Ginger Honey Bears, Before the Polar Ones Show Up
This summer I made another small jointed art doll collection, but this time instead of velveteen and flower hats, we went for lovely Mohair/Alpaca and ethereal dresses made with vintage fabrics.
Oh yes, did I mention they had wings and antennae? 🐝🧸
The origin story
These jointed teddy-bear style dolls started appearing in my studio in early 2024. It all started with the Mohair Bunny art dolls, and it quickly escalated in the summer to the Velveteen and Flower Hats affair, culminating with the Fluffy Lambs of Easter.
As you can see, they are a mix of Waldorf-style dolls but with teddy bear bodies, they are also weighted heavily in their tummies (with glass beads) and are usually made of natural fibers, but earlier this year I used faux-fur for the lambs. It was a bit of a nightmare and apparently I am doing it again.
I get bored very easily in doing the same thing, over and over (except for the Wee Babies, those are always a riot to multiply). So I try to vary the animal version, the fabric or something in their accessories to keep the old brain interested. I’m talking about my brain here, who requires constant craft-related stimulation.
So, armed with inspiration from the gigantic bumblebees buzzing around the massive rose bushes in my Canadian garden, I went about melting a bear with a honey bee. Nothing extraordinary, I did not break the internet, don’t worry.
But boy, oh boy! did I have too much fun making wings and little wired antennae with fluffy pompoms?
Yes, I did.
Recycling vintage fabrics
To massively increase joy and fulfillment, I chose to make them little apron dresses using some of the vintage baby dresses I’ve been given over the years. Only the ones that have massive holes and don’t seem to be repairable.
The dolls always greet this idea with such enthusiasm that it feels almost like I am being extorted somehow without my knowledge. Like…was it even my idea? Who is holding all the cards over here?
Either way, they know and I know that hand-sewing is one of my favourite things in the world, and so making their little dresses was a fortunate side quest this summer.
Some even had hand-sewn pockets!
Upcoming Christmas collection
I recently published a video extolling the virtues of the platform I use to sell small doll collections, such as these summer Honey Bears.
So if you are expecting to catch one of the upcoming faux-fur polar bears currently in production, you best keep an eye on that store or at the very least, join my Studio Letters so you’re in the know when they are going to pop out of my work basket into your shopping basket 🧺.
How I made them?
If you are interested in how I made the antennae, wings, etc. I published a post about it on Patreon: Exclusive Behind-the-Seams, Making the Honey Bears.
Sorry that I didn’t come to write about them beforehand, but this summer was a bit too crazy for my liking…and I like crazy. Between traveling from Portugal to Canada, dealing with a lot of admin, a trip to Mexico, finishing custom dolls, teaching an online course, real bears constantly in the backyard, friends and family from out of town visiting, two daughters with busy summer jobs, a husband renovating in full mode…you can understand me. Hopefully.
I will try to be a little more assertive and tell the dolls I simply must write their stories here too before we go finding them a home, which used to be the consensus, but things got a little haywire for a bit.
Expecting to reach some sort of normalcy soon, I shall leave you now and bring you peeks of my current Christmas ‘drop’ as they say on Instagram.
Be well and stay vigilant on those bears 🐻. The real ones that like to visit my garden are cozily sleeping now…but the fluffy ones will soon be upon us.
