Archive > Articles > Collecting Limelight: Deb Canham Artist Designs
Among the new pieces for 2008 are a pair of mohair bunnies named Dandelion and Cowslip. Editions of 65 each.
Deb Canham is doing something different this year. In addition to introducing her usual variety of bears and friends and celebrating the 10th anniversary of her collectors’ club with a Birthday Party Convention, Deb is sharing with her collectors her experiences at her workshop in China.
“So much is said about China production these days and, understandably, there are concerns — I have them, too,” she says. “People have a general view of huge factories and poorly paid workers, but, like anything, those are the ones that make the news. There are manufacturing success stories in China, too, and I believe mine is one.”
Deb works with a group of 15 women. “These ladies have always worked with me,” she says. “I taught them how to sew my bears and they only make my bears. It is not a big, faceless factory — it’s a group of woman just like me, but they speak Chinese and me English.”
The women either work from home or meet at a central house where Deb stays and which has a large workroom with heating and air conditioning. It’s a very social place, where husbands and children are welcome. “Over the years we have shared many things -- the births of children, children getting married and leaving home, losing elderly parents, and so on. Right now we are entering the grandma stage. We also discuss social issues in China and the USA. They are intelligent, middle-class ladies who are very happy with their lives. They do laugh a lot and I find them fun to be with. They particularly enjoy telling me about their traditions, which are amazingly interesting and of course date back hundreds of years. There is always something to learn from how other people live their lives and view life. ...I consider myself very lucky and am honored to have shared in other cultures.”
Deb has attended the weddings and funerals of her employees and their families and held their babies. The children like her, she says, “because I always have candy and they like to speak English. ...I have talked about soccer, fashion, and music to countless little people. Too, I have grown close to some of the children as they have grown up and gone on to college.” Deb helps one college-aged friend with her homework via e-mail.
“Before I started working with these ladies, I knew only what I read in the newspapers and saw on television about China,” says Deb. “Somehow, only bad things seem to make the news. Of course, I know some of the bad situations regarding large factories still exist, but we should try to salute the successes to encourage more of these ventures. My China production ... is a part of my life that I truly value, because through it I have made very close friends with women as far away as China. To me they are very special and the quality of work they produce is outstanding. I truly believe that by ‘holding hands’ with small groups of woman in other countries, we all benefit. For me it is the very thing I treasure most in running my company. I hope that, over the years, more situations like this will help to unite us all across the world so that we can make the most of trust and learn about good people from other countries.”
Deb’s collector club birthday celebration will be in Tampa in September 2008. For more on the convention or to locate a retailer, visit www.debcanham.com or call 800-789-8767.
Old Rusty, 3-1/2 inches, is limited to 100 pieces.
Cranberry is the first of Deb’s dragons for the year. He is 3-3/4 inches tall and limited to 100 pieces.
Bangers and Mash, from the Flump Dumpy line, are bears with “very round tummies and big feet and longer necks.”
Rules 1. How to enter: Each entry should consist of one (1) color drawing of a teddy bear, no more than 6 inches (15 cm) tall, wearing its Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas costume. Submit drawings only (no patterns or no actual bears). Entrants can use colored pencil, marker, crayon, paint, collage, or any other two-dimensional media to portray their design. Label as necessary to identify any elements of the design that aren’t immediately apparent from the drawing. (a) Label your drawing with the bear’s name, if any, and your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. (b) No designs based on or resembling licensed characters or famous people may be entered. (c) Mail your entry to: Teddy Bear and Friends, Design for Deb Contest, PO Box 10545, Lancaster PA 17605-0545. (d) Entries must be received by June 1, 2008, to be eligible. (e) Multiple entries are not permitted. One entry per person. (f) All entries become the property of the Sponsor and will not be returned. (g) Sponsor assumes no responsibility for lost, illegible, mutilated, late, or misdirected entries or those with inadequate postage, all of which are void. 2. No purchase necessary. A purchase does not increase your chances of winning. 3. Eligibility: Entrant must be 18 years or older and a legal resident of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia as of April 1, 2008. (a) Employees of Madavor Media, LLC (“Sponsor”) and Deb Canham Artist Designs (“DCAD”), all affiliated companies, agents, and immediate families are NOT eligible to enter or win. (b) All entrants to any Madavor Media, LLC contest both imply and agree, by their participation in the contest, to observe all rules and policies of such contest. 4. Selection of winners: Valid entries will be judged by Deb Canham and/or a panel of judges and five (5) winners selected. (a) Entrants agree to be bound by these rules and the decisions of the Sponsors, which are final and binding on all matters. (b) Odds of winning will be determined by the total number of entries received. 5. Prizes: The five (5) winners’ bears will be made “in the fur” by Deb Canham Artist Designs. (a) Each winning designer will receive the number two bear in the manufactured edition. (b) DCAD reserves the right to modify and/or interpret designs as necessary for production. (c) Winning drawings will be published in Teddy Bear and Friends magazine. Winning designers will be credited on the hangtags and in catalogs and reference materials related to the designs. However, winners agree to indemnify and hold forever harmless Madavor Media, LLC and Deb Canham Artist Designs if credit is inadvertently withheld. (d) Winners will receive no monetary compensation from this contest or the sale of the bears or other products based on their designs. (e) Total retail value of all prizes is $500. 6. Claiming prizes: Winner will be notified within ten (10) days of the drawing. (a) Prize is nontransferable and cash will not be awarded in lieu of. (b) No substitution of prize allowed except by Sponsors solely in the event of prize unavailability, at which time a prize of equal or greater value will be awarded. (c) Winners agree to allow their name, photograph, and/or likeness, as well as all elements of their design, to be used by Sponsors in print and electronic media for promotional purposes without prior notice or further compensation, except where prohibited by law. (d) Winner agrees to indemnify and hold forever harmless Deb Canham Artist Designs and Madavor Media, LLC, their agents, officers, employees, affiliates and assigns for any injuries, accidents, misfortunes, copyright or trademark infringement, or causes of action arising from or in connection with participation in any contest and/or acceptance of the prize. 7. Deb Canham Artist Designs and Madavor Media, LLC, retain the right to amend these rules and regulations at any time for any reason. (a) Contest/Prizes subject to federal, state, and local regulations and laws and is void where restricted or prohibited by law. 8. Sponsors: This sweepstakes is sponsored by Madavor Media, LLC, 420 Boylston Street, 5th Floor, Boston MA 02116 and Deb Canham Artist Designs, 1435 East Venice Avenue, Unit 104, PMB 242, Venice FL 34292.
