Selling Artist Bears- why so expensive??

This is a question I get asked many times. "Why is your Bear/animal so expensive?"
I am going to try to answer this. The answer is a long one so I will do it in stages.
I found a wonderful article in Teddy Bear and Friends magazine. It explained many things I should have been telling people about, but was always a bit shy about or just too plain tongue tied!

To define what I mean by an Artist Bear: I found this quote from Irene Heckel: "It is totally made by an individual, from designing the pattern to the final details on the face and body". OOAK is also used a great deal and that means One of A Kind. That means exactly that- there is only one. One pattern produces one bear only. A true one of a kind will command a higher price.

Bringing an Artist Bear to life involves many things: one is being trained in the craft of bear making. I took online courses with EBearz: http://www.kranbearys.com/Ebearz/Teachers/NancyTillberg.htm
Nancy Tillberg taught me to needle sculpt, scissor sculpt and started me on the needle felting of the faces of my bears. I also have a huge library. Bear Makers also need specialized tools and materials. I  purchase the inventory to make the bears and it stays inventory until I sell it. My tools often have to be replaced too- special scissors for cutting do not always stay sharp! Bear making involves skills such as sewing, patience and plenty of practice. Skills I have learned:  how to lay out a pattern to cut minimizing the amount of fabric I use (Mohair is expensive- some runs at $350 a yard), stitching and turning parts and jointing methods. Sewing pieces together can be tricky and the first time I jointed a bear was a major exercise in reading, trying and panicking. Even stuffing the bear is an art- you have to know what stuffing to use and where. How much and how to place the stuffing so you do not end up with a strange face on your bear, after all that careful sewing. A finished bear involves developing a pattern, stitching, turning, stuffing, jointing, assembling and finishing.

Scissors sculpted trunk on Elephant

Needle Felted face on Detective Bear

As such Bear making takes a long time from start to finish. I find one bear can take up to 35 hours for me to make. That includes developing a sample pattern. I want to sell my bears so I have to be very thoughtful in how I can cover that time in terms of what I pay myself. I am still relatively unknown as a maker and the demand comes more from my commissions for something different or unusual rather than a bear I have already made. I cannot charge a premium for my time.

I work alone and I hand make all aspects of my bears. I develop my own patterns, but occasionally I find one I have to make on Etsy.com . A favorite place of mine to look for a pattern is Jennifer Carson at https://www.etsy.com/shop/jennifercarson
She does allow a certain number of the animals made to be sold, so long as you recognize her as the designer. Not having to design a pattern sure does reduce the amount of time involved in bringing a creation to market. I personalize the creations a bit, but the original pattern is hers so I will credit!

Salty Sea Dog- Jennifer Carson Pattern made by myself

Designing your own pattern can take weeks: draughting the first one, making the animal, making changes to the pattern, redoing the sample until it is all just right. I make my first few samples out of inexpensive fabrics before I make the final in the "good stuff".  I do reuse my current patterns by altering size, materials used, the finishes. The animals are all unique in their own way but you can see they are from the same pattern. I do limit the number I make from the pattern. I do not like to make more than 10 variations on that one pattern.

Next I will look at fabrics used and some of the costs of running a business.