ArtFire

This listing is for a custom made, 6.5" ursine personality fully wobble jointed; stuffed with polyester fiberfill and weighted with steel shot shavings for a heavy-in-your-hand life-like feel. The body of the bear may be made from my recycled coat or yours. The details of the bears costume are entirely up to you. You may choose to use your own baubles for the hat and/or purse or may select from my stash. Your bear will have, hand blown German glass eyes in the color of your choice, an embroidered nose in the style, size and shape of your choosing; eye lids and lashes as well as the outer wear of your choice. His/her paw pads and inner ears will be made of butter soft suede.

All of my real fur bears are one-of-a-kind designs that are extremely labor intensive. Each of these bears presents its own challenges, but the smaller they are, the more difficult they are to make. It is virtually impossible to get your fingers inside any bear smaller than four and a half inches. For bears that small, I work under magnification with surgical tools. I have been able to successfully make many real fur bears as small as 3.5". This particular bear took four weeks of my time to do all of the following:

Disassemble the coat.
Clean and treat the skins.
Trace the pattern on the skins and lining.
Cut out the bear and line it.
Stitch it together.
Turn it right side out.
Sculpt the face.
Embroider the nose.
Set the eyes, trademark star and attach the ears.

Your bear, like all of my beaded bears, will be a one-of-a-kind teddy bear designed and hand stitched by Shelley K. Bossert of Ursa Minor Miniatures. All of my teddy bears are grown-up collectors' items not toys and not intended for small children. Small parts present a choking hazard. To see more of my work, please visit my web site, UrsaMinorMiniatures.com.

Be sure to check out my Market Hub on the right for more opportunities to see my work.

In addition to personal checks and US Postal Money orders, I accept PayPal. Shipments paid for by check are held until the check clears.

I do not pad my shipping charges but do pass actual costs on to the buyer. ArtFire requires that I pick a number for shipping so I picked the least expensive, slow-boat-to-China rate offered by the United States Postal Service. Secondary shipping charges depend on what else you are purchasing. If you are purchasing more than one item at a time from my studio, please e-mail for shipping charges. If you wish to choose a shipping method other than the USPS to a US address, the cost is more. That said, U.S. or Canadian purchasers may choose the U.S. Postal System, UPS or Fed Ex. but please request a shipping quote before making a purchase.

International purchasers may only use U.S. Global Priority Mail. Costs for Global Priority shipments vary by destination and package weight. Please contact me for a shipping quote before making a purchase. I combine shipping costs automatically.

Insurance is optional but I accept no responsibility for damage to or loss of uninsured shipments.

On average, it takes me at least a month to complete one of these bears. I will send you pictures in progress so that you may have as much input as possible in the design process.

recycled fur, mink, gem stones, recycled cloth coat wool

Have an old coat you'll never wear again, one with sentimental value that's too small or worn to wear? Maybe you have a fur collar to an old coat. Do you have broken jewelry, anything with beads on it? I can put your broken bits together with your coat and/or collar and turn it to a cherished heirloom.