremy -- AWESOME reminders about Munich!  I've been there but literally forgot every single thing you mentioned.  You're better than a guidebook.  Kisses and hugs your way for the smack to the head.  I needed it.

People who mentioned hotel chains -- Thanks to ALL of you for the suggestions.  VERY appreciated; we're still seeking rooms.  We're about half booked at this point but dang, it's a pricey venture.

I love you guys.     

Hey Kirsten! I'll have to let you know what my ex reports about his upcoming time in France.  He'll be about four weeks all over from Paris to Nice, on trains, on planes, apartment stays, hotel stays, touring, and so on.  He has two daughters with his wife Jen; they're 4 and 2.  So if he has any good pointers to ease travelling woes with young girls, I'll let you know what they are!

(sigh)  Yes, Kelly... so beautiful.  I've seen those sights myself, but my sons have NOT, so I am absolutely tickled to be able to show them such beauty!  I can't wait.  My youngest is 12 which is a little bit shy of "Mom, that's beautiful scenery!" stage... but he does have a wonderful capacity for empathy and a sweet humanity so I think he'll "get' it.  My older one is a very cerebral and observant 14 and my stepson will have just turned 18 by the time we hit Florence, so I think they'll both really appreciate sights like this.

I wish we had a full week in the Florence/Tuscany area and wanted to hit Cinque Terra on this trip, but we just can't do it all and something had to give. 

My sons will be in France for almost four weeks with their dad (my ex husband) before I meet up with them in Paris -- how weird is that??  Meeting your own kids in another country?? --  so they'll be all France-d out by then.  Before they join us, Tim, Zack and I will have a few days without them to see Paris and for the first time I'll see Versailles (whee!) on the front end of the trip.  We need to circle down thru Rome and back north to Paris for our return flight so we'll have a few days on the back end of our trip in Paris, too.  We'll check out the Bastille Day festivities and hopefully I'll finally be able to see a few more museums; I've never visited Musee d'Orsay or the Pompidou, both of which have strong appeal.  I'd also very much like to see the Catacombs on that portion of our trip, before we return.

My husband and Zack are, incidentally, not flying home with us. Tim's been doing a lot of genealogy research -- hmmm, Quinn... where might he be from? -- and so he and Zack will spend an additional week in Ireland.  I'm jealous as I've never been there, but my sons needed to get back to the states for their annual trip to this awesome survival/sports/adventure camp they attend.  It's totally hard core; my son Toby, who hates getting dirty, told me that last year he literally licked a drop of food off a rock, because they are told to leave NO TRACES in the wilderness when they're backpacking.  A good life lesson!  Clean up after yourself!  Too bad he doesn't apply it as rigorously here at home.  lol...

Anyway, back on topic... We were going to just see Italy on our trip, but my stepson Zack expressed a strong wish to see at least a little of Germany, hence the stop in Munich, which is admittedly lovely.  I'm really thrilled to be able to get to Dachau and to see a REAL castle/castle. 

For all of these cities, 2-3 days is just long enough to make a huge impression and give a distinct taste, but not nearly long enough for an intense look at the smaller outlying areas and hidden 'secrets' of the area.

Karen... Thanks for the Novitel link.  I'll for sure check into it!  Also, to you and Bobbie, thanks for the Euro tips. In the past I've always just withdrawn from my ATM while in Europe or used credit, but I've forgotten what's "best" and "smartest" so a refresher is in order and thanks for the noodge.

Patsy...  The hostel idea is an EXCELLENT one and we continue to consider it.  Thanks for the reminder!  We're not too proud to stay in a hostel and actually Tim and I stayed in one on our honeymoon.  The problem we're having is that hostels won't likely have a five-person room which is the size of our family.  That appears to leave the options of single rooms, double rooms, or huge multi-bunk rooms.  But the further problem is that those are often separated by gender.  I really don't want to vacation AWAY FROM my family or my sons just because I'm a girl.  But the price is certainly right!  We've found some hostels for as low as 25 Euros and that absolutely can't be beat.  If it were just me, or me and Tim, I might feel differently like I did on our honeymoon; we were able to book a double room and have it just to ourselves. It's just heartbreaking to imagine spending nights alone with a bunch of strange women when my family is two doors down.  And maybe I'm overprotective, but I'm not ready to let my 12 year old out of my sight in an unknown foreign land.

You guys are so awesome; thanks so much for all your hints and tips.  They're so appreciated! 

I updated the first post to say that I've actually been to all these gorgeous cities before and that this trip is a repeat of ones I've taken previously, with the exception of Dachau Memorial and Neuschwanstein, which are new to me.  I don't think I was clear about that.  Also, I lived in Switzerland for almost two years in the early 90's, in Zurich.  So I'm familiar -- if fuzzy -- on a lot of how stuff "works" in Europe; have travelled extensively on trains of all kinds (1st class, 2nd class, sleeper/hotel train, couchette, high speed, regional); know how to use a Tube, Metro, or as we like to call it in San Francisco, BART, subway system; will be using a backpacker-style luggage piece and will be packing light; have stayed in rooms of all kinds (apartment, hotel, hostel, pension, spare room); and am well versed in how to keep my valuables safe.  N'est pas ouvrir la porte davant d'arret du train.  Or something like that.  Right???  And I don't even speak French; I just read that so many times I memorized it!  Probably with misspellings, however.   lol...

I don't need generic (if useful) travel tips as much as specific recommendations for hotel accommodations and tips specific to the places I'm visiting.  Like, "Don't miss seeing the XYZ building!" or "Must eat at ABC restaurant!" or "GHI hotel was the best value I've ever had for my dollar!"  Or "For sure, reserve for Neuschwanstein in advance!"

Thanks for mentioning the more unusual option of apartment rental (I'll look into it) and Fiesole as a side trip from Florence; I haven't been there.  I think we're planning Siena as our side trip -- I have been to Siena before -- but that part of our trip is flexible so I'll look into Fiesole as an option.  I'll also get right on that Neuschwanstein reservation.

I feel really lucky to be able to take my sons on this trip but I admit, it will positively bankrupt me.  I'm stressed already and we haven't even left yet.  I made roughly this same trip in 2003 on my honeymoon,  and it's easily costing me DOUBLE what it cost then.  The dollar is so weak, and fuel costs (jets) are so high.  It's just one ouch moment after another.  So I'm trying to be smart about hotels, take night trains where I can, and so on.  We're covering a lot of territory in a short time and I don't need luxury; just reliability, cleanliness, and a location that won't put my family in harm's way.  There's so much to read and sift thru in those tour guides -- we have about three already for 2008 plus our old ones from 2003 -- that I'd rather just take a friend's word for it if someone has a specific hotel to recommend.  We like to be in the center of the action so that makes economy difficult.

Anyway... Keep it all coming!  Everything I've read so far has either given me a new idea to work with, or reinforced that I'm on the right track.  So it's all good!!!

:)

The

Oh, cool; I didn't realize she was related to you, Brenda!  Hopefully she'll stumble across this post.  Or yes, I'll take you up on your offer to point her here.  I have directions on paper on how to get from Munich to the town at the base of the hill where the castle sits.  I'm just wondering what the books DON'T tell you, that might be helpful.  Like, do you really need to reserve a tour in advance?? Or can you show up the-day-of and get one then?

Thanks, Brenda!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!  You go, England!  I'm thrilled for you.

Somebody share a scan, won't you?

Huge congrats, Paula.       

I'm so excited to be travelling to Europe this summer with my family!  All five of us will tour Paris, Munich, Venice, Florence, and Rome on a very strict itenerary over the course of two weeks.

--  I'm looking for hotelsright now, and with the dollar as weak as it is, things are so expensive.  I want to be sure to get maximum bang for my (nearly worthless) buck!  Anybody out there in TT land have hotel recommendations for any of the cities I mention?

--  We also plan day trips to Dachau and castle Neuschwanstein (near Munich), and Siena (near Florence) so anyone with hints or tips about those side trips, please add your comments.

--  We somehow end up being in Paris on Bastille Day.  I know there's a parade, but that's all I know.  Anybody know what's worth seeing, and what I might expect?  Other than having an impossible time finding a hotel room, I mean.  It's like going to Washington, DC on the 4th of July.

--  Last, I'd like to see the Paris catacombs this time around and think our three boys would find them a gruesome highlight of our trip.  Anybody been??

Thanks for any hints and tips you can offer!

PS  I'm not a total Europe newbie; I used to live in Zurich, Switzerland and I've actually been to all these cities before, and more than once.  The only new parts of my trip are Dachau and Neuschwanstein.  I've already bought our Eurailpass.  Good to go!

Yay!  I can't wait to see all the entries.

Yeah, that's new.  I think people wanted the site to remain pure and true to its original purpose -- selling handmade goods -- but lots of artistic types also are drawn to, and use, vintage items in their work.  So rather than just confuse the site I guess they decided to split listings into three broad areas:  vintage, supplies, and handmade.  I'm telling you a little more than I know on this but I recall reading something to that effect a month or so ago.

So glad you're enjoying it.  It's a superb place to browse.

Oh my gosh, could they BE any cuter?!?  I think NO.  I want to kiss that little girl with smooches, she's so cute.  I love my boys with all my heart but being surrounded by four adolescent males plus one husband (who acts like one, sometimes) really makes me long for that little girl softness & sweetness so much.

Enjoy these angels!

Oh, see, there you go.  Easy peasy, I told you so. 

Have at it and do share the link to your shop so we can find you!  I happen to stick mine in my signature here, which is handy. 

Have fun!

K, this was in the SELL area and like usual, Etsy makes it quick and easy.  I really should learn something from their writing style.

Anyhoos, looks like vintage stuff needs to be at least 20 years old to qualify.  Otherwise what you list has to be handmade, or a supply.  You can't sell, for instance, something ten years old, manufactured.  And so on. 

Hope this helps a little.

Hi Karen.  I do NOT know offhand what the rules are for vintage listings.  I think they apply to stuff that's "old" and "not handmade" but obviously they'd have tighter definitions on Etsy than I can provide.  Let me give it a quick peek since I might know where to find that information.  Back in a few...

    Susie       

I knew there was a reason we got along.  You are my best friend.  Sue Ann, are you listening???

(You do realize I'm kidding, Texas, right?  Not about Susie -- she rocks for sure.  I adore you, Sue Ann; you're my favorite Past Time!!  Just wanted to be sure to put that in writing in case anyone reads this in 10 years and thinks, Dang, That Shelli is unforgiving.)

WHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????

I have been betrayed by one I used to call "friend."  Oh, the heartache.  I shall mourn our lost relationship for an eternity, Sue Ann.  The rest of you suck, too.  Raccoons are NOT "cute."  Blasphemy!!!

Lest you people forget -- and I caution you! Do NOT let your guards down!! -- THIS is the reality behind the mask:

Spawn of Satan... yes they are.

I will somehow find the courage to someday leave my house, for I fear these beady-eyed demons await me around every corner.  Struggling against a paralyzing, life-altering, renewed case of post traumatic stress, I will endeavor to continue my life as I once knew it.  With, of course, the help of an intensive course of therapy, which will likely bankrupt me as I attempt to heal my damaged soul.

Wish me well, comrades.  Wish me well.

Honestly, I need some more coffee this morning.  I read your post earlier, Chris, and somehow got in my head while expanding my own post that you were instead Paula Carter.  Rather than just re-edit my post where I wave HI to you (a.k.a. Paula) I'm admitting it out loud.  Here goes:  I think all English people are one and the same.

KIDDING!      

So sorry for the error.  Of course you're Christine Pike, not Paula Carter.  Duh, Shel.   :redface:  :redface:  :redface:   Hi, Chris!!! :)

PS  Every point you make is excellent and I wish I'd said the same.  Note:  When something in your Etsy shop sells (your place on Etsy is known as your SHOP, by the way), your shop empties that item into a SOLD area.  So if you want to appear to be an active seller yes, as Chris - CHRIS, NOT PAULA -- said, you do need to keep something in your shop at all times.  Multiple, lower priced items are a great way to do that.  For the bear artist that might be art cards featuring your work, greeting cards, pins, paintings of your bears, collars, clothing, accessories, etc.  I know how long it takes to make those bears and it's not always possible to keep something like that in stock!

These stories are all so heart warming and interesting and funny and terrific. 

GANTAENO, yours in particular has me grinning in a very amused and empathetic way.  Good luck on your exams, by the way. :)

ELLEN, you just crack me up.  'Nuff said.

Well, see how dumb I am.  I didn't even remember that I MADE an informative post about Etsy on my blog.  Honestly, somebody send me some folic acid, quicker.

I'm not an expert but here are a few thoughts on Etsy.

MARKETPLACE
Etsy is a MARKETPLACE. They used to focus on handmade goods and many of those goods tended to be kinda cool and artsy, which in my opinion is awesome.  Very recently they've split their market into three separate areas:  Hand made (their original and primary focus); vintage; and supplies.  That's because many of the artists and customers who visited there wanted those things, but there was, as I understand it, some frustration about the intermingling of those elements.  So Etsy created separate listing categories for greater individuation of each area.  This all becomes painfully obvious if you do any kind of SEARCH there, since the drop down menu kinda forces you to SEARCH these categories separately (or choose to search ALL), automatically.

AUDIENCE
Etsy rocks my socks off!  I just love going there and find it totally and completely inspiring.  I have to think, based on what gets listed there, that a huge percentage of their audience is either young, or young at heart... and creatively minded... and appreciative of craftsmanship and the joy of handmade and well loved goods.  For that reason I think it has broad appeal to the artist, and that's kinda what most of us here at TT are.  It's addictive and time-sucking and will steal hours of your life if you find a good groove to browse.  So fun.

LEARNING CURVE
Etsy can be confusing to learn.  It has its own way of "thinking" as a website that's not like any other (that I've been to, anyway), but once you learn it, it has a wonderful charm.  You can even search for items by COLOR!!  My best advice on this is just visit, and play.  You'll learn the site and get to view some serious eye candy in the process.  I find it incredibly useful to find someone whose art I like, and then view their FAVORITES.  That way you can see what THEY like, and in the process, you'll likely be introduced to a huge number of incredible sellers you'll want to make as favorites of your own.

TREASURIES
I really enjoy Etsy's "Treasuries" -- collections of for-sale items that appear on the front page where it says HAND PICKED ITEMS, but also, in case you didn't know, appear in their own TREASURY section of the site, here:  http://www.etsy.com/treasury.php  You can navigate to the Treasury page from the left-side menu at Etsy.

So what's a Treasury?  It's a short-lived collection of twelve items, currently available on Etsy.  All Treasuries expire.  When a Treasury is created it is randomly assigned a run time which is as short as some hours and as long as a few days.   It's not intended for self-promotion but rather, as a way of screaming "CHECK THIS GREAT STUFF OUT" to Etsy visitors, showcasing the work of other Etsians you admire.  Each Treasury is constructed by an Etsy member.  Anyone can make a Treasury.  The secret is to stand by and watch for an opening!  You see, there are only ever 333 Treasury lists at a time.  If the number drops below 333, an opening is created for the first-come, first-served, quickest to act person to submit their own Treasury listing.  Now, in reality, usually there are WAY more than 333 Treasuries available to view.  That's because if an opening becomes available and 100 people, all at the same time, click to reserve that opening as their own, all 100 will be able to create a Treasury for that one opening.  Or something like that!  I made a Treasury once which was fun and cool, but I don't think I'll spend much time waiting around to do it again.  Having said that, they're one of my favorite things to explore when I visit Etsy, because some very cool people with excellent taste and a direct pipeline to some of the best work posted on Etsy will do all the hard work of collecting the good stuff FOR me, with their Treasuries.

Click here to learn more about what Treasuries are, and how to create one:  http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/how … bolts/688/

BUYING
Purchasing items on Etsy is straightforward and simple.  They have a clean interface that's not hard to understand, and a feedback system similar to the one we know on eBay, but without all the annoying hypocrisies and abuses (yet.)  I've only ever bought using PayPal but I believe there are several other options.  I won't tell you more than I know on that.

SELLING
I've sold a handful of my Imps and some ACEO's on Etsy.  It was easy peasy and I think I paid maybe a buck or two to list my items.  The cut that Etsy takes is minimal; so much so that frankly I didn't pay a whit of attention to what it was, once I read their policies initially and thought to myself, "Is that all?  Yeesh.  Who cares?  One less thing to think about..."   Unlike on eBay where I often think to myself, "Criminies, I can't believe I'm paying twenty bucks just to get this on the front page, and then a percentage on top of that."

I don't remember the specifics but I do know that each item runs on Etsy for a very long time, for that one listing price.  Like, MONTHS long.  And you can list multiple items for one insertion fee.  I just listed 16 ACEO's for a very small price.  In terms of value for your dollar, I think Etsy is a fantastic alternative to eBay and significantly less expensive across every parameter.  And if you're used to selling from your own website, there's something FANTASTIC and VISIONARY about Etsy that eBay doesn't allow.  Namely... You can cross-promote, and cross-sell your items -- which, of course, are yours to sell wherever the heck you want to, in the first place -- without negative consequence.  In other words... You could list your bear MARVIN on your website; on Bear Pile; here at Teddy Talk; and on Etsy; all at the same time.  Then, when MARVIN sells, you simply remove your Etsy listing (and all the rest of your listings elsewhere.)  This is possible because Etsy is a marketplace, versus an auction house, and to be fair to eBay (which I am less and less inclined to be), it would be lame if they allowed people to yank auctions without consequence because it's just not how auctions work.  Because Etsy is essentially a virtual storefront, you can post items there for broader exposure than your website, or TT, or Bear Pile might allow, and you can have the "oversight" of their business practice to help validate and grant credibility to your sales for any skittish customers you might have who would look for such assurances, and you can do all of that without any consequence at all, except for the loss of your very reasonable listing fee.  Which, as I said, is like a buck or two.  Really not a bad price for the additional exposure.

VIABILITY
Re: what sells vs. what doesn't sell:  On the one hand I have somewhere along the way formed the opinion that it is easier to sell lower priced items on Etsy than higher priced ones.  That's not based on my personal experience -- my highest ticket sale ever posted was around $40 if memory serves -- but on observation and intuition. 

On the other hand, I've found -- and my husband has bought -- earrings on Etsy that cost well over $150 and we didn't think twice about snatching them up at that price.  There are some wonderful, wonderful, gorgeous art items on Etsy that have very, very high pricetags.   I don't know how well, or how quickly, those items sell... but they are certainly listed.

My intuition -- and again, I may be completely wrong here -- is that if you have a following (such as from your website, or here at TT, or on forums, or if you have an extensive mailing list) and you can direct that following to your listings on Etsy, it could be a VERY viable marketplace for selling teddy bears.

My intuition, too, though, is that just posting on Etsy will not increase bear sales -- at least, at this point in Etsy's path.  Which I see Paula also believes (we were posting simultaneously.  Hi Paula!)  Perhaps there's a wider artist bear collecting audience there than I give credit -- my apologies if that's the case -- but my sense is that, on the whole, the young, creative audience there either has less interest in, or less pocket change for, high ticket artist bears.  In other words, I don't think the audience that regularly trolls Etsy right now, today, in 2008, is likely a great audience from which to expect to develop a customer base, for the teddy bear artist.  But... if you can bring your existing collectors TO Etsy, and if you continue to develop your following through other paths (advertising in the magazines, a website, forum posts, etc.) I think it could make an excellent marketplace from which to sell.

And of course, as Etsy grows over time -- and it will, because it ROCKSSSSSSSS -- the audience which follows it will grow and change, too.  Artist bears are just as valid a "homemade", craftmanship-rich, art item as anything else sold there. 

-----

Anyway... those are just a few off-the-top-of-my-head thoughts on Etsy.  Hope this helps get you started, Aleta.  I think you'd love it there.  You can even buy German glass glitter.

See?  I know what floats your boat, girly.