30 Years Ago Today

It's been crazy lately.  R and I have been passing the flu back and forth, and in between I have been making the house ready for Christmas.  I have been decorating, shopping, doing cards and wrapping  for two weeks.  As a result I haven't gotten a single bear done. 

But I am taking today off to work on a very special bear before I start doing some major cleaning this week.  I have company coming soon. 

Today is kind of special though, since it was 30 years ago today I finished that very first bear.  I wanted to show him to you, but he is packed away in an old steamer trunk in the garage and it's nearly impossible to get to him right now with all the tubs of decorations out. 

So instead I thought I would show you Fenway.  Fen was made right around the halfway point in my career.  But he is a very important bear because he represents a turning point for me.  Fen was that bear that was finally what I wanted to make.  That look that I wanted and had taken me so long to get to.  It's not that the bears for the first fifteen were bad, they simply didn't define who I wanted to be as an artist.

You have to remember back then we didn't have as many books, or the internet...so information was pretty scarce.  It was all trial by fire back in those days.  Now, artists have the advantage of endless information, photos and tips on how to make things and they can achieve the look they want much sooner.

It's been a wonderful journey, and I wouldn't change the time it took me to get to where I want to be.  I have learned so much, built a good business reputation, traveled the world, been able to help charities and the best part...what I do makes people happy...including me!  You can't ask for more than that!  So today I am taking one shining day off of getting ready for the holidays and working on three 30th anniversary bears.  You will get to see them soon hopefully. 

Then it's back to cleaning!  For those of you who made special requests for pieces...they are coming...I swear!

Hugs, K. <3