Holidays!

Holidays are the perfect occasion to give and receive teddy bear gifts. It is a wonderful time for collectors, with family and friends feeding their collecting frenzy.

These holidays, make your own wish list of bears! And don't forget to buy a special Santa Bear to remember the Christmas by.

Also, make sure teddy bears are included in the holiday decorating! A bunch of bears under a Christmas tree would look simply adorable. Santa and other red and white bears scattered around tastefully in the rooms would also give a christmas-y feel to the home.

It is also a time to take a deep look at your collection, and decide upon the objectives for the year ahead. It is a great time to take an inventory of your bears, and may be even decide which bears are ready to be given away to others who might enjoy them more - especially if storage is becoming a problem for you.

Make some new year bear resolutions, and figure out the direction you want your collection to grow in, in the upcoming year. It would be good to do this fairly early, so your wishlist can contain the bears you really need.

Last but not the least - take the time to really enjoy the collection, by playing with them and taking many photos of them posing in various settings!

Themed bear displays

I decided to have seasons themes for my teddy bear collection displays. I will be having themed displays for each season, with bears wearing the right colors and costumes. I can also set the theme by staging certain elements of the season in my bear display shelf - miniature snowmen, hanging snowflakes, santa's deers and valentine hearts for winter; florals for spring and so on. Here is how I plan to arrange the bears each season:

Winter:

Winter says christmas, snow and also valentine's day for me. So my winter display will have my polar bears, cream bears, grey bears and also bears of other colors in winter clothing (think Boomer bear from Russ). Not to forget Santa Bears! The left portion of my display will contain the christmas theme and the right will be a valentine's theme, with all my I love you bears and red bears. In the middle, I will put bears to blend the themes in by using some transition bears.

Spring:

Pastels and green shout spring. A spring display needs lots of pink, lavender, silver, pastel blue and other shades well blended, using bears of that color. Green bears can set a background for the display, or a green spring landscape scene would be the perfect setting for all the pastels to bloom in. No greys or whites here!

Summer:

Summer is for bright colors and daring patterns. I shall put up my yellow, orange, deep blue and other summery colors in this display, all set in a background of sunflower pictures. Multicolored bears can also be a part of a summer display. Light and airy summer or outdoor costumed bears in any color fur can also join in the fun, and will help to set the mood. While it is always fun to mix and match bears of different bold colors, it would be important to create a balanced look by blending the colors well with transition bears. I am even thinking a rainbow theme - bears from violet through red, all arranged from left to right.

Autumn:

A fall display can look great in harvest colors of red, orange, gold etc. One or two purple bears can also add to the fun of the setting and prevent it from looking too orange-y. I would want to throw in a background setting with fall pictures to set the mood.

Some of the bears can fit more than one season. Every bear in the collection gets to come out in at least one season - so none is left forever in storage. Plus, this setting gives me my shopping list, too - "now, if I can find a lavender bear for the spring season, it would be great!" So my bear collection would be more enjoyable and more visually appealing too.

You can try this yourself. Find out themes you love, and put up a display exclusively for that theme. You will have a lot of fun, and perhaps even add more bears to your hug after an exciting hunt for the perfect pieces of your theme. And you never know, you may even end up centering your entire collection around that particular theme!

Finding direction in your collection

Heya,

Let's face it - bears aren't exactly something you can store away in desk drawers, they take up space. And as with any collector, a bear collector also tends to collect first and think later about storage and display. Plus, in these economic times, it is not easy for non-multimillionaire collectors to buy everything they love.

So, what do we do? How do we make sure that our collection doesn't end up wasting money or space? The answer is direction.

The reason why many teddy bear collectors seem to end up with rooms overflowing with bears and hardly any time or space to enjoy them, is because they went around collecting every bear that caught their eye. In the initial stages where teddy bears of any and every type attract us, it is hard not to fall into this problem. I admit I had it too.

But sooner or later, we realize that if we keep doing things that way, we would soon end up homeless, or would have to part with a majority of the collection in order to make room for new comers. Or it may cause friction with your loved ones who once tried to be supportive of your bear-mania by gifting you special teddies.

So, a time comes when we just have to find a direction to our collection. A time when we decide, okay, from now on I am going to focus on this manufacturer / material / character / color / country, and only buy teddies of that area. This would significantly reduce impulse buys, and you would have a collection which looks more professional and appealing. Plus, it might even end up being more valuable than a generic and unfocused collection.

Now, finding this direction would give us specific collecting goals. What is the next thing I am looking for? And the thrill of the hunt begins. It is much more fun to actively seek and find a special bear than to randomly pick up a cute bear at the local mall.

Since you can pick your direction depending on your taste, budget and space availability, chances are it wouldn't end up causing you too much trouble. And you might even be able to enjoy the collection more.

Once you feel you have collected enough from a certain niche, you can always move on to a new niche, so it is not like you are tied up for life. Also, even while you are focusing exclusively on one segment, if a unique and special bear comes your way for a great price, you needn't hesitate to bring her home either ;)

Now, after eight years of collecting, is my own collection starting to find a direction now? Yes, finally! I am now focusing on colors, and adding uniquely colored ones to my collection. So, if you have an amethyst or gold colored bear to spare, feel free to send them my way ;)

Cheers!

2009 November - Bear of the Month

The 2009 November bears of the month are Pilgrim Bears from Vermont Teddy Bear Company, specially made for Thanksgiving fun! These 15" bears are available in Buttercream fur.

Wearing gold-buttoned jackets with white collars, her outfit is complete with aproned skirt and bonnet and his with brown knickers and traditional Puritan hat. Send them as a gift to celebrate the season or let them overlook your festive feast as the Thanksgiving table centerpiece.

Content and picture courtesy: http://www.vermontteddybear.com/SellGroup/Pilgrim-Bears.aspx

2009 October - Bear of the month

The bear of October 2009 is a 5" Gund bear, named "Elvis Love me tender." He comes in three colors: Beige, purple and silver.

Love Me Tender recreates one of Elvis Presley's classic moments of rock n roll in this collectible teddy bear.

Gund has worked with bear designer, Susan Johnson, to produce this fabulous collection of Limited Edition mohair bears and this miniature collectible teddy bear is one of six from the Elvis Presley Teddy Bears Collection - a 2006 Limited edition of 550.

The little bear wears a clown's hat and neckerchief in purple and silver and has three buttons stitched to his tummy.

This Elvis teddy bear will be rocking and rolling right into your heart and comes in a gift box with a numbered certificate of authenticity.

This is a collectible item and not suitable for children under 14 years.

Surface washable.

Information courtesy: http://www.teddybearfriends.co.uk/

2009 September - Bear of the month

The bear of the month of September 2009 is Lady Bukowski Bear from Bukowski. This 12" bear is a light brown teddy bear with soft medium-length plush.

Lady Bukowski is in a misty rose coloured traditional dress with white lace trimming.

On her head she wears a matching bonnet and she has beans in her bottom that enable her to pose in a sitting position without support.

Lady Bukowski bear has small round black beads for eyes and a brown stitched nose.

Information courtesy: http://www.teddybearfriends.co.uk/

A collector's coming of age!

As with any collection, we often find that a collector "comes-of-age" when the focus of the collection shifts from quantity to quality.

Now, in the case of teddy bears especially, quality does not really translate to highly priced collectibles alone. It means owning bears that have a special quality in your eyes. It means selecting bears because they are just ones you cannot live without. It also means choosing bears not just because they are ones you can afford or are the ones that others seem to appreciate.

A true quality teddy bear collection has only those bears which bring joy to the collector. Each bear would be special in the eyes of the collector.

Unlike several other hobbies, a teddy bear collection is one that should be purely accumulated for the joy of it. Investment shouldn't really be a concern. Although, if the bears that bring you joy are top-notch collectible ones, go ahead by all means! But remember that the true quality of a bear is in how much you enjoy him/her.

And, if at some point you feel like you should pass on a bear in a collection to someone who would enjoy it more than you would, don't feel guilty about it! After all, every bear deserves to be loved, and it is only fair that they should end up with people who truly love them.

Cheers!