Valentine’s Day

Quickly approaching is the most romantic holiday of the year. This year for Valentine's Day the newest pieces are OOAKs (One Of A Kinds). They are listed on the Toy Shoppe's web site.

Fist there is Cupid, 9" curly matted mohair Bear. He comes will detachable 15" wings and a custom-made glitter heart necklace.

Click here to view on Toy Shoppe's web site.

Second is Cutie Kitty, 7" two-tone mohair cat. He has a fabric bow adorned with a hand painted gold resin heart.

Click here to view on Toy Shoppe's web site.

Lastly, there is Heart, 10" light grey mohair bear. He is also the only open edition piece. He comes with a black & white fabric bow, minus of course the packing materials. He also has a hand painted resin heart.

Click here to view on Toy Shoppe's web site.

Please take a moment to view these pieces on their web site and be sure to get something special for your sweetheart before the 14^th. Remember, this year it falls on a Sunday.

While you are there please also check out the newest bears from mom, C. Riffenberg Bear Co. and the newest dolls from my sister, Jessie Ross, PrimRoss Designs.

Hoppy Hare and Bear Hugs,
Jared

Bernie Bunny on eBay

Hello Folks!

I hope that this post finds you well. After selling April on eBay I knew that I need to finish Bernie. Bernie has been successfully listed on eBay, even after trouble with the pictures.

Bernie is a 7" (9" if you count his ears) orginial design slightly big head rabbit. He has been carefully created from premium Schulte mohair hand dyed a lovely shade of soft pale blue. He is fully jointed and secured by the use of lock nuts, bolts, and discs. Paw and foots pads have been created from hand dyed merino wool. Bernie is filled with excelsior, fiberfill, and pellets for a nice weight and he has no trouble standing on his own. Those adorable ears are wired so you can pose them however you like. His sew-in tag is dated and has my signature.

Bernie comes with an oval paper mache' box that has been hand decorated and painted, featuring a copy of early 1900's postcard art of the most beautiful bunny faces. Shaded eggs and pussy willows are hand painted between the bunnies edged in gold, making it a really special container. It measures 6 1/8" tall and 7" long. It will come filled with yellow crinkled paper shreds - Bernie loves playing in them.

Bernie loves playing in his box, too.

Click here to view his auction on eBay.

Hoppy Hare & Bear Hugs,

Jared

April OOAK

I made a new little bear named April and listed her late Sunday night on eBay. The next morning I got up and checked to see if I could find her in the listings on eBay. I was doing a slow burn as I was not able to find her out there and I checked every page. I understand that it can take a few hours for a listing to show up but this was pushing it a bit for me. Understand that I had shut my computer off and had not checked my e-mail. I was using mom's computer on my way out the door on my way to work.

Finally I logged into my eBay account to find the listing. Upon doing so I discovered that I sold April. I was a bit shocked that someone snapped her up so quickly, but I am glad that she did. April is on her way to live in Ohio.

Below are just a few pictures of April for your enjoyment.

April is a 7" orginial design mohair big head Teddy Bear. She has been carefully created from Schulte mohair hand dyed a creamy white. She is fully jointed and secured by the use of lock nuts, bolts, and discs. Paw and foots pads have been created from a hand dyed merino wool. April is filled with excelsior, fiberfill, and pellets for a nice weight. She can stand alone with a little help. Her sew-in tag is dated and has my signature.

Her flower is a hand made pale pink tissue chrysanthemum. Wrapped around the stem is a "Think Spring!" banner.

Her paper mache' box is hand decorated and painted, featuring a copy of early 1900's postcard art. It is oval, measuring 3 1/4" in length and 3" tall. It comes filled with pink & yellow crinkled paper shreds.

Click here to view the listing.

Hoppy Hare & Bear Hugs,

Jared

Theodore Society Bears

I am so excited mom & I were asked to design the Theodore Society Bears for this year. Below is the information about the bears.

“Gemma” and “Goldie”2008/2009 Theodore Society Bears

Commissioned EXCLUSIVELY FOR YOU! The Theodore Society celebrates its fifth anniversary with member bears designed by Jane Monroe of C. Riffenberg Bear Co. and Jared Monroe of Jare Hares and Bears! For the first time in Theodore Society history, each limited-edition bear will be handmade, hand-signed and numbered by the artists.

Club Bear

The club member bear, fully jointed 12-inch “Genna” by Jane Monroe, features hand-dyed mohair in cream, burgundy and mauve, air-brushed accents, hand-dyed wool felt paw and foot pads, hand-painted amber glass eyes with felt patches, a custom Theodore Society anniversary ribbon and a striped cloth bow. Genna is priced at $155.

Gold-Member Bonus!

In addition to the club bear, Gold-level members are entitled to purchase the gold member bear. Jared Monroe’s fully jointed 9-inch “Goldie” sports hand-dyed mohair in shades of gold, air-brushed accents, hand-dyed wool felt paw and foot pads, black glass eyes with felt patches and a custom-made “Celebrate” wooden bead necklace with a Theodore Society pendant and gold bells. Goldie is priced at $145.

Call (800) 331-0038, ext. 129, to order (be sure to have your membership number handy), or download the order form here and mail it to Theodore Society, P.O. Box 5000, Iola, WI 54945-5000. Order early to ensure you receive a low edition number!

Introduction

Hello everyone,

I have written several introductions over the past few years for online class rooms and discussion groups. And with time it doesn't get any easier to introduce myself or explain what it is that I do. First, I have returned to school online to complete my Bachelors degree in International Business. Second, I work part time as a pharmacy tech. Third and most important, I am a teddy bear artist.

I made the decision to return to school several years ago, because I realized that while I was content with my life, I would never be able to retire. So, I figured that completing my degree would help me accomplish this goal. I don't need to be a millionaire, but it might help. I just want to be able to live comfortably when I am in my 60s and beyond without having to worry how I will pay next month's bills. I think that is something that anyone can understand.

I have been with my employer for over 10 years now, my how time flies. I work for a large retailer... take a guess. I have worked in just about every department that they have. Just over a year ago I moved into the pharmacy. This has been a dream job for me. I am only working 2 to 3 days a week, which allows me to complete the other numerous tasks that I need to complete every week.

"What is a teddy bear artist," you ask? A teddy bear artist is someone who creates art that specializes in creating teddy bears. I work with mohair plush mainly, but teddy bear artist work in mediums as varied as the number of teddy bear artists, from mohair plush to domestic and foreign faux fur, from goat and rabbit skins to recycled mink coats. One of the newest mediums is needle felting. This medium has allowed some of the newest designs to stand out among teddy bears. I did a Google search for artist teddy bear and here is what was returned to me:

Results 1 - 10 of about 590,000 for artist teddy bear. (0.17 seconds).

So how did I become a teddy bear artist? I learned the art of the teddy bear from my mother. I started out by helping her cut, sewing, turn, and stuff, join, and decorate. You might think that it is easy to make teddy bears, but let me assure you, it isn’t. On average it takes approximately 8 hours, depending on the size, to make one bear. That does not include the time it takes to dress/decorate the bear. It took me about 5 years to finally feel comfortable enough to start making my owe pieces without tons of help from my mother. I still have one of the first bears that I made and mom thinks that I did most of the work, but really she forgets how much she did help. When I started my own line of bears, it wasn’t bears that I was creating, it was rabbits. For several years people had been requesting that mom make rabbits and the demand for rabbits was increasing, especially during the spring. So after badgering my mother for several months she finally got tired of me asking and turned to me one day saying, “If you want rabbits, then make them yourself”. So I did and Jare Hares was born in 1990. I started like many artists before and after me by using commercial patterns. Soon after I discovered that I could not get the look that I wanted without making my own patterns. So I started designing my own patterns.

Designing patterns can be scary. That was when I was grateful for all of the art classes that I ever took. Understanding proportions, sizes, all of the different elements that go into design really help you to understand what you need to do in the designing process, so that when you get into the actual process of making the teddy bear you don’t waste time re-cutting and re-sewing pieces. When I first started there were many parts in designing that I would have to go back and redo. Even now nearly 20 years later there are times when I get so far in the design process and realize that I need to go back and redo something before I have a finished product.

For years I spend tons of efforts getting the right design for teddy bears and rabbits. Then in the early 2000s a style came over from Japan called anime or big head. These bear designs threw all of the traditional rules of design out the window. I saw so many new styles of bears that it was a bit overwhelming. I decided that I would make my own. I studied the bears from several different artists at the next several shows. I didn’t want to copy what was already available; I wanted to create my own look. So I created a pattern that could easily be turned into a rabbit, bear, cat, dog, lion, and even a mouse. It turned out to be a big success. Eight years later and I am still making that same pattern in different styles. From that one pattern I have made Veggie Rabbits, Panda Bears, and Patriotic dogs.

Photo courtesy dollmasters.com

Well for my first blog entry I have rambled on long enough. I will post some more in the next few days.
Thanks for reading,
Jared