Bare Designs Club! - monthly

Have you bought any of my patterns or thought about it?

I have decided to dedicate much of my time next year to making exclusive patterns for my club members. I have been asked time after time to make a guide on many subject including our little mink friends.



I would like to offer my followers and bear making friends great opportunity for you to recieve a pattern every month full of step by step photos, tips and tricks and as requested time and time again, a massive mink bumper issue, just like going to a workshop in your own home!


Join the Bare Designs Club and you will receive a fresh new design every month of the year. That’s 12 patterns exclusive to the Bare Design Club members, not available anywhere else!
This new collection will include tips and tricks, step by step guides with photos, tools of the trade we love and loads of ideas, options and techniques.



Topics covered
Shading, cheeks, open mouths, tounges, raised paw pads, sculpting, clothes, adding charatcter to your bear, working with colours, noses, clay and thread covered, vintage bears, miniatures and much much more including the bumper mink issue!!



All this for $69.95us That’s less than $6 an issue!

If you subscibe on Ebay or Etsy before January, and pay the $69.95 membership I will send you your pattern you where buying for free so your saving $11.95

You will receive the email each month and the option to purchase kits from time to time and the 12 Bare Designs Club bears will be available for adoption to the Club members before being offered for sale to anyone else

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=350259466717&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

I would love to hear from you about what you think of this idea! drop me an email at helen@barecubdesigns.com

Latest bear without a name,,,

Here is the panda cub I was making in Melbourne after each workshop in my hotel room.
I had to finish him at home as I don't know how well I would have gone asking the kitchen staff if I could cook a nose in their oven!

Snuggle bug

Ever held a baby that just wanted to snuggle and you didn't want to hand him back?
well that's how this little bear feels, he snuggles and looks up at you with those sea green eyes!

Great way to spend the AFL grand final

As you can tell I am not a football fan, but good news, Ray is. So having the house to myself means this little sweetheart gets a face! - now for the body.
Is surprising what a bit of shading and a nose can do. This nose took so long compared to my normal clay sculptures but this alpaca called for something soft!

Back Home!

I really enjoyed my trip to Melbourne. I loved meeting with bear makers and the time I spent with Kim and being inspired.. but as they say, there's no place like home.

I have cleaned up the mess I left in my studio and put away the old and bought out the new... I only have one little bear now. China, who will be on the cover of Teddy Bear Times so holds a special place in my heart, but all the other mink bears are no adopted.
So its back to creating some new bears.

Here are some of the beautiful things I have collected to supply inspiration for a new bear.

The Pumpkins and soft tones inspired this baby cub with an over sized head. I will load some more photos soon.

My shopping

Beautiful velvet flowers for my vintage inspired boxes and yummy fur...

why not give into temptation!?!?!?

Workshop three- day two

Workshops all over... Di came back from workshop one to finiah her sweet little bear.

- Very cute!

I am honoured to say I was with Kim today when Bear Essence in Boronia closed its doors for the last time. After five fab years Kim is moving her store to

Shop 3, 92 South Gippsland Hwy Tooradin Victoria.

I have been given the opportunity to see the new store before the grand opening on Thursday.

It is like a little slice of heaven, its like being inside a doll house.

I will have photos soon, as Joise is setting it up in the wonderful way she displays everything.

Workshop three- day one

Last workshop before I leave for home. Another great group of ladies.

Only a few days left of Bear Essence in Boronia.

The new shop is almost ready for the grand opening!!

The current shop in Boronia

Workshop two - day two

All the little Tim Tams finished early and enough time for Lemon Meringue!! Now this is a way to end a workshop! Thanks ladies it was wonderful to meet you all..

Workshop two- day one

Another group of ladies ready to learn the trimming tips for Tim Tam.. lots of homework done so straight into it today.. I am very honoured to have ladies travelling from all over to do my workshops Gipsland, Bendigo and Kris travelled as far as from Sydney to Melbourne for this workshop.. I hope you learing lots girls!

Workshop 1 complete

Workshop one complete and Pat was the first to finish her little cub, and what a beuatiful job. Well done Pat - I do hope your daugher gets one of her very own. All the bears are wonderful and I am sure a few people will be finishing off those ears tonight.. I hope. Workshop one was enjoyable and I even found myself going back to the hotel and doing my own bear head after day one... 10 heads is a record for me anyway, but I thought I would push it to 11..

Bear Essence - workshop 1

Well I have made it to Melbourne and day of the first workshop is complete. I have 10 wonderful ladies all watching a Tim Tam face been trimmed. By tomorrow we should have 10 wonderful bears well on the way to being born.

New additions

Here are 3 little bears I have made ready to go to Melbourne with me. I fly out Friday for a week of 3x 2 day workshops at Bear Essence. I have been busy making mink kits and a few bears to take along for the ride.


Wonton, another of my favourite caramel and chocolate pandas

Blush, made from the blush fur that arrived recentlyand Cosmo, a cute little clown, the first in the collection, inspired by the ruffle ribbon

Swing tags for mink cubs

tada! new swing tags for my mink cubs, to go with their new inproved boxes! I will now work on a version for the alpaca/mohair style collection.

Jasmine available on Ebay

Jasmine is now looking for a new home as her boy Zhen Zhen has been adopted..

Recycled Vintage inspired boxes

I feel my bears get better year by year, but I have expanded my thoughts to other aspects of my bears like my new website! -I hope you like it. It is basic but pretty and my blog is where are the updates happen now. So I have challenged myself to create packaging for my little 8 inch vintage mink cubs that are just as cute as the bears and will add to the excitement for a collector opening their new arrival. I have chosen to stay true to the vintage style and even recycle some of the linings of the coats, as they are so beautiful I don't have the heart to discard them but nothing to use them for. I have used the monograms, old books, sheet music and flowers to adorn the gold boxes. I will use vintage pattern papers in the boxes rather than brand new tissue. The 8 inch cubs fit snug inside these boxes. Here are a few of the boxes I have created so far.