Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I'd restuff him with plastic pellets as well.  Are you close to any artists who might do this for you at reasonable cost, and understand what Toasty means to you or might you buy the supplies and do it yourselves?  I wouldn't be comfortable with a teddy with that sort of stuffing.  It could do damage to our other bears, possibly.

I worked as a secretary for 5 years and hated it, when I was very young.  I've been at home since our kids were born, as hubby and I both wanted it that way, so I have years of practice with being home and I Iike it.  It suits my solitary nature.  I sold a variety of art at craft shows for 20 years before I stumbled onto bear making.  I did have a nice network of friends involved in art until we moved to our current home, 6 years ago.  It's difficult to make friends when I don't like joining groups, so I spend my days alone, other than hubby's two days off and a couple of hours each evening.  Sometimes I think it would be nice to have company occasionally but for the most part I am happy doing what I please.  My schedule is so odd, I'm best on my own, I think.

Thanks so much for this, Jenny!

Thanks, Becky, and your right, LOL!

I can't find Mail.  Is it under the PM?

Thanks so much, Becky.

Thanks, Becky - mine was changed too and I hadn't realized it.  I fixed it

Miss Rosey Pinkerton, 6 1/2 inches tall.  Sales information on my blog:  www.duffyantiques.blogspot.com  Thanks for peeking :)

                  hugs,

                  Brenda

Wow, you've opened a can of worms here, Jenny lol!  I have a fair selection of mohair but not as much as a lot of artists, as my bears are small.  I do however, haunt vintage and antique stores for accessories and special things to go with my bears, along with vintage clothing.  I have a closet full.  This isn't to do with bears, but I also collect multi media supplies for altered art and have another closet full of these along with my art supplies.  I keep thinking I'm going to get back to my illustrations, when I have some "free" time lol.  I seem to have fingers in so many pies, but I do get bored quickly :o)

For years I just used my own name, "Brenda Power, Miniature Artist"' but when I started selling on Ebay, I needed a user name, so I decided on Duffyantiques (Duffy was our first cat and I love antiques).  Eventually I started making larger bears and other people started referring to me as Duffyantiques, when they emailed me and it just stuck.  No real thought went into it, it just happened.

Joanne, I am just starting to play with needle felting - I'll have to look and see what make my needles are.  Thanks for that tip.

     hugs,

     Brenda

Jenny, I like making smaller bears because they don't take me as long.  Dyeing, tracing, cutting and sewing a 4 inch bear takes me about 5-6 hours.  Stuffing head, adding ears and jointing complete bear another 2.  I try to do that much in one day. I usually work in the afternoons and then after hubby goes to bed, so we have the early evenings together.   I stuff the rest of the bear and finish the head and try to shade and distress on day two, along with cutting out any outfit I might be making - about 6-7 hours.  Day three, I finish up the outfit, and the time it takes depends on what it is but approximately 3-4 hours.  So I guess it's about 20 hours for a small, 4 inch bear.  I've never really sat and figured it out before, so thanks for the inspiration. 

With the 6-8 inch bears, it takes me a lot longer to sew and MUCH longer to stuff, so I'd add another 10 hours, for a total of about 30 hours. I can make two small bears a week, fairly easily but have to push to make 2 bigger bears.  The summer is hard to get the hours in as well, but in the winter it's quite easy and pleasant to put it these hours and sometimes more.

Thank for the sweet commment!  I appreciate it :)
hugs,

Brenda

I have started to sell my bears through Teddies of Mount Holly.  Thatcher the Clown and Master Farnsworth will be available soon through the site.  Contact information is on my blog,  www.duffyantiques.blogspot.com  Thanks for peeking.

Well done, Tracy - love your bears.

Sue and Birgitte, I'm sorry to hear that you felt it was a US club.  I'm Canadian, but I did shows for several years in the U.S. and met a lot of U.S. artists, so I have always felt comfortable here.  My biggest aversion was the discussions that would suddenly turn very nasty and always ending up with someone leaving.    I love a good debate but have absolutely no tolerance for the horrid comments that were being tossed back and forth, especially when it was quite evident that people were opening up additonal memberships under new names, just so they could be hurtful anonymously. I think anyone registering here should have to put in enough personal details to curtail that sort of thing.  I too check Teddy-talk frequently and found it disappointing to see the forums reduced to very few topics.  It would be really nice to see it lively again.

Donna, things HAVE changed.  I also miss TT.  I belong to the Bear Artistry Guild. but I have to admit I don't go there often and I really can't explain why.  I think the popularity of Facebook was the changing factor here.  People could post what they wanted without having to abide by rules or guidelines.  Facebook has gotten too big for me - It's a steady stream of bears and bear makers and it's hard to keep up.  I don't know if you could ever make TT what it used to be.  It's the changing of technology.  We had a 2 hour power failure the other day and I was thinking "great, we can have some conversation" - NOPE.  4 males with 8 electronic devices between them, loaded with games.  I gave up and went out for a drive.

Becky,
     I agree with a lot of what you and Bobbie said.  Collectors are diminishing and that's due to age and the economy.  It's tough to pay all the bills and sustain a family today.  I am not a full timer - I've was lucky enough to have stayed home with our
kids while they grew up, which I know was a luxury for all of us.  I have also been involved in some kind of art form for over 30 years.  Although I have never had an exact amount I had to earn, my job was to make enough for the extras - Christmas presents, holidays and things that weren't necessarily covered in the family paycheck.  I fell into bear making, because I stumbled across a Teddy Bear and Friends magazine, which was the miniature edition.  I was in awe but no way I could afford to buy them, so I decided to make one.  That single bear was the beginning of 17 years of bearmaking and I love it as much as I did the day I started, even if my hands don't work as well, or my eyes see as well.  I've had to make bigger bears due to arthritis, but I don't know what I would do if I had to quit entirely.  I am still as thrilled with each little bear I make, as I was my first one.  I think that's what sustains some of us through the dips in sales etc.  I simply love making bears 

Gorgeous, Paula!  I have such a soft spot for white bears!

Joanne, thanks for that info - I didn't realize you had to favourite them to see the pages.  I've waffled back and forth about having a page, but I have enough trouble keeping my blog updated lol.  I'll stick with that.  :o)

I agree with the overload, Joanne.  I particularly dislike it when someone adds me to a group, without permission.  It also annoys me when someone asks me to "like" their page.  I don't even really know why it bothers me so much except that I feel like someone else is trying to control me.  If someone posts that they've made a page and I admire their bears, I will certainly "like" it, but if they ask me to, not a chance. I've avoided making a page, because I'm not a very prolific bear maker.  I've actually picked up several new customers from Facebook, which is lovely, but I have to admit, I skim over a lot of the bear pictures, especially if it is posted more than once.  I'm not sure what the answer is, because the shows are fewer and there are obviously customers who don't go to the shows. At least Facebook is a free way for them to view the bears, rather than buy magazines.

Thank you so much, Lisa :o)

I have listed a new clown on my blog today - Figgy Wigg is 7 inches tall without his hat and over 8 inches tall with the hat.  He is made from hand dyed, aged mohair and stuffed with excelsior.  I hope you have time to take a peek.

    www.duffyantiques.blogspot.com

           hugs,

           Brenda

I knew both Jim and Kathy fom shows in The late 90's.  They we the loveliest couple and I have fond memories oath them both.  I am so sorry to hear this news.

Joanne, he's just wonderful, like all your bears 

    Brenda x