Bear Profiles #3: Other artist bears

The above picture is of one of my many other artist bears. He was made by Tacha of Bearly Treasures, as far back as 2002 I believe. However I acquired him fairly recently - he'd been in my local teddy bear shop for quite some time and I took pity on him! He's made in a traditional style with large feet and paws, long limbs, a protruding snout and a slight hump on his back. He's fairly small - he measures just over 7" tall when standing. He has lovely long sparse mohair which is a rich blond/gold colour and he is mainly soft-filled but has steel shot / pellets in his tummy. He's quite easy to pose because of this and he is quite a little character!

I have been unable to find the artist online, so I can only assume she is either no longer making bears or just hasn't set up a website yet! This seems to be the case with a lot of the lesser-known artists, although I have noticed a lot of them now sell their creations on eBay (and probably other internet auction sites as well). If you want to search for artist teddy bears you'll find quite a few if you search using the term OOAK - meaning one of a kind! Many budding artists have low starting prices for their bears (and other animals they make) so these auctions can be a good way to build your collection without spending a massive amount of money!

I will be profiling some of my other artist bears at a later date, because I don't have them all at my house and am therefore unable to photograph them all at the moment; some are with my parents due to space constraints etc. At this rate I'm going to have to buy a 5 bedroom house to comfortably house all of my bears. Yikes! :D

Bear Profiles #2: Bears of Grace by Jo Vernalls

The two bears pictured above are Bears of Grace, by Jo Vernalls. The boy bear is from the Out of the Attic Hero Collection, and he is dressed in the style of a Chelsea Pensioner. The girl bear is also from the Out of the Attic Collection, but I am unsure of her name! I just call her Gracie. She might be from the Posh Collection, as her dress is particularly stunning!

These bears are made to look old - the mohair is distressed, they have bald patches in places, they have 'repairs' and their claw stitching is loose in parts. This adds to the appeal of the bears for collectors such as myself, because I generally prefer old bears to new ones (or at least traditional style bears as opposed to modern style ones!)

The attention to detail with Jo Vernalls' bears is amazing, even down to the clothes the bears are dressed in.

I have been unable to find a website for Bears of Grace but an Google search will turn up lots of the bears for sale in teddy bear shops and on internet auction sites. They seem to be very popular bears with collectors, and it's not difficult to see why!

Bear profiles #1: Humble Crumble bears by Victoria Allum

The two bears pictured above are both Humble Crumble bears, made by Victoria Allum in the UK. As you can see, the bears are of a very traditional style with long limbs, humps on their backs and long snouts. These bears are absolutely adorable, the amount of work that goes into producing each bear is amazing. The attention to detail is fantastic - their noses are waxed, they have hand painted features to give them an 'aged' look and their facial expressions are beautiful. The mohair used to make these bears is of excellent quality, and they are filled with soft polyester fibre and weighted with steel shot which gives them a lovely quality feel.

The larger bear, Elliot, was made for me as a commission in August 2006. He is about 17" tall and made of gorgeously soft blond mohair. He has an old key on a ribbon around his neck. His neck is wobble-jointed which allows for many different 'poses' - he looks extremely handsome and appealing!

The smaller bear, Nettie, was again a commissioned bear - a little sister for Elliot! She is about 12" tall and is made of slightly darker mohair which is quite curly. She is dressed in an antique doll's dress, which fits her perfectly. Again, her neck is wobble jointed. I think you'll agree they look adorable together!

Visit the Humble Crumble website for further information on the wonderful bears Vicky produces :)