My road trip last week was fun and I think successful – ask me again in a few weeks! I retired from my full time job five years ago, and supplement my retirement income by writing for the magazine and also selling things on eBay in my eBay store, http://stores.ebay.com/Bethys-Boyds-Bears-and-More_W0QQsspagenameZMEQ3aFQ3aSTQQtZkm
In June Enesco bought the rights to produce the Boyds Collection items, both resin and plush. They decided to retire permanently a number of the resin lines, including the Faeries and Dollstones figurines. They are going to continue making two of my favorite lines, the Charming Angels and Treasure Boxes. The angels and TB’s are so beautifully done with incredible detail, and there are a lot of collectors very sad about the Dollstones and Faeries being dropped from production. The newest line of Faeries, Faeriesprites, have wings like butterflies, that look like stained glass – they are just tiny and so beautiful! I found a number of retired Faeriesprites, Charming Angels, and Treasure Boxes at the store and purchased a number to sell in my eBay store. The trick is hoping others are as excited about that as I am! With the financial news all over the TV and Internet today, I am sure that many are finding themselves with less money to spend on collectibles. It’s a tough time for the retailers and I hope the teddy bear and collectible industry as a whole is able to survive.
In fact, I just learned that the Disney Teddy Bear and Doll show in 2008 will be the last. That show survived for many years with dwindling attendance and dollars spent, and it’s demise is another sad fact of life. I don’t know about you, but when times are tough, when I am stressed or worried, I find myself – well, wanting to eat chocolate glazed donuts by the dozen – but also find solace in retail therapy. I find a new bear makes the day brighter. I know there are bear snobs, but I am not one of them. I have gotten great pleasure from four dollar bears at the grocery store wearing a sweater celebrating my favorite candy bars, from 2 dollar thrift store and flea market finds, and from bears that cost hundreds of dollars. What makes you buy a bear? Often I am asked at a store or a bear show what I am looking for – it’s a little like buying shoes – you don’t always know what you want, but you know it when you see the right one! I have one bear that is a pitiful old thing, not old enough to be vintage, certainly not valuable – it is a plush version of a Cherished Teddy, a line I know little about. But the bear is soft, and it’s blue, and it has a sweet face. I saw it at the local huge flea market one day while there with my husband. It was a pretty day and we were enjoying the time together, it was my first outing with my new bionic knees, and he spotted the bear first. So for a couple of dollars, we took him with us and he spent the rest of the day being toted around by my 6’4″ husband. Every time I look at that bear, I remember that day.
I walked into the kitchen Sunday morning to a bit of a massacre on the floor. It happens in the best of families… no matter how many times I lecture the kids about it, I find the same thing taking place over and over again. The act of mayhem I find at least once a week? Cow Tipping. That’s right, you read that correctly – Cow Tipping. My kitchen, not through any grand plan, is decorated with plush bears and farmyard animals. When we moved in, there was a border of burgundy and green with roosters. It was livable and I had plenty of Boyds bears in a barnyard motif to go with the flow. Trying to make the most of space, I put shelves over the wide doorway into the kitchen from my family room, and I have a row of Boyds plush cows sitting on that shelf, sitting far forward and looking down between their hooves. It’s pretty comical to look up at a row of cows looking down on you! But one of my thug boy kitties discovered he can jump on the counter, climb up on the refrigerator, and then leap across to the shelf. He goes behind the cows and hides, waiting for the opportunity – and then pushes a cow off the shelf, usually on my head when I am getting something out of the refrigerator! I swear he does it on purpose. Sometimes he pushes two or three of them off onto the floor. That is bad enough when I am standing right there watching him – but what he really enjoys doing is pushing them ALL off the shelf at night, so that I come into the kitchen to a literal pile of cows, horns and hooves all askew. Often they land face down, their bums and tails all bunched up with their embarrassed faces turned to the ground. Cow Tipping – there is no other way to describe it! My husband, trying to protect Junior from my scolding, will often replace the cows before I find them in a heap – but I can tell! Men just don’t know the proper way to arrange a cow – it’s an art! 
Now when it comes to art – wow, so many bear artists who create from fabric and thread the most incredible works of sculpture! Cathy Lynn Forcino has some new creations here at her gallery – http://www.cathylynnforcino.com/gallery.html - if you email her, let her know if you saw the link here – I am hoping one or two people actually read my blog! Cathy recently sold her Golden Teddy nominated bear on eBay for more than $3500! It’s so wonderful to see artists reaping the rewards of their hard work, and hope someday I win the lottery so I can jump in there and bid!
Are you interested in artist bears but can’t afford them? I love artist bears and know they are worth every penny, but living on a fixed income makes it difficult for me to indulge very often. I try to plan ahead, when I know I will be going to a show, and put away a little here and there so I can bring home a new special someone – but I also find some good buys on artist bears on the secondary market. If you keep an eye on listings for auctions and estate sales, you may find bears looking for a new home that way at a greatly reduced price – or on eBay. While it is in no way as emotionally rewarding as buying from the artist and knowing more about the making of the bear, it may be a way to add a bear to your collection you could not otherwise reward. I’ll share some of my bear hunting tips with you next week – til then !
