NEW Viscose!!

Our newest shipment of fur has just arrived from Germany - and in that batch we had some stunning white viscose that was just begging to be hand dyed... so we obliged! 

And, despite the fact that it is pretty darn cold here in Queensland at the moment (well, cold for us anyway!), we still managed to get some stunning vibrant colours without the hot summer sun we usually need to achieve these tones! 

 This is the full, beautiful rainbow of viscose we have available. There are only two pieces of each colour available - and a few have already been sold out - but if you're interested, pop on over to our Hand-dyed store section to check out what's left :) 

(We also have the natural white viscose available as well if you'd like to try dyeing it yourself?)

The Handmade Expo

We found out about a local handmade goods market recently, and thought it might be a good opportunity to get 'Fur Addiction' out there a bit more. The location was lovely (indoors) and we had a nice big 3m x 3m space. No tables were provided though, so I had to lug our stupidly heavy trestle tables from the car to our position in the hall before I could begin unloading and setting up. Despite this I still managed to be fully set up in about 45mins. (I was pretty chuffed as this was the first market/show I've done on my own!).  

We decided that we'd bring some of our handmade guinea pig bedding as well, and we got lots of comments on the sweet little guinea pig plushie sitting in the purple bed there - although he was mistaken for a hamster a few times! lol

It was really lovely to actually meet customers in person and talk through aspects of bear collecting and bear making. We've been running Fur Addiction for just over 3 years now, and I hadn't realised how isolating it can be running a mail order business from home. It's been 6 years since I left my job as a youth social worker just before Chelsea was born, so it has been a long time since I've had regular adult conversations that weren't with my poor hubby Mark! I think we'll be doing a few more markets for the last half of 2015 as they are a lot of fun, and the in-person contact with our customers is invaluable.

We dyed up a new batch of hand-dyed mohair for the show as well. It has been picked through pretty well, but there are still some lovely pieces left in our 'Hand Dyed Mohair' store section. We're nearly sold out of our hand painted glass eyes as well - down to the last pair/s for each colour batch, but I do plan to paint up a new lot this week... hopefully (it is school holidays though, so no promises!!). If there was a particular colour you really liked, it might pay to grab it now before I steal all the old stock for future Emma's Bears, and to clear the way for the new colours!

We also have a new batch of German mohair on its way as well! We'll let you know when it arrives!

We have had a busy week....

I decided, about a week ago, that I was going to make some bears just because I wanted to. No custom bears, no themed bears... just bears for me. So I found my most girly, feminine mohair and cut out four very different critters. 3 bears and 1 bunny to be exact. 

Then we got to work. 

Today was the first day of school holidays here, so work was a little slow going on the final details... but we did get them all done in time for individual photo shoots this afternoon. You can see their group shot below. How pretty do they all look together like this!

First up we have 'Coralie Bunny'. She's 17" tall and pretty much just a chubby bundle of girly goodness. She is currently available. Surprisingly so too! I totally expected her to be snapped up as soon as we finished the group earlier today.

And this little one is 'Cheri'. She is a little more petite, but so pretty in the cascade of colours found in her mohair. She too is currently available.

And this is 'Jovianne'. She is 18" tall and made using our distinctive 'Kanoa' pattern. I do love this design for our more quirky bears. She is too is available for adoption.

And last but not least, we have 'Yvette'. She has been adopted... but how pretty is she in that white alpaca! (This is our 'Euston' pattern, just enlarged slightly to accommodate the super fluffy 25mm alpaca. If you used a 10mm alpaca you could get a similar look using the original pattern).

The vintage stole

When we were trading at the Brisbane Winter Wonderland doll and bear show last fortnight, one of the other traders asked if we could turn her mother's old fur stole into a bear or two. She explained that her mother had worn the stole on her wedding day back in 1938, and that she expected that it would just be thrown away once she herself had passed on.

So we set about unpicking the satin lining and inspecting the leather. Some of it was in really good condition considering it was nearly 80yrs old. We found enough leather to be able to cut out two small bears. Sewing them was one thing, but turning them right-side out was another!! I will not be in a hurry to make another real-fur bear again!

I wasn't going to even attempt to embroider a nose through that thick leather, so we sculpted two cute little polymer clay noses that were a lot gentler on the leather to insert.

These little cuties were the final result. The little fellow above has been adopted by the daughter of the stole's original owner. And the little fellow below is available for general sale. I haven't put him up on our website just yet, but if you are interested just send us a message (eleb2000@hotmail.com).

Otis Oddly

Otis Oddly is indeed a very odd little man. He has been designed to have huge feet, a rounded belly, cute curved paws and a tiny little head! All together these aspects give him a rather quirky look.

Otis Oddly is made from two types of mohair - one is a blonde wispy pile on a pinky/beige backing, the other is a cream pile with a rich chocolate tip. Otis looks out through tiny black glass eyes and has a hand embroidered black cotton nose. He is fully jointed and stuffed with a mix of steel shot and polyfill. His toes have been embroidered, pulled and shaded and he wears a simple navy blue and gold organza bow around his neck (fully removable).

Otis Oddly is only a pocket-sized little fellow, but he is sure to stand out in a bear collection! He is a one of a kind. Adoption fee is AUD$110 plus postage. You can find his listing on our website.

Mayura

So... back in 2012/2013 we ordered in our most colourful shipment of faux fur. In that shipment was a funky and very bright rainbow striped fur we called 'Clown's Colar'. We had been meaning to make an example bear in this fur since we collected the shipment from the port of Brisbane... but just never got around to it!

Until today!

This gorgeous girl is made using our 19" Kanoa design which showcases the cascading stripes down the long lanky limbs. And to help her face be seen amidst the loud colouring, we have her simple big black glass eyes and a contrasting green cotton nose.

Mayura is a one of a kind artist bear as made by us here at Emma's Bears. We do have a kit available for her though if you'd like to bring a bit of rainbow into your life too! ;)