Last weekend Hub and I decided it was time to open the trunks that held most of my supplies from my bear making days. From approximately 1990 to 2000 I designed and made mohair teddy bears, traveling around the country to doll/bear shows selling my creations.
The name of my bear business was "Mary's Little Lamb". That domain, maryslittlelamb.com, is for sale on "Go Daddy" if anyone is interested in buying it. My son is handling the sale.
Sadly, my German husband, Klaus passed away in 2004 and after what seemed like long a period of grieving and redefining myself as a single woman again, I met Dan. He was a widower and we were both from the Bay Area. We both lost our spouses in the same month and year. Eventually we were married. My name changed from Mary Wurster to Mary Braz.
Now after over 20 years, we decided it was time to open up the trunks that were waiting in our garage..
It was time to make a decision about all of these supplies. We opened three trunks filled with mohair. One trunk full of bagged teddy bear parts; some that were cut and sewn and some cut and ready to be sewn. I found a bin with my patterns and supplies, as well as one with vintage baby clothes. Another bin yielded fabric, ribbons and lace.
After Christmas I will start drawing out more patterns and focus on offering a few more kits for some of my other bears. I hope to be ready then to start selling my Schulte mohair fur on Etsy. I have so much of it. It’s time, too, for me to sell off my private collection.
In the mean time, I thought it would be good to show here some of the bears that have appeared in different publications. (Of course, all teddy bears are wonderful, cuddly little creations and they are stars in their own right.) Here are some of my stars.
I created my Snow Bears in 1997. This is Tatiana (16 inches) and Anastasia (11 inches) on the right. They were published in a Calendar titled "A Teddy Bear Collection 1999", by Teddy Bear and Friends and Hudson Park Press. They were on the December page, 1999.
The back calendar reads "Treasured Heirlooms from Teddy Bear and Friends" and has a picture of each bear that was published in this edition. They are:
1. Sasha, 21inches, by Lin and Gareth Davies of Lin's Wildlife Friends.
2. Timothy 10.5 Inches and Big Brother Cowley 16 inches by Edie Barlishen.
3. Fearless Earless 13 inches, by Lin Van Houten of The Land of Merry Lights.
4. 2 traditionally styled original bears, 22 inches and 20 inches tall, by Sue and Randall Foskey.
5. Lilith, 17 inches, holding her 3 8-inch bears all made of plush by Stephanie Daniels of Matt's Originals.
6. China Cupboard Bears 15 and18 inches, by Cindy McGuire.
7. Suki, a 9 inch panda and Libearty, 8-1/2 inch mohair bears by Judith Eppolito's bears.
8. Roadrunner 7-1/2 inch mohair bear and Bijou, 10-1/2 inch velvet cotton bear, by Annemieke Koetse 's Boefie Bears.
9. 2 mohair Steiff Bears, circa1910 and 1920, from the collection of Bryan and Barbara Baldwin.
10. Griffles 17 inch mohair bear by Beverly Port.
11. Fitzgerald Q. Bearington, 12 inches and Rosevelt P. Bearington, 16 inch mohair bears by The Boyds Collection.
The following bears were published in Teddy Bear Review, May/June 1996, Volumn 11, Number 3.
Dominique and her Teddy were nominated for a TOBY Award in 1994. She stood 26 inches tall, was made from German mohair and wore a vintage dress and hat. She was published in an article by Teddy Bear Review, May/June 1996, along with 5 other bears.
Thaddeus, 23 inches tall made from 2.5 inch German mohair, is my companion bear. I have kept only three of my own bears. Thaddy is one, and Tatiana above are two of them. The third one, Fonzie, is a Russian red bear wearing a tunic to celebrate Alfonzo, from Teddy Bears of Witney.
Rupert a 20 inch 1995 creation is made from mocha-colored, curly distressed mohair.
The other 3 bears that were featured in this article are hiding out in the world somewhere. One named Regina is, I hope, still living with a collector in Regina, Canada. Another, a 46 inch bear, Barnacle Bill, was sold in an auction circa 1995.
Last but not least, is Deborah, a sweet 20 inch bear named after my daughter.
There is a lot more to this story. I'll be back soon to write more soon.