My un"bear"able former life

So Saturday, I told you about my teddy bear, and while doing so, I mentioned that I used to make bears for a living.

Now I use the term "for a living" quite loosely. I made bears, people gave me money, the "living" part was where we get iffy. I did OK, not crazy amazingly well, not enough to feed myself and my family, but I did pay the light bill on a fairly regular basis with my income. {Photography has been much better to me.}

I remembered I had some old files on my computer for my former website, and these photos were tucked away to be long forgotten.

I mainly made miniature bears. All the bears you see here {except for the one at the top} are all miniature bears. The tallest bear (or critter) is around 3" tall, the smallest weighing in at around 1.25"

I couldn't tell you how many bears I made in that 11 years I was designing. (I designed all my own patterns). I would guesstimate well over a thousand. Bears helped me travel all over the place, in fact I even ended up at a bear show in England a couple times.

I was published in some bear mags a few times (yes there are/were teddy bear mags!) and I even was nominated for the Oscars of Teddy bears. "The golden Teddy" in 1999. I didn't win, but I did win a glass city award around that same time.

Eventually, I burnt out. The idea of picking up a needle and thread kinda made my eyes bleed, and I was really getting into scrapbooking at the time. There was no big good-bye, no last hurrah. More like a pop and a fizzle.
{Insert the sound of a whoopee cushion}

Most of the awesome stuff has found new homes, and once in a while, I'll see one of my old bears pop up on online stores or ebay. However, I do have a few of my own pieces still. Mack loves them - if he can sneak in, he'll act like a kitten and bat them all over the place. (He used to steal finished pieces right off my work table!)

Once in a great while, I consider making a piece or two - then I regain my senses. :p

So if you're a mini bear maker, let me know. I have admitted to myself it's time to let my bear making supplies go *gasp*