Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Wendi, with longer pile furs, just make several passes.  It doesn't all shear away with a single stroke of the clipper.  You have to WORK it, baby!  But you'll get there, and actually the slow pace makes it all the more comfortable.  It means you can't accidentally shave teddy bald in one false move!

HAHA! to your first statement, Dale... and HEAR HEAR! to your second.  I share your sentiment exactly.

I like that saying too.  It's kinda like another favorite of mine: You can get busy living, or get busy dying. 

I'm gonna steal that "Suffering is optional" one for my husband's use.  He's an MFT and could sometimes use a quick catchphrase like that for use with clients!

Actually, I can't figure that out about Winney's disappearing photos.  They were visible to me last night when I posted them and I've checked and rechecked my use of the [img] tags for a possible error and simply can't find one

Winney, any chance your album has changed in the last 12 hours?  I linked directly to those album pics in my post...?

Judi, your kids are like very-subtly-altered carbon copies of you.  You all have beautiful, sweet faces.  Thanks for sharing...

Laure, Laure, LAURE!!!  Welcome to you.  I'm so happy to see you here.  Let me introduce you.

Laure -- this is everyone.  Everyone, this is Laure.

Might I add, just for the record, that in this girl's opinion, Laure makes some of the most "artistic," beautifully finished, original, folksy-but-also-contemporary, wonderful little (and big) bruins around?  Her table offerings in Nevada City blew me away.  Wonderful stuff!

Can't wait to hear anything and everything you have to share.  Can I ask a question already?  I'm currently making a (hopefully) clown bear and want to know how to make a pointy cone felt hat for it; my dream is that it will have a cool scalloped trim.  The dream is in my head, but the expertise in doing this is not. 

You seem to have a lot of felt expertise; I remember those little folded-loop collars on two or three of your pieces in NC.  Any hints on how to create my dream dunce cap?

Thanks in advance and WELCOME AGAIN!!!

Danni, you wacko Aussie gal, complain all you want.  You should hear me when I get going (And by the way, I didn't actually think you were "complaining."  I thought you were trying to figure out how to make bears smartly and economically.  Good on you!, as I think you Down Under folk sometimes say. I just didn't want you to rule out an entire brand name after one mediocre experience because personally, I think differences in mohair have more to do with the batch and style than the brand name per se.  But what do I know...?:D)

Anyhoos...

I'm just starting work on my first alpaca bear -- a blend; are they all blends?  I'm still learning, too -- and I love the texture.  But I'm still in the pinning stage so I've not found out yet how they hold up to fray.  Will get back to you on that, gripey-girl... :P:P

Well Miss Loonie, it's simple...

Abandon bearmaking entirely.   Devote yourself instead to working day and night, staying up until 4a.m. at least several times over a seven day period, dorking around the entire time on Adobe PhotoShop 7.0 to the absolute exclusion of all else, including human contact and good nutrition. 

What can I say?  When I glom onto something, I'm driven!  It's my new sideline passion -- digital graphic design.  Unfortunately, I am developing a serious nerve damage issue in my rump from all this sitting at my computer!

That's pretty much it, in a nutshell.

Have fun!

<heeheehee>
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Here are some photos of Winney's beautiful fashion bears hard at work!

Donna, I've never made a real fur bear but I've read many discussions on the subject. One thing to be aware of is that it's often very fragile, and inconsistent in spots, so it can sometimes tear easily.  I've heard people speak about conditioning it with various oils, glycerine, mixtures, etc. -- you really have to find someone more knowledgeable to advise on specifics, like Nancy, whose book comes highly recommended by many -- to keep it supple and prepare it for the hard working over it will take while stuffing and finishing.

It's also apparently very hard to get a smooth trim on the muzzle, although again, I have no personal experience with this myself.

I met Lori at the Nevada City show and she is an absolute delight, as I'm sure you already know.  Why not use her as a resource and write her directly, not for any of her "trade secret" stuff, but for some tips & pointers on trimming real fur down smoothly?  I feel certain, given her warm and sharing personality, that she's offer you lots of information quite happily.  And this is one area that seems more open than others to general inquiry; it's probably just a matter of which tool to use, etc.

Hope this has been marginally helpful.:/:P:/

... to all of you with little (or big) ones, whether they be human, canine, feline, or ursine. :):):):):)

Absolutely, share your stories, Winney!  It's all part of being a community, I think.  Can I suggest you create a new thread for each one? That way people can respond to them individually.

Can't wait to hear...

Ayup.  I'll second that!!!

I've never managed to make a bear from pattern tracing to finishing in a single day.  Usually I've either cut out and pinned the pieces beforehand, or finished/accessorized/stuffed the bear on a second day.  It's generally a two-day process... and this timing helps out my hands, which get really sore and tired and cut up with all that stuffing and pinning and needle sculpting.

I think it takes me about 15 - 20 hours to make a bear, and sometimes -- if something goes "wrong," or if it's an especially involved piece -- much, much longer.  I also handpaint most of the eyes I use, so that adds to the time as well.

We all must be pretty much in love with what we're doing, since we're so willing to spend such a very long time, utterly seated and still, doing all this focused work!  It speaks a lot to the passion that teddies inspire in people...

Aacccccccckk, Cindy... that Avatar is darling!

Dale is full of great ideas.  I've decided I'm going to keep him.

Eileen, I actually shave first against the grain, and then with it... and then across it.  Unless your clipper guard falls off -- which mine DID one time, so do keep an eye on it! -- you really can't over-do.  The guard keeps you from cutting too close.  Even around the edges where you'll want the trimmed mohair to blend into the longer bits, it's very  difficult to screw up things too badly.

If you're really worried, I'd recommend starting out with a guard that allows for a very LONG trim -- close to your original pile length -- and then move down from there to shorter and shorter lengths.  I end up trimming different parts of the muzzle to DIFFERENT lengths, but it's a slow process, and sorta dictated by the bear itself, and the pattern lines, the look I'm after, etc.

Much, much less scary than you'd think, all of it.  And then pretty soon you'll be doing shaved pawpads, too, which are really cute, and a great way to use up those little bits and pieces left over after your fat quarter is otherwise all gone!

You know, I don't pay a whit of attention to the mohairs I'm using in terms of "English" or "German," "Helmbold", "Norton (no longer an open mill)," or "Schulte."  So I can't say -- and didn't mean to somehow suggest! -- that Helmbold never plucks clean, because I have absolutely no experience with that. 

I have a longer and more frequent history of ordering my mohair from Intercal, but I occasionally order mohair from Edinburgh too (they're my two supplier mainstays because they're in California, like me, so shipping is reasonable) and, in either case, when I order mohair, I order what I like based only on color, texture, pile length, and pile density...  because those are the factors that determine the final "look" or outcome of my teddy product. 

I have noticed differences in how different mohairs behave (some backings are tighter, some fray more, some are too stiff to be ideal, some are too floppy to be ideal,) but I've never associated those differences with one brand vs. the other, as much I've associated them with one STYLE or LENGTH or BLEND or PILE TYPE or FINISH of mohair vs. another. 

Since I don't ever pluck mohair for a totally clean look, I'm less qualified than some to address this problem, but it occurs to me -- and this is just an idea here, don't shoot the messenger! -- that maybe if you're having a problem plucking out the hairs that means they are especially tightly embedded in the fabric... resulting in less fur loss over time.  So that might even, in many ways, be a good thing.

Still, if you are having difficulty with a particular type of mohair getting in the way of the "look" you're after, then of course use what's familiar and what works!  There are so many types of mohair, though, and speaking as Shelli the bearmaker here -- and not as an Intercal Volunteer Help Advisor -- I think you might be really limiting your possibilities if you choose to exclude an entire factory's worth of productjust because one particular style/density/pile/blend/type/finish of mohair from that factory didn't perform as you'd ideally have liked.

I like to keep my options open and I have to say that, while some mohairs are easier to work with than others, I've never had a "bad" result -- one I absolutely hated, or had to toss out -- from any of them.   It's all just an excuse to find that happy accident and create a truly unique, new, and terrific creation.

Anyway, not remotely wanting to get in your bid-ness about this, Miss Danni (who I adore.)  Just encouraging you to keep your options open, and not let one bad apple spoil the bunch.

Big hugs,

I can't tell you gals how delighted I am to see you posting my avatar designs.  Don't feel obligated to use them eternally (we all like change, me more than most!  I'm on my third website re-do as of yesterday.)  But it sure is a nice little ego boost, and hopefully a little exposure for my new design "studio", too.

I just created my first-ever ad (my friend Andrea did the design work for me before this go-round) for the August Teddy Bear Review and I feel very proud of it.  Can I show it off a little bit?  I'm hoping other people will want to hire me to help them create their own graphics for print work, and I'd love to focus on the bear industry since I love it so well.

Here's my ad:

Yeah, my batteries die quickly too, but I'm happy to replace them to skip the nuisance of that danged cord. 

I want to mention, too, by the way, that you definitely need those clipper guards if you're planning to trim down, but not trim OFF, your mohair.  I usually use the 1/2" and 1/4" guards... and I think it's a 1/8" one on the moustache trimmers.

Yay!!!!

I have both the industrial-type 2" straight edge clippers -- like they use at barber shops -- and a small, about 1" straight edge moustache/beard trimmer.  The big clippers have a cord; the small one uses batteries.  I use and like both.

By round heads, do you mean the kind with the three circular rotating heads?  I don't see how those would work at all, especially with longer, denser piles.  Have you tried those?

PS  My hubby, who wears a full beard, doesn't let me use his clippers, either.  I had to buy my own.

I'm not sure I can pull off 100 bears+ per year.  Like I said, the "three per week" is a rare thing indeed.  I usually just manage one...

I do think though that it's fair to say I could manage 50+ per year.  If I spent less time in message board chit-chat, that is.... :D:D:D

We are ALWAYS trying to find ways to "do it quicker" and, plain and simple, there just isn't a way to get lightning quick when it's a handmade item in a one-person shop.  So go easy on yourself.

For those of us that do this for income, it doesn't hurt, by the way, that we have the pressure of utility bills, the IRS, the mortgage, and kids (who need something, every second of the day) breathing down our necks, urging those  productivity numbers onward and upward...!

I don't have vast experience with paint BRANDS but I can share the ones I do use:

WINTON -- which I bought in large-ish tubes in a variety of neutral colors.  I think this is the more "professional" of the two; and

REEVES -- which came in a kit of many tubes (twenty or so.)  I wanted a mix of fantasy colors and this was the best and most economical way to get lots of non-neutral colors in one shot.

You literally need a dab of paint about the size of 1/4 of a pea to do this work.  It will last you forever... almost.

Let me know if you'd like more input or guidance.  I think it's a great way to shade bears and you have incredible control.

PS  I find the best brushes to use are either SCRUBBERS about 1/4" in diameter, or STRAIGHT FLAT in about a 1/2" edge size.  Make sure you get brushes for OIL PAINTS and that you buy some TURPENIOD or TURPENTINE for cleanup.  Brushes not made for oils/solvents will literally dissolve when you try to clean them!

I can manage one to two per week, three if I"m under heavy pressure and working like a fiend.  I do all the work myself, no farming out.  Lots of reasons for that, some having to do with finances... some related to the tax issues that get involved when one has a "legitimate" business and takes on employees (don't want the hassle of the paperwork, etc.)... mostly having to do with a reluctance to surrender even the smallest bit of control of the most minute aspect of my bearmaking  to another human being!  Plus, I've heard that a piece is more desirable from the collecting end if every bit of it is artist-made.

This puts enormous strain on me to produce and I just can't keep up with demand; it's a wonderful predicament, but also, stressful, because for a people pleaser like me, I just don't like keeping people waiting.

The up side of being a total one-woman-shop, though, is that I can work at my own pace.  And if live intervenes, I can stay up until 3am to finish what needs doing.  Tiring, yes... but also... Lovely!

I don't have an answer to the Helmbold part of your question, but if you're left with a "stubbly" look that you're like to make smoother, I can recommend using oil paint on your "bare" face areas, to smooth out the color and texture there and get that sleeker look I'm assuming you're after (and disappointed you didn't get.) 

I'll elaborate more if you're interested but sometimes I need a smoother, more one-color look on my faces and using a very dry brush loaded in oil paint makes for a wonderful application of color that's very blendable.  If you get it too dark you can go over it in white.  Using a stiff, CLEAN brush to finish blends everything togehter nicely, and you end up with no stubbly look at all... even when stubbles remain!

I find the stubble look particularly obvious when the backing is dark and the mohair is lighter.

Let me know if you want more details.  I'm an avowed oil paint lover for ease of application and low, low cost (small tubes are a couple of dollars each and last for an eternity.  I'm no where near running out after 50+ bears and a year of working with them.)

I should add, by the way, that these paints blend right down into the fabric and leave no crusty, crunchy residue at all.  The last step -- using a very stiff, CLEAN brush to blend -- is essentially a way of combing any paint you applied through the mohair for a completely blended finish.  It blends well on the fabric backing as well.

I was across from Dale at the Nevada City show -- hi, neighbor Dale! -- and if I had known he was a mechanical engineer I would have spent more time studying his teddies and less time studying his stacks and stacks of mohair. 

When I get a bandsaw and router, I'll try your method, which sounds bulletproof in the best possible way (I'm always searching for a "better" way to stabilize those standing guys.) 

Where do you find the time, man?  Laughing here...