My Teddy Bears

The Art

Each artist bear has a unique character, which is defined and brought to life by its creator. The key to making a good artist bear is achieving "balance". A minute difference in the separation of the eyes could make a huge difference in the way the final teddy looks. Often, with everything else almost identical, a very minor difference makes the whole bear look so much better and appealing. Attending to details is important: How much hair to remove from the mouth area, how far the two ears should be placed apart, how wide (what pattern) the nose has to be stitched, how deep the eyes should be pulled inward, etc.

The choice of material and stuffing is crucial. Wood wool and cotton stuffing give completely different looks. Thickness of threads, colour matching of threads, hairs, eyes, etc. would make profound differences to the final products.

I don't judge a bear by the brand. So, whether it is a Steiff, Merryborough, Gund, or from whoever famous artist would not make it better or more appealing. One of my favourite bears is the Bean bear. It's full of life when played by its owner, and its mission is to make people happy.

Genesis Series of Tse's Bears

I made the following bears some years ago, all by hand, and hopefully I had also given them life. I named them Adam, Jonathan and Klein.

• Adam -- Named after the first man that was created. This is a relatively easy bear to make, with cotton stuffing.

• Jonathan -- Named as originally designed. This is a full-feature bear, with turnable head, arms and legs. Wood-wool stuffing.

• Klein -- Name meaning small. This is a semi-miniature bear, with turnable head, arms and legs. Wood-wool stuffing for head, and glass beads for body and limbs. The making of small bears is hard!