Teds in Tweed!

After receiving fabric samples from a couch maker recently, I couldn't resist ordering a cosy old fashioned wing chair and cushions to be made from Harris Tweed for our living room ... and being the bear maker I am, one thing naturally led to another!

Paying homage to the war time tradition of using alternative fabrics for making teddy bears (http://www.bourtonbears.com/bears-mohair.php) I will be making a few special teddy bears in Harris Tweed, complemented with pure wool felt paws, for the forthcoming 'Teddies 2014' show in London on 14th September.  This fabric has a lovely autumnal essence, perfect for creating cosy traditional teddies with olde worlde appeal.

If you would like to come along to the show to see my latest bears, please visit www.hugglets.co.uk for further details.

Springspiration!

After a major show, I always feel the need to take a few days away from bear-making to recharge my batteries, so this week I have been working on the computer rather than in my sewing room.  It is starting to feel as though Spring is just around the corner here in the UK, so I've been inspired to give www.allbear.co.uk a fresh new lilac look.  While I was about it, I introduced three new bears for sale on the site, then one thing led to another and I decided to teach myself how to add Paypal buttons to make payment easier for customers - but as always with all things website based, what I thought would be a simple task, of course, proved otherwise.  Several frustrating hours later, I eventually managed to sort things out and thankfully now my website is working efficiently again!

8.5" Chip

Once I'd sorted out the website and a few other marketing bits 'n pieces, my thoughts turned to Spring bears.  As you know, I'm far better known for creating substantial, armful sized bears, than tiddlers, but the little chap in the pic above was such fun to make, I've decided to dabble further! Although I've always steered clear of making little bears because there are many other bear artists who already do the job exceedingly well, I've decided to be brave and try to include little bears in my 2012 range.  With that in mind, I spent several hours hunting on the internet for suitable fabrics earlier in the week and was thrilled when they were promptly delivered from Germany yesterday!

I would like to create some colourful little bears for the Spring, maybe in clown style, so these pretty shades will be perfect!

And this more realistic brown bear mohair should result in some very handsome tiddly teds!

I was exactly like the proverbial kid in a sweetie shop while I um'ed and ah'ed over which fabrics to work with and although I had chosen plenty to be going on with, just couldn't resist this gorgeous selection of alpacas too! I'm hoping they will make really cuddly little bears.

I still have a couple of larger bears in my work basket to finish before I can start on the tiddlers, but once they are finished I'm going to make time to play with my lovely new fabrics ... please watch this space for progress updates!

One bearmaker's trash is another bearmaker's treasure!

Like many bear artists, I have a stash of mohair waiting to inspire me.  Occasionally though, I look through my mohair pile and wonder whether some of it will ever become a bear - perhaps the colours bore me, or the pile fails to fire my creative mojo, or the pieces have been used too often before.  Those offending pieces of mohair gradually filter their way to the bottom of my stash and over a period of time, are forgotten ...

So when I heard about a new Facebook group called 'Art/Craft/Bear Making Supplies for Sale or Swap' set up by a fellow bear artist, it set me thinking! 

With tape measure and digicam to hand, I delved deep into my storage boxes and hauled out a good few pieces of fabric which were never likely to see the light of day again.

I'm delighted to say, that with a little effort on my part, a great DIY idea on Clare Davis-Tedd's part and the enthusiastic support of other Facebook teddy bear artist friends, my discarded pieces of mohair raised a very welcome £300 and can now look forward to being put to far better use by other bear makers around the world!

Trialling ted fabrics for Intercal

I forgot to mention I have been invited to trial several new fabrics from my supplier in the US and have been asked if I will send photographs when my bears are completed, for promotional purposes. So far, I have made up three of the four new fabrics and the finished bears will be featured on Intercal's website http://www.intercaltg.com/ and also in their mailshots, to help promote these lovely new fabrics.

'Shamus'

You met two of the bears in earlier posts ('Finnegan' and 'Finley') and today, after a long day in my workroom, I can share the third bear, 16" 'Shamus' with you. As you can see, he is wearing the little waistcoat I knitted last week, but I will probably photograph him 'in the bare' for his Intercal debut as they really need to show off the fabric properly.

Shamus is made from a beautiful alpaca fabric, so lovely to the touch! There's something about alpaca that suits pure German wool felt paw pads perfectly, so rather than my usual velvet, I shaded some beige wool felt paws especially for him. I thought it would be a nice twist to give this cute classic teddy bear a cheerful red nose and matching stitched claws, something not too contemporary but a little less than traditional and maybe a trifle unexpected!

Airbrushing Shamus's pure German wool felt paw pads

Unfortunately it is pouring hard here yet again which means Shamus will have to wait until it brightens later in the week to have his photos for the website taken in the garden. In the meantime though, here are a couple of snaps taken in the conservatory a few moments ago. Oh and before I forget, I must tell you Shamus will be coming to the Stratford show with me on Sunday!

16" Shamus

Fair exchange is no robbery.

Here's HUGHIE!

Recently one of my suppliers contacted me to ask if I would be interested in receiving a sample of a new fabric they were introducing, in return for photographs of any bear I could create from it, so they could use the pics to give their customers an idea of how the fabric looks when made up. I thought it sounded a fair exchange, so set to work and 17" 'Hughie', now available for sale on my website http://www.allbear.co.uk is the outcome.

The fabric is less dense than I would usually choose to work with and has lent Hughie a very sweet faced, slightly tousled, appeal. I thought the gorgeous traditional dark amber glass eyes worked very well with the colour and was drawn to traditional gold velvet paw pads to complete his overall look. I created a new pattern for Hughie and am pleased with the outcome. He's a lovely size, a manageable 17" hug ... just right! Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you, I've given him a growler too, so that when you tilt him forwards for a cuddle, he can growl his appreciation.

Now I must get back to work on my BAO Summer Show bears ... let's see if I can get at least one more completed before the deadline ... I can't wait to share them with you them properly!

XXXXXXX

It's been an odd week really. A week of mixed feelings. I don't know if you will remember, but for many years I worked with my sister Fiona creating bears under the 'Auntie Bears' banner.

'Becks' by Paula Carter and 'Scrump' by Fiona Smith ... created mid 90's.

We were proud to be bear makers and shared a great deal over the years as we created our niche. Many's the time we've dashed excitedly to the local newsagents desperate to get hold of a teddy mag we know our work is about to be featured in, or have packed up the car with our precious teds and made our way, Thelma and Louise stylie, to take part in a bear show.

Showtime! Early days ... The 'Auntie Bears' stand.

We've planned for the future together, built British Bears on the Net together, launched our charity project 'Dare to Care' together, munched cake, drunk copious amounts of coffee and above all else, laughed and sighed together, during our decade shared as teddy bear designers.

'Beau' by Paula Carter and 'Lottie' by Fiona Smith .. these were available exclusively in Singapore, an edition of ten bears apiece.

However, time moves on and lives take unexpectedly different turns, so a while ago Fiona made the difficult decision to move into a completely new field of work. Initially she felt she would want to return to bear making on an occasional basis and would be reluctant to give up entirely but subsequently, she has become so involved with her new world, she can no longer imagine herself returning to teddy bear design work.

Naturally this is very sad for me, because I miss all that we built together and shared as sisters in the bear world, which let's face it, can be a lonely place to be whilst working, but I am pleased Fo has found fulfilment in her new role and am grateful to her for all the support she has given me over the years and for the huge stash of bear making materials she so generously donated to me a few days ago. Who knows, with luck maybe one day she will get the urge to create again and if that happens, I'll be ready, willing and able to help with components, coffee and of course, cake!

High Spirits with my sister Fiona, on my 40th birthday!