Cover Story

From Cakes to Critters…

Susan Arnot loves to create

By Billie Shelton

Like many budding teddy bear artists, Susan Arnot didn't give up her day job when she decided to start making teddy bears for sale. When she was laid off her regular job shortly after exhibiting at her very first teddy bear show, though, she saw it as an indication of what she should be doing. "I thought that was a sign that I should do this full time," remarks Susan, only half joking, from her home in Sacramento, Calif.

And that's just what she's been doing since 1994 with her Under the Apple Tree bears. She has made a name for herself with both her mohair teddies and the real fur bears that she fashions from recycled mink, fox, raccoon, coyote, lynx, Tibetan lamb, muskrat, and rabbit fur.

That's quite a distance from Susan's first foray into marketing when she was just a girl. "The whole time I was growing up, I was doing creative things," the artist, now 40, recalls. "I liked to make things for my mom to sell at work. It was just kids' stuff — pompoms and glue, things like that — but it was such a neat feeling to sell something. Besides, then I'd have more money to buy more fabric."

Susan's creative bent led her to a career as a professional baker and cake decorator, which often included custom drawings on the special-occasion cakes. While working in that field, she decided to try her hand at making and selling accessories for Muffy VanderBear teddies. She also made several bears to display the accessories at shows.

"It was just so much fun to make the bears and those accessories," she remarks, recalling her first teddy bear show. "I've always loved to sell things." Losing her job motivated Susan to create a new career designing and making bears.

Susan made her first bears using a pattern by Animals Crackers. She chose mohair as her fabric because she found it easy to work with. "It's much more forgiving for developing a line of bears with a unique look," she notes. "Real fur is very tricky to work with. It took some practice." She estimates that she now makes one-quarter to one-third of her bears from mohair, preferring the extra-dense, fuzzy type of mohair.

When asked what collectors see in her bears, Susan remarks, "Now I have my own look … very sweet and very social. Their eyes are larger, and they just beg to be picked up and cuddled because they're so full. And I take great pride in having a well-stitched nose."

"Her faces sell the bears," declares Heidi Meister, who owns Good Hearted Bears, a teddy bear shop in Mystic, Conn. "My customers fall in love with the bears, and out the door they go!"

In the teddy bear business for 24 years, Heidi has been carrying Under the Apple Tree bears as long as Susan has been producing them. Heidi also collects them. "I have more of them than I'd like to admit," she says with a hearty laugh. "Sometimes her bears don't make it to the shelf in the shop."

Heidi continues, "The quality of her work is great. And of all the artists I carry, she is the most reasonably priced." In addition, she notes that Susan's seasonal bears are popular with collectors.

Susan's workmanship also appeals to collector Renay Feuerstein of Pennsylvania. "Her bears have the sweetest faces," she comments. "Her workmanship is just perfect." Renay has collected about 27 of Susan's teddies in the past two years, all purchased on eBay. She says that Susan's real fur bears, especially those made from fox fur, are her favorites.

Cheri Beretta of California is another of Susan's collectors. Cheri is able to buy bears from Susan at teddy bear shows because they live in the same state. She's been collecting Under the Apple Tree bears for as long as they've been on the market, she says, and owns several hundred. "All of Susan's bears are wonderful, and no two are alike. The faces and joints look very natural," Cheri comments. "Her work has really evolved and improved. She is truly an artist."

That artistry is very apparent in Susan's Father Christmas bears, each of which is one-of-a-kind. "I collect holiday items like glass balls and old German tinsel, and my Santas are rather vintage, so they fit right in," says Susan, explaining why she started the series. Each of the mohair bears is approximately 21 inches tall and dressed in a robe and hat made of high-end upholstery fabrics with elaborate trims, such as fringe and beads. Even the bag each Santa carries is one-of-a-kind, and some carry a staff as well. Throughout the year, Susan says, she collects tiny toys for the Santas to carry in their bags. With such attention to detail, it's no surprise that Susan makes only three or four Santas each year.

For about six years, Susan has been making real fur bears from recycled fur coats she buys via eBay. She prefers coats from Canada, because she believes the animals have better fur.

Her favorite fur to work with? "I like working with mink, and it's very popular," she answers. "But what's most popular is fox, maybe because it's so soft to the touch that the bears long to be held."

Some of the fur bears she makes are heirlooms, fashioned from furs that were once owned by a family member. Susan says she enjoys such work, even though it takes even more care and attention than when she's working with newer coats.

Whether she's working with mohair, recycled fur coats, or heirloom furs, Susan says that her favorite aspect of bear making is the finishing. "That's when the bear comes alive in your hands," she notes. "Having that little face looking up at you is kind of magical. All of my bears resemble each other, like they're in the same family, but they all have their own individual personalities."

Working at home in her apartment, Susan makes 200-250 bears annually. "It's up to me, and I do keep very busy," she comments, adding that her sister sometimes helps turn and joint bears. Susan's bears range from 6-1/2 to 24 inches tall; her most popular design is a 9-1/2-inch real fur teddy.

Susan sells her creations on eBay and at a half-dozen shows around the United States each year. "I've traveled to shows all over the country. Now I just do about six shows a year, but I used to do 20," she remarks. "I find that collectors are becoming more competitive, as they can now get things worldwide."

That makes it even more vital to make connections with collectors, says Susan. "The bears are so much different in person," she notes. "It's good to get input from the collectors, to talk to them and encourage them to feel the fur and look at the cute face."

Contact Susan Arnot, Under the Apple Tree, 1943 Bell St. #37, Sacramento CA 95825; 916-925-7880; e-mail undertheappletree@msn.com.