A REAL Fur BEAR

A Custom RealFur Bear

A while ago I was contacted to turn a couple of cured and tanned  Bear Hides into a Standing Bear!

It had been awhile since I had worked with real animal hides. Since I normally turn Vintage Fur Coats, Collars and Hats into Cherished Teddy Bears for Clients. 

 Some of my Cherished Bears and Critters over the years

Custom Black Suede & Chevron Mink

 I do not support The Useless slaughter and Hunting of our wildlife...

This Client had verified he Hunted the Bears himself legally,

and a dear friend of his had Cured and Tanned the hides...

the hides always look great on the outside...

What a lot of clients don't realize is the holes and tears on the actual hides, which means I must work around the flaws to create your Bear or Critter!

Also that I need to treat the hide if they are Dry,  Hard or sometimes moldy!

Or even worse infested with mites, fleas or worse moth eggs!

This also applies to a lot of the coats and jackets I receive for turning into Cherished Bears and Critters.

Many hours of treatment and brushing of the fur to get it ready for designing and cutting...

 

 I generally do the smaller bears by hand whenever possible, but the larger ones I trust my Vintage Sewing Machines to do the sewing for me...

All my machines are serviced here..

Niagara Sewing Machine Services 

(Mike and Tina Peter )

Niagara Falls Ontario, Canada

http://www.niagarasewing.com

On this big bear I did a technique on the pads called " Trapunto "

It gives the feet a more realistic look!

here they are as a  WIP!

I had hoped to machine sew a lot of this big fella which didn't work out!

the hide was very thick in some spots and that meant I had to hand sew it, with my huge upholstery needles! punching the holes prior sew as not to rip or tear the hide!

Only the Head and arms where jointed for posing!  As my client has plans for him to stand in her home to Welcome her guest...

I used the largest pair of German Glass eyes I had...

I decided not to shave to much of his face side hair as it gave him character...

The client agreed.

One of the hardest parts was although both hides were Bear 

they were each from a summer and a winter hunt!  

And this was a huge change in climates, which meant a difference in the fur thickness!

His nose is one of my signature leather noses. Sculptured and created by me!

This big fella " ELVIS" has since gone home and I let my hands and eyes take a much needed  holiday!

 

 Creating Memories one stitch at a time...