All the Indicators Point to a Bear Market

Forget about that Jackie Onassis costume jewelry that sold at auction for the price of a three-bedroom house. Sorry, but those faux baubles aren’t the hottest collectibles anymore.

Teddy bears are.

Yes, those plush stuffed animals synonymous with the warm fuzzies have come into their own. Anyone who thinks bears are just cute kids’ toys are in for a rude awakening.

Two upcoming teddy charity auctions point out their popularity. The Crippled Children’s Society of Southern California holds its fund-raising Teddy Bear Bash on Sunday at Sotheby’s Auction House in Beverly Hills. And Hillsides Home for Children, a nonprofit residential treatment facility in Pasadena for abused children, has its auction of Tinseltown Teddies--one-of-a-kind artist bears based on films, TV shows or books--on Nov. 2 on the back lot of Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.

Susan Oman Gross, Teddy Bear Bash chairwoman, says this event features a silent auction of bears including an autographed Ralph Lauren teddy and a pair of mohair bears by Southern California artist Maryellen Reich. On display will be rare private-collection and antique bears; activities include a bear-making demonstration and a Winnie-the-Pooh beanbag toss.

“All I knew about teddy bears before this was that they were warm and fuzzy, and my children have several,” Gross says. “I learned a tremendous amount doing this. It’s been fascinating.”

Auctions like these, and for-profit auctions held by houses such as Sotheby’s, have partly contributed to the bears’ growing profile, says David L. Miller, publisher of Teddy Bear and Friends magazine, based in Harrisburg, Pa. Rare antique bears sell as fast as the houses can get them in, often for thousands more than estimated, some for tens of thousands of dollars.

“Every time those things happen, we see a surge in the awareness of teddy bears,” Miller says. “They’re at a much higher level than what you see in the back toy bin at the department store.”

The teddy bear industry is huge and getting huger.

Besides Teddy Bear and Friends, it has also spawned Teddy Bear Review magazine.

On any given weekend somewhere in the country, there’s a teddy bear show, with adult bear lovers perusing thousands of teddies, from mass-manufactured to handmade, dressed to undressed, new to vintage, mohair to fake fur, miniature to gargantuan.

German Steiff bears remain the creme de la creme of manufactured teddies (and among the most expensive); also popular are Boyds Collection from Pennsylvania and England’s Merrythought, as well as Chicago-based Muffy VanderBear, considered the Barbie of bears for her extensive wardrobe and accessories. (A fully outfitted Muffy can cost about $35 and Steiff can run in the hundreds.)

Recent years have seen the emergence of the teddy bear artist, usually defined as one who makes one-of-a-kind bears from original patterns that have a distinctive style. National artists like Arlene Anderson, Linda Ashcraft and Fred Slayter have fans eagerly awaiting their next pieces (usually sold at shows), priced at hundreds of dollars.

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Why teddy bears, and why now?

“There’s a need for people to have some emotional release, and the teddy bear may be part of that for some people,” Miller says. “It gives them some peace throughout the day and a way to get through the stress. . . . It’s very unlike the doll industry, which is very serious and a much more mature market. There is clearly an emotional [component] to bears. We’re finding more and more when we go to shows that people talk about their childhood teddy bears and share their stories.”

But bear lovers don’t stop there.

Says Miller: “I know people who take several of their bears to shows and go around and see if the other bears like them. If you met these people [any other time] you’d never think they’d be out on the weekend doing this.”

Linda Mullins has been putting on teddy bear and toy shows for 13 years. Her twice yearly Linda’s Teddy Bear, Doll and Antique Toy Show and Sale in San Diego has grown considerably--crowds are in the thousands--and draws all ages.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor when it comes to teddy bears. . . . The shows and conventions and events involve a social side to collecting. And with auctions, it’s a great way of helping people. I think with all the tragic things happening in the world, people need something to hold onto.”

Bear artist Anderson, of the Portland, Ore.-based Lexington Bear Co., knows that emotional connection very well. The former graphic artist, who’s been in the bear biz for nine years and attends about a dozen shows a year, makes traditional as well as realistic-looking bears and other animals that sell for up to $500.

“[Customers] look at the face first before anything else,” she explains. “The body and the arms and legs are almost secondary.”

Joanne Baher and her husband, H.E. Baher, started getting bear gifts from family and friends years ago. Because their last name is pronounced “bear,” friends thought it fitting. The L.A.-area couple soon became collectors.

“They’re all so sentimental,” she says of the teddies. “They’re like people, they all have different expressions. We’ve got them in the kitchen, they’re all over the house. They just give you warm feelings. I can’t explain it, it’s just a feeling of love, something cuddly.”

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* The Crippled Children’s Society Teddy Bear Bash will be held Sunday at Sotheby’s Auction House, 9665 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, with proceeds going to the society’s Campership Fund. (Sotheby’s is not handling the auction.) Call (310) 551-6347 for information.

* Hillsides Home for Children’s Tinseltown Teddies, sponsored by Warner Bros. Studios’ Technical Operations Division, will be held Nov. 2 on the studios’ back lot in Burbank. Call (800) 986-9891 for information.