Thank you!

The Teddies Worldwide Teddy Bear Extravaganza online show was loads of fun once again! I am pleased to report that all my bears found new homes and flattered to have my preview bear Otto chosen as Best in Show! Thank you to all who voted and visited the show, thank you to the lovely collectors who chose to bring my work home, and many thanks to Daphne Towle for organizing another wonderful show! I'm looking forward to the next one!

Teddy Bear Extravaganza!

Since the main purpose of this blog is to share what I am creating in my studio, it is always challenging to resist the temptation to share on it some preview of the bears I am working on for Teddies Worldwide shows. But part of the fun of these shows is the big unveiling of hundreds of new designs from artists all over the globe.

Now the show is open so I can show you what I have been doing for the last few months! Visit my bears and many more at www.teddiesworldwide.com !

First up are Clyde, Grover and Harry, three classic fellows made from short dense mohair. I typically save fur this short for much smaller, bears but wanted to try it out on something bigger. They are 13" tall. They are quite a departure from my chubby aand thick furred contemporary fellows, but I loved them from the start. The short fur complements the classic lines of this pattern perfectly I think. I hope you like them too.

 

Next, I have two 17" alpaca cuties, Otto and Otis! Otto was introduced in my last post as my preview bear for the show. I love to use alpaca because it is so dense and cuddly. Don't those pleading faces just beg for hugs?






Otto and Otis

   



















Otto

  








Otis

   

And here is Beatrix! I have used the same Tissavel luxury synthetic fur and and the same pattern for her as Celeste. (Holly is the same pattern in a different fur.) I love this new size and I will make more finishing each one with unique paw and nose colors as well as accessories. This cute button trim has been waiting for a while to find just the right bear to wear it!





Beatrix

  

Now for the smallest bear on my page! Here is Orville! a sweet chubby little fellow made from soft mohair and adorned with a vintage silk ribbon bow.





Orville

  

Showtime in five...four...three...two...one!

The Preview is Now Open!

I haven't posted in a while, but I have been busy in the studio, working on new designs which will be available at the Teddies Worldwide Teddy Bear Extravaganza. I am dying to show what I have been working on, but to add the element of surprise to the fun of the show this is prohibited. I can finally show you the preview bear I have made though, and you can visit www.teddiesworldwide.com to see a collection of all of the artists' preview pieces. Be sure to bote for your favorites~ There are some new cataogories this time!

My bear is Otto!

I hope you like him. Enjoy the preview and be sure to come back in two weeks to attend the show!

Kittens!

I have just finished making my second "litter" of kittens ever, and my first for this year. I very much enjoyed making these, and I am so pleased with how they turned out. They are for orders, so I am hoping that my collectors will love them, too!

Each little kitten stands just 10 inches tall not including his or her ears, and is made from dense alpaca.  Their distinctive markings were achieved with many layers of hand coloring with Prismacolor fine art pens. In addition to these  markings, their faces feature careful scissor sculpting, needle sculpting, a stitched pearl cotton nose,  blown glass eyes, enhanced with shimmery gold paint (on the back). They are five-way jointed and stands on their own due to weighted legs and wired tail. Each one wears a simple neck ribbon which complements his  fur. My kittens will be an open edition, however due to the hand coloring each one will be unique and so I have chosen to give them unique and alliterative names. My first group were Scamper, Scooter, and Scout. These are Cricket, Colby and Cali.

Three Little Kittens!

Cricket

Colby

Cali

Cali has lost her mittens!

"It's OK," Colby consoles her, "Eating pie with mittens on is a bit silly anyway!"

Happy New Year! Celebrating 20 Years of Making Teddy Bears!

Happy New Year, Friends! How does a bear maker celebrate New Year's Eve? Making Teddy Bears of course! My first bear of 2013 was "born" just after midnight January 1, 2013 and the second bear was finished on the second day of this month. These little ones, made for an order were in progress for quite a while but December is an incredibly busy month for my family so a nice evening at home sewing is just what I needed.

I feel like 2013 is going to be a great year for a number of reasons. First, it is my 20th anniversary in the warm fuzzy business that is Teddy Bear Artistry! I made bears in many mediums before discovering the "world" of artist bears, but 1993 was the year I began to sell my creations. I am planning to celebrate this milestone with a couple of fun give aways later this year. The first will be in March. Since I cannot recall the exact date of my first sale, I thought my own birthday, March 7, would be a good time to have the first give away. This one will be open to anyone who reads my blog, so stay tuned for how to enter! The next one, to be given at Christmastime, will be a very special bear drawing for anyone who purchases one of my creations from me this year (including bears ordered last year, but delivered this year) More details for that to follow as well.

The second thing I am really looking forward to this year is doing five shows--two in person and three online!  Shows are my favorite way to introduce my work to collectors. I love to get to meet collectors in person and to reconnect with artist and collectors friends at the in person shows. Also, at both  online shows and the ones in person, there is such a nice building of anticipation and excitement as I watch my work table fill with pieces waiting to make their debut together. Please visit the "Shows" link at the top of this page for my 2013 show schedule.

And finally, I have already had some great news for 2013. I have had three pieces chosen as TOBY Industry's Choice Award winners! These bears (and kitten), were chosen by a panel of industry leaders and they will be published in the June issue of Teddy Bear and Friends magazine for public voting. Follow this link to see a slideshow of all the winners! I am so pleased and thankful to the judges for honoring my work!

Here are some photos of my winners!

Hatta, TOBY Industry's Choice Award in the Large Dressed Bear Category

Scooter, TOBY Industry's Choice Award in the Small Friend Category

Toklo, TOBY Industry's Choice Award in the Large Undressed Bear Category

Christmas Time in the Studio!

I added a bit of Christmas cheer to my studio this year! A couple of my ball-jointed dolls became little elves to help me with my own toy-making.

The kitschy Rocking Santa, once loved by toddlers now shunned by teenagers, swings along with the radio in my studio, and a lovely tiny nativity ornament resides on this shelf year round.

And there is the tree! I bought two little trees, one for each of the boys' rooms, but Alex didn't want one this year so I brought it down to my studio. I didn't really want to buy any ornaments so I thought of making a garland of thread spools. But what if I needed a color of thread for my work? I needed a way to put them on the tree, but still be able to access them easily if I needed them. I got this idea from this blog, Sew Many Ways, and I love it! Sean helped me make all the little hooks and it makes a lovely studio tree!

Merry Christmas from my studio!!!

Oh, Joy! A New Toy!

I had planned to do some housework today, but how can I when THIS arrived today!

I have wanted one of these Singer Featherweights for quite a while, and I finally had the chance to buy this lovely girl, "Olive" from fellow Teddy Bear Artist Cathy Forcino. In addition to making lovely bears, Cathy finds vintage Featherweight sewing machines and fixes them up for fellow crafters and collectors!

Olive came so carefully and cheerfully wrapped, I felt like it was Christmas morning!

There is nothing wrong with my "old" sewing machine--in fact I love it, and would not trade it for anything~it sews perfectly and it is sentimental. My mother gave it to me, and I learned to sew in this machine. It was the first thing she bought with her first paycheck from her first "real job" and she made clothes for me on it when I was a baby!

But "Susan" (since Olive came with a name I feel compelled to give this old friend a name too!) will be tucked into her table for just a bit while I learn about my new machine.

I expect I will use both machines. I love that Olive is portable! Although "Featherweight" is a bit of a misnomer as all of these older machines are a bit hefty with their metal geers, she is much lighter than Susan and comes with that neat case.

No playing now, though. I must get back to house cleaning, but I have something to reward myself with when it is finished! Some new fur came this week too! SEW exciting! (Yes, I know I am a nerd!)