Phinneas And Barnabas

Continuing from yesterday's post about quality construction, I wanted to introduce you to Phineas Edgewater (Edgy for short) I made him about ten years ago and he has traveled all over the world to shows with me. While I suppose most people think I just need a security blanket, in fact his traveling with me has a larger purpose.

While I am certainly quite fond of his little green face, I have basically been stress testing him for a decade. I am proud to say he has been built to withstand the rigors of time and travel. Most bears we collect don't get as much handling as he has, but I am nothing if not thorough. The only issue he has ever had is that I snagged one of his claw stitches on something and pulled it loose a tiny bit. After I fixed it I set out to find a way to better insure that wouldn't happen to any other bears. There is never a guarantee when you are working with less than rigid materials, and you never know for sure what people are going to do with them when they take them home...but I like to try make sure that wherever the bears land they will definitely last under normal use and conditions and beyond. Despite the fact that I like the bears to have a well worn look, I take measures that most collectors wouldn't even begin to guess to insure their sturdiness. I really want those bears to be around long after I have gone for future generations to enjoy.



I also have a sneak peek of Barnabas. He was just finished today and I am about to go off and costume him. You will see a bigger picture of him either tomorrow or Friday. I have a lot of errands to run tomorrow so he may not get his pictures done until Friday!