Teddy Bear Tidbit Tuesday

Welcome to Teddy Bear Tidbit Tuesday, wherein I share with you a tidbit from teddy bear lore. On New Avenue Crew's previous blog, I shared a teddy bear tidbit about the origins of our beloved teddy bears. Today, because many of you may be new to the bear world, I would like to share with you just what a handcrafted or "artist" teddy bear is.

I am not sure if there is a true definition of artist bear floating around out there somewhere, but this is how I define it: a teddy bear that is designed and handmade by one person, from preliminary sketch to pattern to final primping. There are bears out there that are manufactured by a company, and certainly someone is the designer, and most assuredly, someone works on that bear by hand at some stage, but the process is not the same, the uniqueness and intimacy of having one creator are not present.

Bravely appearing on the Crew's blog at right is J. Cub, one of my early bears (made in 1997), named by my sister. He still lives with me because I couldn't bear to part with him. After I made him, I started changing his pattern with each bear I made, and I subsequently abandoned that pattern for new designs. But he has a special place in my heart. A second J. Cub (who bore only a family resemblance to the first one) was adopted and went to live in Japan. That was a thrill for me!

There are so many teddy bear artists at work today all over the world. Some of their blogs are listed at the bottom of the sidebar at right--go on and have a visit. I have been so amazed by the artistry that has been on display lately. A great place to visit in addition to bear artists' blogs is Teddy Talk and its Teddy Bears and Other Friends section. Please let me know if you visit the blogs and Teddy Talk and what you find. I love to hear from you, dear reader!

I have many other tidbits about artist bears I would like to share with you, such as what they are made from, what the bear making process entails, and so on, but those tidbits will be the subjects of further installments of Teddy Bear Tidbit Tuesday. If you have any questions about artist bears, ask away; there's no need to be shy. We're friendly here in the Crew's den, especially J. Cub; he fancies himself something of an expert. It might be due to his "advanced" age and status in the studio.