About Tanya Hall Expertise I can answer questions on collecting today, whos in whos out in the bear wold, I can answer any question on making of the bears, most collectable bears of the modern times, some on older bears, where to buy bears, what to look for in a good artis bear
Experience Making, collecting artist teddy bears, steiff, gund, russ and many more on teddy bears, teddy bear websites
Education/Credentials City and Guilds Graphic Design
C.L.A.I.T
RSA 1-2-3 Information Technology
RSA 1-2-3 Business Administration
Degree with honours Graphic Design
20 years as a Graphic designer
5 years as a teddy bear designer and maker
5 O'levels
City & Guilds information technology
Expert: Tanya Hall Date: 12/9/2003 Subject: Teddy Bear Collecting
Question I'm thinking about starting a Teddy Bear collection. Can you recommend a book or two I can read about collecting them?
Thank you in advance.
Kitty
Answer Hi Kitty
I could recommend a lot of books and there are hundreds and it also depends on the style of bear you like, you may like the commercial Russ, Gund or Steiff bears, or traditional artist bears ohhh there are so many differences and far to difficult recommending a book, what I can say is, join a group such as the BBN it is just jam packed with teddy bear artists from all over, it was only for the British Bears but it has and is extending, here you can sit back and find all the emails with hundreds of links to bears, from the top designers to brand new ones, I myself make bears for all over the world and the BBN is such a lifeline at times.
Also there is always the Teddy Bear Times or Teddies and Friends magazine and website, they are packed full of artists, commercial makers and all sorts of tips, the Teddy Bear Times being my favourite as it started me into the world of making and collection. Their link is:
Of course it could depend what country you are from also.
I could suggest making a wonderful warm drink, curl up on a comfy chair in front of the computer and find all the wonderful sites and bears on the net, there is so much information, if you want to know about old bears there is always : http://www.teddy-bear-uk.com/index2.html
I know how difficult it is but the makers are all wonderful and will help you so much, you can even join the BBN as a member and you will get all the emails from the artists, well worth a visit, we are all there, my site is www.avalonbears.co.uk you do not have to visit it is just an example of some bears.
Let me know how you get on and if you would like information, I will try and help you find all the scrummy bears of your choice, and I do know a lot of shops where prices are very good here in the uk.
I will also add, be careful of some bears being copies or not up to standard, have a good look of the pics, look at feed back from ebay, if you are not happy with quality always send the bear back, never be over polite and just be disappointed there are a few out there who slap them together just for profit, and if in doubt telephone or email the artist, they are wonderful people and should always respond to you, if you are a tad unsure you can always email me personally at: avalonbears@freelance.fslife.co.uk
