Making Memories

 

After a lovely holiday away in Devon with my family and our five dogs, I am now catching up with website updates, orders and life in general. I am also scratching my head over new US tariff legislation, which is rather a rude post-holiday come down and seems to have most countries in a somewhat grumpy trade spin.

From what I can gather, before the 29th August 2025, US collectors were protected by something called the 'de minimis' rule, which meant imported goods up to $800 were exempt from nasty import duties, so my teddy bears could travel happily to new lives in the Land of Milk and Honey. However, President Trump, in all his presidential wisdom, has now removed this friendly trade exemption, meaning import duties and a variety of charges, will now become due on receipt of any sweet natured teddy bears travelling to the US to share hugs. Mean eh?!

I will of course, be checking tariff codes carefully to see whether or not handcrafted teddy bears are definitely part of this shake-up ... and keeping fingers crossed that US collectors will bear with me while my creative brain attempts to fathom export details and shipping consequences. Needless to say, this is all a million miles from my cosy world of teddy bear-making!

In happier news, the scenery in deepest Devon was, as always, spectacular. We stayed on a lovely two hundred year old farmhouse, which everyone enjoyed hugely and the dogs had a blast on the beaches. My favourite day trip was spent on Dartmoor, an area of breathtaking natural beauty, where wild ponies, long horned cattle and sheep roam freely. The children climbed tors and adventured to their hearts' content and when they were ready for a rest, we visited a beautiful ancient village called Widecombe-in-the-moor, for a very welcome cream tea.

Time now to make my memory book and preserve our holiday memories ... and once I've figured out the implications of exporting to my US friends, to settle back into my workroom to find peace, by being me and simply creating teddy bears!

The art of...

 

The art of...

The art of creating artist teddy bears follows a long road of trial, error, determination to improve and the gift of a creative soul.

An original handcrafted teddy bear flows from the maker's heart and hands, into a character woven with the warmth of childhood nostagia and a sense of comfort.

Memory Lane

 

Memory Lane

This morning it occurred to me, that I have forgotten to share my Facebook page here with you...

If you are a teddy bear collector who enjoys a trip along Memory Lane, my All Bear FB page is a great place to see the All Bear by Paula design journey over the past thirty years... I have compiled themed albums of my teddy bear creations for you to enjoy, drawing many bears together for the first time in collections such as 'The Rose Blooms', 'Spring', 'Summertime', 'Blue Bears', 'Traditional Bears', 'The Clowns', 'Laughing Bears'... the list is endless!

It is fun to find long forgotten friends among my dusty teddy bear archives and share them alongside recent designs in this way. So, if you would like to see them, please follow the link below. I look forward to seeing you there!

https://www.facebook.com/allbearbypaulacarter 

Teddy Bear Gold

 

After a pretty Spring full of pastel teddy bears, Treacle teddy bear's mohair has been calling my inner traditional teddy bear maker...

For me, there is always something very special about finding the perfect gold mohair, so when I spotted just such a fabric on one of my supplier's websites recently, I couldn't resist ordering half a metre to see if might live up to my expectations for a perfect teddy bear fur ... and luckily, it did! 

It may seem strange to non-teddy bear people, to learn that the discovery of a particular mohair can be an exciting moment for someone, but I am certain all teddy bear creators have their own special preferences and mine has always been luxurious, richly coloured and traditionally gold. I have created many types of teddy bear over the years and have always enjoyed exploring alternative design, fabric and colour but my heart remains true to the traditional teddy bear and I never lose the desire to recreate him in my own sweet way, with the perfect mohair..

Collectors the world over have loved the classic proportions and natural shades of traditional teddy bears for over a century and continue to do so today. Treacle was adopted as soon as he made his appearance on my website yesterday and happily, he will be heading off to meet his new owner this week. 

Serendipity

The older I become, the more I see that life is often about coincidence, each seemingly isolated incident, a piece of jigsaw linking to a greater story as years pass...

In my mid twenties as a young mum, I worked as a teaching assistant in a local school. The school was close to town and on lunchbreaks, I often enjoyed a short walk to the local bookshop to browse. One day I spied Pauline Cockrill's 'The Ultimate Teddy Bear Book' on a shelf and couldn't resist opening it... by some mysterious chance, it fell open to an image of my childhood bear 'Big Ted', a wonderful Chiltern Hugmee teddy bear gifted to me on my first birthday by my parents and still with me to this day, sixty years later. The coincidence made me smile and for some reason, I couldn't put the book back on the shelf and instead bought it, then read it from cover to cover that evening. From that day on, I was utterly entranced by the history of the teddy bear and I would say that particular book was the reason I began collecting teddy bears and ultimately, my inspiration for creating them too...

I began making teddy bears as a hobby. After a while, friends and family requested my bears and word soon spread beyond school that I was not only a teaching assistant but also a secret teddy bear maker! In the mid 1990's, before I had even heard of the internet, I came to realise that to keep up with what had quickly evolved into an ever growing demand for my teddy bears, I would need to set up a little homespun business to sell them.

In those days, my sister Fiona had also started to make teddy bears and one day, she took several of our bears to show the owners of 'The Rochester Teddy Bear Shop', a rather magical local teddy bear emporium. She returned home full of excitement because not only had the shop asked to stock our work, they had also invited us to exhibit our teddy bears at 'The Rochester Teddy Bear Show' held twice yearly in the Corn Exchange. I could hardly believe my ears and instantly forgave my sister for borrowing my bears!

And so 'Auntie Bears' was born, the prelude to 'Absolutely Bear by Fiona Smith' and my subsequent label, 'All Bear by Paula Carter' (now 'All Bear by Paula') which launched at the start of the new millenium. It was also the start of many more teddy bear show adventures throughout the country and the inception of our venture into selling to other teddy bear outlets, both in the UK and overseas. Wonderful shops such as 'Bears and Bunnies', 'The Rochester Teddy Bear Shop', 'Theodore's Bear Emporium', 'Growlies', 'Edwina's Friends', 'Sue Pearson's Dolls and Teddy Bears', 'Silly Bears' and 'The House of Bruin' among others, have sadly long ceased trading and are much missed by collectors and bearmakers alike. Over the years we made many long standing friends in the teddy bear world and will always be grateful to the shops who supported us during our early days as newly aspiring teddy bear makers. Other teddy bear shops thankfully survived the recent pandemic and are still selling artist bears to eager collectors. One such shop is 'The Bear Shop' in Norwich, trading since 1990 and as those of you who have followed my bears over the years will know, this shop still stocks my bears today (thank you so much Robert!) Oddly enough, it is 'The Bear Shop' which links neatly to my latest teddy bear book 'coincidence'...

As I mentioned earlier, in the 90's, before I had even considered making teddy bears myself, I had become somewhat of a teddy bear collector and eager reader of all things 'bear'. At the teddy bear fairs I visited, I would occasionally catch a reverent mention of a gentleman named 'Peter Bull', an English actor with a heart full of teddy bears. I learned that Mr Bull was the person responsible for bringing much-loved childhood teddy bears out of discreet and sometimes rather embarrassed hiding by sharing true life teddy bear stories in the wider world, with pride, gentle authority and a well-earned sense of place. He wrote and talked about teddy bears and their importance within our social history, with great fondness, humour and dedication, asking the world to understand that teddy bears were not only for children. In fact, many had provided a significant source of comfort to their grown-up owners during troubled times, including the war years and as such, earned their place in history, so we should be rightly proud of owning them in adulthood.

In my early days as a teddy bear collector, I don't mind admitting I didn't fully appreciate the impact Peter Bull made on the teddy bear collecting world. Born in 1912, he was of my Grandmother's generation, a generation that had lived through the horror of two World Wars. Originally a journalist, he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, achieving the rank of Lieutenant-Commander and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for service in the Mediterranean. Later he became an actor with films such as my Mum's old favourite 'The African Queen' and 'Dr. Strangelove' to his list of credits. He was also a Member of Parliament for Hammersmith for 29 years.

With a long and distinguished life established, Mr Bull subsequently became known as 'The father of teddy bear collecting' both in the UK and overseas, shining his bright light on the role of the teddy bear in the lives of men, women and children throughout the past century. He published his first book 'Bear with me' dedicated to sharing tales of real life teddy bears, in 1969. Mr Bull also appeared on television and became well known for championing the cause of teddy bear collecting as an acceptable adult hobby. 

Peter Bull passed away in 1984 aged 72, several years prior to the publication of Pauline Cockrill's 'The Ultimate Teddy Bear' in 1991 and just as excitement for teddy bear collecting and creating 'artist bears' was sweeping across the UK. On his passing, many of Mr Bull's own teddy bears were rehomed by the London Toy and Model Museum but 'Aloyssius', a famous actor teddy bear, best known for his role in the film 'Brideshead Revisited', was adopted by Ian Pout, owner of the famous Teddy Bears of Witney shop, first established in 1985 and still selling wonderful teddy bears to this day.   

My own little coincidence occurred recently, when I happened to be selling a teddy bear making book I no longer needed. I popped it on a well known auction site in the hope it might inspire another new maker and as I listed it, happened to notice another book for sale entitled 'The Teddy Bear Book', written by Peter Bull. It was offered by a charity for the deaf, so I put in a bid of a few £'s and promptly forgot all about it, until I received notification that I had in fact won the auction! I received this fabulous tome yesterday, first published in 1970 when I was only seven years old. It arrived in the original hard case and was in immaculate condition, clearly much cherished by the original owner. That alone was enough to delight this bearmaker, but to open the cover and discover this was one of the original 10,000 first printed and signed by the author's own hand, put a huge smile on my face. I began to read and was immediately drawn by the author's expressive style, then the joy of flicking through the pages as I supped my mug of coffee, only to find little treasures carefully placed within the pages by the original owner... a polite hand signed note of sale from the retailer, a bookmark detailing Peter Bull's biography with little annotations scribed in a neat hand, a list of teddy bears and books made available from 'The House of Nisbit', an address for a teddy bear restorer handwritten and noted 'a lovely lady'... and further on, a little round cardboard tag printed by 'The Bear Shop' and saved like a carefully pressed flower... the very same bear shop which has welcomed my teddy bears since my early days as a teddy bear maker!

Receiving this very special teddy bear book out of the ether yesterday, felt as though an invisible force somewhere had witnessed my teddy bear making journey over the past thirty years and brought the perfect gift to my door. I couldn't have been more touched, surprised and delighted... and for that I believe I may have Serendipity to thank!

To read a little more about Peter Bull please visit: https://letstalkteddybears.com/peter-bull-collector/ 

101 Bears to make, a book by Nancy Tillberg

 

101 BEARS TO MAKE, A BOOK BY NANCY TILLBERG

After almost thirty years in the teddy bear making industry, I find I have some great bear-making books, written by talented artists, gathering dust on my shelf. I collected them many years ago and as I am a nostalgic type of person, kept them because they held memories of my early days as a struggling teddy bear maker...

Back in those days, I was still finding my bearmaking direction and was eager to learn as much as possible about the art of teddy bear making from as many different sources as I could find. I loved reading bear-making books and was so grateful to authors such as Nancy, for taking the time and trouble to share methods and thoughts about this fascinating craft, with beginners such as myself. However, as I became more confident to find my own teddy bear making techniques, these books
gradually became redundant and now I find it is a long time since I last opened their pages...

Since the pandemic, I have heard of several well established teddy bear artists either retiring from our wonderful craft, or choosing to move into a new direction, so now seems to me, a good time to pass on some of the books which first inspired me in the early days, the days before teddy bears became my business... in the hope they will perhaps inspire fresh teddy bear making talent, into the future.

I have already passed on some of the books, but held '101 Bears to make' back because I wasn't quite ready to part with it. It was written by Nancy Tillberg, a lovely American teddy bear artist and member of 'The Guild of Master Bearcrafters', famed for her creative approach to teddy bear making, 'back in the day'.

This rare collectible book, first published in 2003, shares many inspiring ideas for developing your own unique style of teddy bear and is a fabulous resource for any budding bearmaker. I hope that by passing it on, a whole new generation of teddy bears may emerge into our wonderful artist bear world!

If you are interested in purchasing '101 Bears to make' by Nancy Tillberg from me, please visit my Ebay auction this week. Good luck!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325705579145

Update: SOLD.

The Big 'Uns

 

THE BIG 'UNS

When I first began collecting vintage and artist designed teddy bears over thirty years ago, it was always the big traditional mohair bears who captured my heart. There was something reassurring about them, something solid and true, something that captured the very essence of childhood. It was that sentiment which inspired me to want to create my own teddy bears for grown-ups.

I believe we should all hold on to our inner child because the purity of childhood is where we all began to understand the most nurturing aspects of life, those of reassurrance, friendship and kindness towards others. Of course size isn't always important and little bears can be every bit as important as bigger bears when it comes to offering comfort ...but it should be said, there is something particularly heartwarming about a hug from a big teddy bear.

In marketing terms, it isn't always practical to concentrate on creating big bears as they require a higher price tag, extra time to make and a little extra space to display ... but I won't ever step away from making big bears because they are the heart and soul of who I am and always have been, as a creator of teddy bears.

Up close and personal!

 

TEDDY BEAR TIPS

I am often asked how I create my teddy bear noses...

A teddy bear's nose is very important. I believe it should be neatly stitched, expressive and perfectly shaped to suit teddy's character and facial proportions. Embroidering a traditional teddy bear nose is an art form, honed over years of practice and in my view, is one of the most important aspects of teddy bear making as it is the bearmaker's unique signature.

Sewing a good teddy bear nose can be tricky as it relies on so much more than simply needle and thread. To embroider a good teddy bear nose, the head pattern must first be carefully designed with a perfectly symmetrical muzzle. When the pattern is transferred to mohair for cutting, it is essential to ensure it is cut accurately, as the odd couple of millimetres here or there may prove disastrous when a nose is sewn. It is imperative that the muzzle is stitched into the head precisely, ensuring it is kept central, either by hand or machine. If muzzle and chin seam are slightly 'off' centre, it will become glaringly obvious when a nose is sewn ... and is if that isn't enough to terrify the most stalwart of makers, stuffing a teddy bear head unevenly, or not firmly enough, also has the potential to cause all manner of problems when the nose is sewn!

Before I tackle the nose, I prefer to fasten in eyes and trim the muzzle prior to settling into my chair, with a long slender needle and embroidery thread. I like to be relaxed and able to take my time for this job! I sit with my bear's head firmly gripped between my knees, at a right angle, ie., his chin pointing towards my knee. Then I take my first stitch, burying a tiny knot under the mohair backing with a firm tug and bringing my needle out in the centre of the muzzle. Taking care to maintain a firm and even tension and keeping the thread central, I take my first stitch down to the chin, just under the seam, then back up to the muzzle to stitch towards the right keeping my stitches equal in length, returning to the centre to stitch an equal number of stitches towards the left. Then I repeat the process to create a second layer with slightly longer stitches across the top of my embroidery (I am left-handed, so imagine right-handers may prefer to stitch from the centre to the left first; either way is fine). A little tip: if the muzzle is cut and sewn in correctly, it should be possible to use the tiny holes in the backing as a guide for your needle ... but woe betide you if the muzzle is slightly adrift! 

To finish my teddy bear nose, I take long stitches across the top, bottom and along the sides of my nose, using a deliberate tension to create a slightly rounded shape. Using the remaining thread, I exit through the chin seam, stitch an inverted 'V' shaped mouth using glass topped pins to guide me and finally, make a couple of long stiches from the top of the mouth to the bottom of the nose, along the chin seam.

Teddy bear noses can be stitched in a variety of styles and shapes. I have become known over the years for my classic block noses, neatly embroidered in satin stitch, but have also created many waxed noses, striped noses, sparkly noses, festive noses and even careworn noses, deliberately distressed to give an impression of age. A teddy bear's nose is limited only by the imagination of his maker!

Autumnal Inspirations

I fell in love with this Harris Tweed the second I saw it and just knew it would make a stunning Tweedy Ted ...

 18" Mackenzie Tweedy

 Up until now, my previous Tweedy Teds have had classic three piece heads (not including their ears!) so I thought it would be fun to design a four piece centre-seam head for this particular fellow. I have designed centre seam mohair bears over the years as they provide scope for shaping - for example, if you design a gentle curve into the head gusset, it offers more depth and creates a wonderful dome shaped head. I thought it would be fun to translate that lovely dome into my Tweedy Ted and happily, this design worked really well.  If you would like to know more about Mackenzie Tweedy, please pop over to my website.

www.allbearbypaula.com

Update: Mackenzie Tweedy has now been adopted!

It is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness and I am loving the daily walks I take with Polly and Betty, my Golden Retrievers. The countryside is rich with berries and the leaves are beginning to turn beautiful shades of orange and gold. It is a time of year I have always found especially inspiring ... the dogs are loving it too as there are now lovely muddy puddles to splash through on their walks! They really are such a pair of muck magnets.

These are a few photos I snapped on our walk through Oaken Wood last weekend...

Needless to say I spent the rest of the afternoon armed with shampoo, towels and a hose!

Whatever the season where you live, I hope you too are enjoying all it has to offer!

:-)

A post from The Dark Side

Black bears can be so tricky to photograph!

12" commission teddy 2019

I usually use my Canon Eos camera to take bear pics, but I don't mind admitting this fellow, a commission finished last week, caused me a few photographic headaches!  I gave up trying with my posh SLR camera and resorted to my mobile phone camera instead. Hey presto, after all the frustrating twiddling of manual settings on my proper camera, one press of a little screen button and my Samsung Galaxy 10+ did a pretty decent job of things.  I live and learn!

20" Mischief was made in 2018

Not only are black teddy bears notoriously difficult to photograph, they are also a real challenge to make. Marking a pattern on black mohair is pointless if done with my preferred lead pencil, so I need to use a fine gold Sharpie pen instead. Cutting out, trimming and sewing black mohair with black thread is also very tiring on my eyes, so I only ever work on black mohair by my workroom window, in bright natural daylight. 

15" Blackberry was created in 2009

So, if you have ever wondered why black artist teddy bears are almost as rare as hen's teeth, it is because black mohair is probably one of the most challenging fabrics for a teddy bear maker to work with!

Black Magic was created in 2006

I have been trying to find photographs of some of the black bears I have created over the past 25 years, but unfortunately it is proving a rather thankless task. I know there have been occasional black bears peppered throughout the years, but goodness only knows where I filed those photos!  

Merlin was created in 2011

I'll keep hunting for those black bear pics, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy this little blog post from the dark side! 

:-)

Glorious technicolour

For those of you who read my previous post, I am happy to say my little Grandson seems to be settling happily into his new school life. I collected him from school with his Daddy on Tuesday and was delighted when an excited Toby flew through the school gates to give his Nana a big ol' hug, clutching his first official reading book. He was full of beans and eager to tell us all about his day. Yes, I think he'll be just fine.

So, I can now swap my 'anxious Nana' head, for my 'busy bearmaker' head but first I should mention, I am sat at home today waiting for a very special parcel ... my vintage Singer sewing machine is due to arrive! Whoop whoop! I am very excited to receive this beautiful old lady. My poor dogs are far less excited though, as it means their walk has been delayed while we wait for the doorbell and they have had to satisfy themselves with barking at the window cleaner rather than running on the field. Sorry girls!

By the way, I plan to finish a new teddy bear this afternoon, a lovely cheerful clown bear. The black and white pic is just to whet your appetite, I'll reveal all in glorious technicolour shortly!

:-)

Protectors of our teddy bear heritage

Reminding myself of the bear maker I truly am, with this fabulous new big bear!

22" Gulliver

Those who have followed my teddy bears since the mid 90's, will best know me for creating large, traditional teddy bears with soulful faces.  

I love these stately bears, protectors of our teddy bear heritage, guardians of our childhood memories ... and I am so proud to continue to make them for collectors around the world, twenty three years after creating my very first traditional teddy bear.

If you would like to know more about Gulliver, please visit him on my website:

www.allbearbypaula.com

Thank you!

:-)

A reason for being ..

From time to time, I receive a telephone call reminding me exactly why I am a bear maker.  Today was one such day.  The 'phone rang just as I was about to give Polly and Betty their breakfast, so I asked them to wait while I picked up the receiver ... 

On the end of the line was a lady 'no longer in the first flush of youth' (her words not mine!) asking if I was the person who made teddy bears 'for the Auntie Bears firm'.  I smiled to myself as I told her yes, I had made bears in the past under the 'Auntie Bears' label, way back in the mid to late 1990's.  It was then she told me about a very special teddy bear she had recently purchased, after much careful deliberation, from a local antique shop.  The teddy was large, ivory white and wore a delicate net collar, now yellow with age.  She told me she came with a beautifully handwritten tag, bearing the name 'Lilian' ... did I remember when I made her?

Sometimes, when a collector rings with such a question, try as I might, it's not easy to remember their bear after so many years because I have made so many teddies over the past two decades ... but I knew this lady's bear in an instant.  'Yes I remember Lilian,' I told her with a smile, 'I named her after my Grandmother'.

My caller espied Lilian tucked away among the antiques and fell instantly in love.  Being a lady of sensible disposition, she left the shop without Lilian in her arms, but the bear wouldn't leave her thoughts.  The next day she decided the only answer would be to return to the antiques shop and claim Lilian as her own.

Lilian was a beautiful bear, one of the few I made that even tugged my own heartstrings.  I recall being reluctant to sell her and for quite some time, kept her with me, until I had no choice but to find her a new owner.   I don't recall who bought her back then, but sometimes a teddy bear's path takes twists and turns and their first owner may need to find them a new home. Lilian was one such bear.  

I couldn't be more delighted that the beautiful white bear I made twenty years ago and named in memory of my Gran, found her way to that antique shop, then into the life of the lady who rang me this morning.

Sadly I no longer have a photograph of Lilian teddy to share with you, so  I will have to leave that to your imagination and instead share some pretty white Spring blossom.

:-)

An inviting decision

I um-med ah-ed for quite some time when invitations for next year's Hugglets' shows arrived, because after so many years exhibiting at their lovely London shows, committing to a change of plan, had me feeling very torn, but the truth is, I have been struggling to create enough bears to set aside for shows since Polly, Betty and my Grandson arrived and to be absolutely honest, after twenty years of bear-making, much as I have enjoyed the shows, I no longer have an appetite for the inevitable deadline crisis that always has me in a last minute twirl of bear-making madness.

Preparing to exhibit at bear shows is time consuming and costly, so I have come to the conclusion that in preparation for 2016, it is time to put on my big girl pants and make a firm decision about how to move forward. The result is, I will be taking a break from shows for the foreseeable future.  

There. I've said it, so that makes it real. Phew!

So, I am looking forward to working at a more gentle pace, creating bears from the heart, walking each day with my girls, taking care of home, hearth and  husband and of course, sharing time with my precious Grandson while he is still little enough to need me. 

Yes, I think it's time to put the brakes on a little and maybe even smell those roses!

I will continue to share new bears via my website and will of course, keep in contact as usual, through my blog, mailing list, Facebook page, Twitter, Bearpile and ... well, you get the picture. 

You can take the bear-maker out of the shows, but you can't take the bear-maker out of the ... er bear-maker!

:-)

Crafting a teddy bear ..

I often snap work in progress pics on my mobile phone and recently, after making my traditional 18" teddy bear Elliot, it dawned on me that the photographs might be put to better use if I could make a short video with them.  It took me a little while to figure out how to use 'You Tube', but eventually I arrived at a very simple and I hope charming video, of how I make a traditional teddy bear.  For anyone interested in traditional techniques, I think those I have used are pretty much standard in terms of traditional bear making.  This video could perhaps benefit from being a bit more detailed (a project for another day?!) but even so, does gives a genuine insight into how I bring my own hand crafted teddy bears to life ...

I would love to know if you enjoyed this bear making presentation ... has it inspired you to try your hand at making a teddy bear perhaps?  Please let me know by leaving a comment, thank you!

:-)

Teddy bear making, the process

When I recall my days of making and selling a minimum of three bears each and every week, I realise I must have been driven to work many more hours in my single parent days! These days I prefer to work at a more gentle pace, particularly as my poor hands don't cope so well with long hours any more ... bear making takes its toll on finger joints over time, unfortunately.  Anyway, we should all make a little extra time to smell the roses now and again ... it's good for the soul!

Even a fairly straightforward classic teddy bear takes about twelve solid hours to create - from drawing and cutting out the pattern, trimming the mohair edges by hand to give a professional finish, then pinning the pieces together ready for sewing, setting in paws, stuffing, making the head, assembling, jointing and finishing.  Yes, making a traditional teddy is a very involved process.

So I'd share my latest bear's work-in-progress photos to show the process. The picture above shows a stuffed head with muzzle closely trimmed on top.

I usually pin the ears roughly in place at this point and use a couple of black pins to give me an idea of where to place the eyes. Then I start to scissor sculpt the rest of the muzzle.

I always work on the head first and when I'm happy with the muzzle, move on to nose embroidery.

Once the nose and mouth are sewn, I think the bear really starts to take on his personality!

But as you can see, it's only when the eyes (vintage boot buttons in this case) are inserted, he comes to life ...

When both eyes are in place and he can look straight at me, my teddy bear is ready to be assembled.

After I have jointed the head to the body, I half stuff his limbs and measure where I want to fix them.

When making a traditional bear, the traditional method of jointing limbs and head is to use two hardboard discs, one inside the body cavity and the other in the limb, then make a crown joint using a cotter pin and washers to secure.

When teddy has been assembled, it's time to stuff him, add his growler and close all seams by hand.

Lastly, there are claws to be stitched and ears to be sewn on; again by hand.

To finish teddy, I like to give him a thorough brush with a teasel brush to remove any fur trapped in the seams and generally spruce him up before deciding how to accessorize.  As this is a traditional teddy, I opted for a smart satin bow.

Before teddy can be offered for adoption, I like him to have studio photographs taken for my website as it's important to represent the colour of his mohair as accurately as possible and the Iphone pics snapped in my workshop aren't really suitable ... and of course, a beautiful photograph taken on a decent camera is hopefully worth a thousand words!

So that's the tale of how one of my traditional teddy bears is made.  I may not make quite as many teddies as I once did, but I guarantee each bear I do create is made with as much love and attention to detail as ever his predecessors were.  They are, as always, special teddy bears for special people.

Oh and if you were wondering - yes!  The bear in this post is now available for adoption from my website. His name is 'Elliot'!

Thank you so much for your kind interest :-)

www.allbearbypaula.com

Update: Elliot has been adopted.