[Laura Lynn]

I live in Central Kentucky, near Lexington.  This area has many “Vintage & Antique” malls.  Heck, in this town of only 28,000 people we have 5 or 6 of them.  So how did I choose which mall to have my booth with?

I enjoy visiting the antique malls in our town and neighboring towns as a shopper.  I pay attention to the atmosphere and the lighting when I visit.

One thing that was a concern for me was that if the booth was large, I’d never be able to fill it and have it look good.

When I visited one mall in particular, I noticed that they had many spaces as shelf space in addition to large booth space.

In addition to that, I really liked how bright the store was.  It has a west/south facing store front that has many windows.  (So many of these stores are very dark looking) I asked about pricing.

For shelf space the store I am in charges a monthly fee of $45, plus 10% of any sales of my items.

The shelf space is 4 feet long.  I have up to 4 shelves.  They are a little over 1 foot deep.

I was told there was a wait list… about 50 people in front of me.  I signed up and waited.

You may have the same question for me that my boyfriend had:

WHY do you want to sell in an antique mall when you already sell all the bears you make on your website?

This is my answer… To keep myself from going crazy!

When you work from home all day long it can get pretty lonely.  I love working by myself, but even I get a little nuts from being by myself all of the time.

Add in the fact that there are 2 days a week that my boyfriend plays tennis after work (so he’s gone from 6am until 9:30pm) and that is a LOT of alone time!

Knowing that I can “go to work” for a little while, visit with the owner and other vendors as I spruce up my booth does wonders for my mental health!

I try to arrange to go in on one of the days that my boyfriend has tennis to break up that long day.

 

 

[Laura Lynn]

Ok great!  I know exactly what mohair you are talking about.  I have quite a bit of that myself.  The backing of my “country mohair” is quite stiff unless I boil it.

I often try to stitch up my pieces soon after cutting them out.  It helps with the raveling.  I will be using the C10 mohair in the Antique Style teddy bear class.

I am so sorry to hear about your health issues 🙁  I hope you are able to enjoy bear making very soon.

[Laura Lynn]

Thank you so much.

I love both of those types of dolls!  My very good teddy bear artist friend Marilyn has several Annette Himstedt and I love looking at them when I visit her.  Your critter collection sounds fabulous as well  🙂

 

[Laura Lynn]

LOL!!!!!!!

[Laura Lynn]

Wow, no sizing!?  Is the mohair fairly secure or does it shed easily?

[Laura Lynn]

January is a great time to get organized!  I tend to do some “micro-organization” though out the year as well.  If I get too disorganized, then I have problems creating.

I also love learning new techniques and methods.  It keeps bear making fresh and fun.

[Laura Lynn]

Hi Melani and welcome to you and Willa!

I apologize for my delay in answering…. my Mom had just passed away.  Family came in from out of town for yesterday’s funeral.

That is very funny about your first bear.  Heck, I couldn’t even figure it out from a book – I was fortunate enough to have been able to find  local class almost 20 years ago.  That’s why I started this website.  I thought if I had trouble learning from a book, then others may have the same problem.

I think it’s wonderful that you were able to learn from so many great bear artists!  I happen to personally know Martha myself – I just love her!

You sound a lot like me.  I tend to go “whole hog” in whatever happens to interest me as well 🙂

What kind of dolls do you collect?  I know that the doll collecting hobby is quite diverse.  My best friend (who happened to introduce me to the artist bear world) is also a doll collector.  I love going to her home to see how she has arranged her displays.

I hope I am able to help you with your goal of supplementing your income with bear making 🙂

[Laura Lynn]

Hi Phyllis!

That’s a great question.  I do love that mohair for well loved bears, but yes, the curly matted issue does need a little bit of taming on the face.

What I do is this:  I lay out my mohair with the fur direction going down (as I demonstrated in the Pattern Layout video) I will first try spritzing the mohair with some water, and use my slicker brush and brush the mohair down  (the same direction it is going.  That should tame it a bit.

If that doesn’t work, I would try immersing the fabric in some hot water – but not quite boiling.  Follow my steps in the “Altering the Fabric” video.

Another method I have been wanting to try out is using a clothing steamer.  I will see if I can give that a try next week.  I will post my results via video here in the classroom.

I hope that helps.  I do think the sparse, curly matted mohair will make wonderful well loved looking bears!

[Laura Lynn]

You are welcome Lisa!  I will be putting the “boiling mohair” part in the “Tips & Tricks” classroom as well for fast and easy reference 🙂

[Laura Lynn]

I’m glad you enjoyed this tutorial Lisa 🙂

Yes, you could use white wool or alpaca as well.  I found that my polyester stuffing was whiter than the white wool I had on hand.

[Laura Lynn]

You are welcome Marrienne!  I’m very happy that you enjoyed it.

[Laura Lynn]

Hi Donna!

Your story is wonderful!  What a wonderful gift to receive as a Christmas present 🙂

Your bear is beautiful!  I’m so glad to hear that you are enjoying my classes.  There are many more to come!

[Laura Lynn]

You are welcome Pam!!

[Laura Lynn]

You are welcome Gisele!  Thank you and enjoy!

[Laura Lynn]

You are welcome and great!

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