The Potbelly Pixie

Check Your Statement

There's a curious rash of credit card fraud going 'round the teddy bear community, so if you're a bear maker, especially one who's ordered supplies over the internet at any point, please, check your credit card statement(s) carefully for fraudulent activity.  Below, as a kind of public service announcement, I've attached an informational note from Cindy Malchoff, who is co-coordinating an effort to compile a list of affected artists.  Conversation on this topic is also ongoing at Teddy Talk.

Wishing you well, and a summer free from fraud,
Shel
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Dear Teddy Bear Community,

First, I am sorry if this information has come to you from many sources and me more than once...with the assistance of several databases we are attempting to reach as many people in the bear community as possible to warn them of this problem.  We are working with suppliers, promoters and magazines to reach as many as possible.  Feel free to help spread the word, esp to those that do not have e-mail.  We honestly don't know where the breach occurred, or if there is indeed a common thread...it just appears to be more than a coincidence!

In just the last three days, we've discovered that a substantial number of bear artists have had similar fraudulent charges put through on their credit cards within the last month. The count as of this morning is 44 people, mostly bear artists as well as a few other individuals who had also purchased bear supplies.  These artists are from around the world, in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

We are trying to find out exactly how many people have been affected at this time, and also determine if these are related to any one company that we have done business with.  We are continuing to spread the word to bear artist communities around the world, it is extremely important that people be made aware of what is happening, as these fraudulent charges are still ongoing with some made even today!  Amounts can vary from $1 charges up to thousands of dollars; one artist had several charges totalling $10,000 made to her card, just to let you know how serious this is!  Many of the charges have been from companies such as Skype, Google AdWords and iTunes.  

There is a team of bear artists working to try to figure this all out.  Anyone who has been affected by credit card fraud recently or knows someone who has, please get us that information!   Information can be sent to Kelly Zimmerman (cannabear@frontiernet.net), Cindy Malchoff (Info@TBAI.org), Karen Alderson (karen.alderson@gmail.com) or Aleta Breese (akaqueen@hotmail.com).

The credit card fraud companies appear to be acting very quickly, however the debit card users have been having more trouble straightening things out.

First and foremost - KEEP CLOSE WATCH ON THE ACTIVITY OF YOUR ACCOUNTS AND NOTIFY THE BANK IMMEDIATELY OF ANY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY!!!

Hugs,
Cindy Malchoff (Teddy Bear Artist & TBAI Chair)

The Nevada City Teddy Bear Convention

As I wrote in a previous post, last weekend was the 25th annual Nevada City International Teddy Bear Convention in Nevada City, California.  The three day event was celebrating its silver anniversary and as always, the gorgeous venue -- the Miner's Foundry, a historical building -- just sparkled.  Twinkling white fairy lights encircled every window in the rugged Great Stone Hall, and bear artists were scattered everywhere with beautiful tables showcasing the most glorious bears and wares.

For a look at my many photos, please visit this link at Teddy Talk, where I've posted them, every last one.  There are also photos from Sonya Shaw (Sunnie Bears).  So much mohair-covered eye candy!

Here, though... just a wee teaser of this wonderful, wonderful show.  I plan to be back next year as an exhibitor.  As much fun as I had visiting with friends, taking my time, and shopping, I missed being on the other side of the table!

2008 Nevada City Teddy Bear Convention

This weekend marks the 25th annual Nevada City Teddy Bear Convention!  I've been an exhibitor at this show every year since 2005, three years running... but this year am taking a sabbitical.  I'm mourning the loss of sales and the opportunity to present my "professional" face at this awesome show this year.  But I'm completely thrilled at the prospect of standing on the OTHER side of the table for the first time since I started selling bears myself.  I'll finally be able to relax and visit and take it all in without the pressures of selling.  Although, admittedly, those pressures were a pleasure; I've always enjoyed great success at the show and have met a huge handful of wonderful collectors there.  I hope I'll run into them tomorrow, when I visit with my husband Tim as a guest.

The show runs today -- Friday -- April 4 through Sunday, April 6.  It's a mere $5 donation (adults; seniors are $3; kids under 12 FREE) and the hours are as follows:

• Friday, April 4
• Noon to 5:00

• Saturday, April 5
• 10:30 - 5:00

• Sunday, April 6
• 10:30 - 3:00

Hope to see you there!!

Where Bears...?

My dear bear artist friend Paula -- a gracious and talented person if ever there was one -- posted a comment to my blog about some art cards, and as an afterthought (it seemed) she asked so sweetly, "Where have your bears gone, Shel?"   It occured to me, as I contemplated my answer, that others reading this blog might be wondering the same thing.  And that's more than intuition on my part, actually;  I've been asked directly more than once when I'll be back in the fray of bearmaking, churning out more o' that POTBELLY fuzzy goodness, full speed ahead, like I used to. 

So here, some thoughts on all that ...

I love teddy bears.  That hasn't changed one bit.  And I've met some fantastic people in the bear industry -- artist, collector, editor, and retailer alike -- who've changed my life in wonderful ways, some of whom have become true friends, and whom I treasure, admire, and respect.  I've felt incredibly happy and been so blessed and lucky as a bearmaker, and freely admit that some of the proudest moments of my professional life have emerged from my time as a bear artisan.  All of that still holds true, and I'm as grateful and humbled as ever, by it.

Still... I've spent the last year re-imagineering my approach to bearmaking (including a reworking of my studio space).  I've even been rethinking some of the details of my "look," as well as my approach to dressing/accessorizing my bears.  I'm trying to find a new angle to work from in my creating, and some freshness and renewed motivation.  Why??  Because, put most simply, I'm kinda burnt-out on the bear "thing."  Which actually physically PAINS me, because I WANT to want to make bears.  This burnout was something slick and insidious that just crept up on me silently, and surprised me a while back.  I have to admit I feel it, if I'm going to deal with it, and repair it. 

I'm trying to respect what's going on in my head and heart, and not "force" things -- although I am trying to slowly noodge things back in the direction of productivity, by seeking to understand how I landed in this place in my head.  I think I've figured most of it out at this point. 

I know I create my best and most soulful work when I'm feeling happy and warm and light, and I haven't been feeling happy and warm and light when it comes to bears for a while now.  I really don't want to offer my work to lovely customers willing to pay lots and lots of good money for them, if I'm not putting 100% of a happy heart into making them.  That sounds a little PollyAnna, I know; I could just churn 'em out no matter where my head's at; take the money; and run.  But for me, that's just the plain truth of how I operate professionally.  My bears are so much closer to crap if I make them when my heart's not in it.  So rather than offer crap, I'm just not making them... much. 

I'm certainly not quitting bearmaking, or resigning from the field! No, No, No!  I've just been doing some slow and careful rethinking about the place teddy bears should hold in my life, going forward.  I'm fitting bearmaking INTO my life, rather than making bears, and everything about them, the FOCUS of my life -- one that used to regularly keep me up into the wee hours of the night, because I am a meticulous perfectionist and "good" is never "good enough" with me, if just a little... bit... more... tinkering might do.  It just feels healthier, I guess, that way.  To adopt this new perspective, I mean.

My reasons for stepping back from bearmaking for just a little while, adjusting the wind in my sails, have to do most broadly with: 

• My family. I only have my sons in my custody 65% of each one-year period, much of which is taken up by school days and activities. They're otherwise not only in their father's care (vs. mine), but they're hundreds of miles out of town, out of sight, out of reach. :(  So I invest myself in them FULLY when they're actually with me. There's nothing in my life that's more interesting or important to me than my sons, and there never will be.  The intensity of my focus on bearmaking was, in the past, sometimes a distraction where my children were concerned -- especially for a few months each spring, when the pressure to produce inventory for shows really built! -- so I've simply set new boundaries for myself about how that will look going forward.

• My health. I stress out really easily and that affects my heartrate and blood pressure, which is a real and serious concern because cardiovascular disease -- and bypass/endarterectomy surgery -- runs rampant in my father's nine-sibling lineage.  I'm trying to avoid his/their outcome in life; a huge scar down the center of my chest and a lifetime of worry about my cholesterol, hypertension, and the integrity of my ticker.  I'm 42 and a woman, but I already take a statin to control my cholesterol and BP meds to keep my blood pressure low.  This HAS TO BE a priority if I want to be around to watch my kids have kids of their own.  I'm all about taking it easy, nowadays, and avoiding every stressor I can, no matter how small.  I'm taking every prophylactic measure I can think of to reduce cardiovascular risks.  Honestly... Can you blame me??

• My mindset. I can't go into details, but I admit, the souring of my Boyds deal really knocked the wind out of my motivation to make bears. That's not about my line with them halting per se, or about any embarrassment I might feel about that whole thing not working out. I'm fine with both of those things.  In fact, truth be told, I'm DELIGHTED that things turned out this way -- that my line never went into production and that the partnership ended.  Rather, the "souring" I feel is more about the way that relationship unfolded, in specifics, over time.  I left that partnership feeling ... less than good.  Let's leave it at that. 

• My moderator role.  For years I was a very active, very present moderator at a huge teddy bear site (which I continue to love and visit.)  That role exposed me to the sometimes (surprisingly) "ugly" side of the bear industry. As a moderator, I had to deal with that ugliness in ways most people don't ever experience.  It was hurtful and time-consuming to wade thru that muck, when it arose... and doing so kinda sucked the joy of bearmaking out of me.  I actively mourn the fact that, despite my generally positive outlook on life, I've become somewhat cynical as a result.  And I admit, I'm oh-so-weary of -- even impatient with -- the occasional, intensely ugly, TOTALLY unnecessary, mean-spirited,  petty drama that rears its reptilian head on forums, in one form or another, over time.  And not just the forum I moderated, by the way; it's a forum universal!  Moderating was the hardest, most thankless job I've ever had... so I send out special thanks to the precious few who didn't always agree with me, but who understood the difficulty of the moderating role I had, and were supportive on a HUMAN level, nonetheless.  Ultimately, I had to walk away from it all, despite my love of the forum and its participants and my loyalty to it, because -- figuratively at least -- it was killing me. And certainly, it was killing my fondness for bears and all they're about.
  

All of these things, to one degree or another, contributed to the decrease in my "jump-to/immerse myself enthusiasm" for bearmaking over the last year or so.  Does that explain things a bit??  I hope so.

I'm trying with all my might to work back up to where I began in this field; I was positively brimming with excitement and energy when I started out. Like a tornado, even -- whirling about with joy over all things bear, and just wanting to toss that joy, like rice after a wedding, to anyone and everyone who was interested in a piece; wanting to share it.  Stepping back this last year, rethinking my bears and my place in this industry, seeing who my friends really are now that I'm no longer a moderator or a constant eBay presence, selling well (meaning, now that I'm just "regular" and have no power to speak of in this industry), has all been a part of my journey to rediscover my bearmaking origins, and hopefully, to return to them. I miss making bears, I really do.  My family and friends miss seeing them.  Collectors write to tell me they miss my bears, too.  Happily, things are starting to feel less and less bittersweet for me of late.  Which is why it feels okay, and not unsafe, to share about all this, at this point.  Because the tides turn.

Art cards have been a sort of miracle for me as this unfolded; they've been a way for me to stay creative and exercise my artistic chops, while healing wounds and rethinking futures.  In the process, I've discovered a wonderful, but very different -- not "better"; don't go there! -- community in the mail art world, and have collected some beautiful works by incredibly creative, talented people.  It's been really healing, in so many ways.  Just what the doctor ordered.  Ya know?

I'm almost there... back and ready to "get to it", so to speak, with the bears.  I see light at the end of what was a long, dark tunnel for a while.  Which is a good thing!  I'm very close to honing in with precision on my next bear project -- a pattern is already drafted and finished.  What do you think of a smaller size from me, like 12 inches or so with regularity (vs. the 16-18 inchers I was doing before.) ??

I ask that you please bear with me (pun definitely intended) as I work through the last stages of this process in my effort to resurrect myself as Shelli the Bear Artisan. 

Life throws us curve balls.  I'm just trying to be the best catcher I can be.

Warm fuzzy hugs to all,
Shel

Ornament swap

I made this little felted teddy bear head -- my first ever felted bear (I'm very proud) -- for an ornament swap at www.teddytalk.com.  There's 20 gauge wire running through the finished head that connects it to a matte goldtone jingle bell dangling beneath, and I've tied a bunch of fun, colorful ribbon at the neck. Hope my partner likes it!

I received a really pretty icy blue and silvery white mini bear ornament from artist Kathy Taylor.  It's hanging on my tree in a very special spot.  So cute!

Not this year

I've spent the months of November and December for the last few years stressing myself (for good cause and to great effect) to a point of vibration, designing bears for, and submitting photo entries to, the big US teddy bear contests -- the TOBY and Golden Teddy.  Both are sponsored by the most terrific, photo-rich magazines (Teddy Bear & Friends and Teddy Bear Review, respectively), and both draw out the absolute finest in bear artistry from the world over.   I've been incredibly honored and entirely blessed to receive nominations in one contest or the other every year since 2004, and even won the Golden Teddy for my skunk, CHAUNCEY.  I have a beautiful wall of ribbons and trophies for my efforts and they are literally the proudest achievements of my entire professional life.  Without question, these nominations helped propel me and my work into the spotlight, and raised my profile internationally at a very early stage in my bearmaking career.  I worked hard, and got lucky -- both.  I'm incredibly grateful, still.

I've been working equally hard to de-stress my life, though, especially since my weirdo heart palpitation scare of 2006 which emerged entirely from too much stress.  While I remain supremely busy, I'm doing a really good job of not getting too crazed about deadlines as I improve my ability to say NO and to NOT overcommit myself, no matter how appealing a given project.

In addition to my commitment to de-stress my life, I got to thinking a few months ago that I feel really good about my bearmaking at this stage in my career; have a really solid number of people on my mailing list (although more is always good!); and have found avenues for publication and thus, visibility (writing articles, submitting photos, and of course advertising whenever and wherever I can afford to) that don't require me to maintain contest appearances any longer.

So, given all that, I'm almost 100% decided that I'm not going to enter any teddy bear contests this year. My decision isn't remotely about "resting on laurels" (I don't feel like I have any laurels to rest on, truth be told), but instead, is about feeling like I make an attractive quality product and people know that already, and so it would be really, truly nice to experience a stress-free holiday season for a change.

There's a slim chance I might enter an already sold bear (Blue Zetti, maybe?), but in all likelihood, I'll give the contests a pass this year.

Of course, a tiny, insecure, neurotic part of me worries that people will make assumptions about this.  "Shelli thinks she can't cut it and compete any more."  "Shelli doesn't care about the bear industry any more."  "Shelli thinks she's too good to enter at this stage of her career."  None of those assumptions are even close to being true so I can't let my fear that people will think those things effect my decision; I have to decide what's right for me, from MY perspective.

Still, I admit, I'm hoping that artist peers and collectors, both, will accept that it's simply in my best interests, in the big picture, to skip the contests this year -- and maybe for years to come.  Entering contests was for many, many years a huge and important part of the excitement of bearmaking for me.  But as I acquire tenure and "age" in this industry, I'm finding more and more that it's the challenge of growing my bear making into new and different areas, and not the soul-feeding validation and visibility that contests offer, that ultimately keeps me excited about making teddies day after day, year after year. 

And I am really excited about bearmaking, especially when digging into new concepts, and especially without the stressors that might otherwise be involved.

I wish the best of luck to those who do choose to enter these wonderful, wonderful competitions this year.  I'm really excited to root for talented friends and rising newcomers, both, without any concerns or insecurities about "my entries" to get in the way... and admit, I can't wait to see the results!

Back to Back

BLUE ZETTI's auction will close tonight at 7pm, PST, and will be immediately followed by an auction for FIVE GOLDEN RINGS, currently featured in Teddy Bear & Friends magazine.  Beginning at 7pm PST tonight, you can view the auction for FIVE GOLDEN RINGS on eBay here.

Thanks for your interest in my work, and for all the kind comments you've sent my way over the years.  I really appreciate your feedback and support!

BLUE ZETTI, now on eBay

Just posted on eBay... BLUE ZETTI, featured in the current issue of Art Doll Quarterly magazine.  BLUE ZETTI will have a 7 day auction run, ending Sunday, November 18 at 7pm (or actually, just after 7pm, since I barely missed my usual 7pm posting time.  Aargh!  The OCD in me really resents those extra two or three minutes.  Laughing here... !)

Give her a peek by clicking here to view her auction.

Five Golden Rings

The new issue of awesome teddy bear magazine Teddy Bear & Friends has come out (although my subscription copy isn't here yet -- aargh!  The waiting!), so I felt it was finally okay to post some photos of the bear I created specifically for the "Twelve Days of Christmas" spread IN that issue:  FIVE GOLDEN RINGS.

FIVE GOLDEN RINGS will be avaiable for sale on eBay sometime soon.  Ideally I hope to sell her with a copy of the magazine in which she's featured so first I need to get my hands on my own, plus one extra! If you'd like to be notified when she'll hit The Bay, pop over to my website and join my mailing list newsletter.  I send out notices whenever a new piece is available.

Yay, me! Happy dance time!

Did I mention, previously, just how hugely, totally nervous I was last week, to return to eBay after such an extended absence, and with such a new look for my first offering.  ???   I didn't even realize until I sat down to list LENORA that my last eBay auction was in December, 2006.  So scary!, because on eBay, consistency really is key to keeping the attention of collectors.

At this point, though, I have to admit that I'm absolutely over the moon at LENORA's reception on eBay, and at Teddy Talk, where fellow bear makers have been so supportive of her new style.

Icing that wonderful cake is the following excitement:  Tonight, I realized that LENORA is the #1 bear in both the Artist Bear and Bear categories on eBay Pulse.  Yay, me!  Yay, LENORA!  She's in wonderful company with some of the most beautiful bears by some really fantastic artists.  I'm feeling very proud right now, for sure.

If you're not familiar with eBay Pulse, it's basically a measure of "what's hot" on eBay.  eBay describes Pulse as follows:

The eBay Pulse contains several dynamically created lists showing popular searches, stores, products, and more. These lists are a great way for you see what is hot in the eBay marketplace.

Refine by category
The various lists on the main eBay Pulse page provide an overview of the entire eBay marketplace. You can also use the drop-down menu at the top of the page to refine and filter the lists to show content for specific categories on eBay.                         

Popular searches
This list is based on actual searches performed by eBay users. It's a great way to see what people are looking for across eBay or within your favorite category.                         

Popular stores
Based on the number of active listings from eBay Stores, this list is an excellent way for buyers to see which eBay Stores currently have the most inventories to choose from.                         

Popular products
This list is based on the number of recent purchases of particular products on eBay. Only items that were listed with Pre-Filled Item Information are counted when this list is generated.                         

Most watched items                         
This list shows items that are currently the most watched on eBay, according to the number of users who have selected the “Watch this Item” link on an eBay listing page.

What this all means is that, for today, out of 20,248 listings in the category Dolls&Bears>Bears, my Lenora is THE most watched of them all. What a giant thrill!!!  She's also the most watched bear in the Dolls&Bears>Bears>ArtistBears category, which is a slightly more refined version of the first one.

If you're interested in checking out eBay Pulse for yourself, allow me to point you to my personal favorite category search (Dolls&Bears>Bears>ArtistBears) here.

And for a glimpse at tonight's moment of giddy excitement and glory, check out the screen caps of LENORA's #1 spot appearances, below.

I'm so happy right now, I'm doing a little dance, right here in my chair. :)

(Click for a full screen view.)