Glossary of terms

A short glossary of words that appear in collectible bear descriptions and mean little without explanation.

General terms

OOAK — one of a kind. The piece exists once, with no edition and no number.

Teddy bear artist (teddist) — a maker who creates artist bears from their own pattern through to a finished piece with a wardrobe.

Artist bear — made by a named maker to their own pattern, as opposed to a manufactured item.

Limited edition — a numbered run (say, 300 pieces). Not the same as OOAK: pieces within an edition are identical.

Companion — a small figure included with the bear, turning a figurine into a scene.

Materials

Mohair — pile fabric from angora goat wool on a woven backing. The classic of the genre: it takes trimming, tinting and holds its shape.

Viscose — pile made from cellulose fibre, softer and with a distinctive sheen. Often used for a vintage look.

Alpaca — pile from alpaca wool, soft and matte.

Vintage plush — old fabric, often with a ready-made patina. Valued precisely because new fabric like it cannot be bought.

Construction

Cotter pin jointing — limbs and head attached with cotter pins and discs, so they turn and hold a position.

5-way jointed — the head and all four limbs move.

Excelsior / wood wool — traditional stuffing giving weight and density.

Glass or steel granulate — beads used for weighting, usually low in the body so the bear sits stably.

Tinting — colouring the pile to suggest age and depth.

Growler / squeaker — a mechanism inside the body that makes a sound when the bear is tilted or pressed. Not every bear has one, and its absence says nothing about quality.

Needle sculpting — shaping the muzzle with stitches pulled through the head, rather than by cutting. This is what gives a face an expression.

Backing — the woven base the pile sits on. A dense backing lets the maker trim close without the fabric losing hairs.

Clothing and decoration

Hand embroidery — worked with a needle, element by element, directly on the garment. Recognisable by the reverse: irregular, with visible thread ends.

Reversible — a garment sewn so that both sides can be worn. One outfit gives two looks and the seams are hidden inside.

Appliqué — a piece of fabric attached to a garment, often as the base for embroidery on top.

Fully removable wardrobe — clothes that come off completely. Matters for cleaning and for changing the bear's look.

Buying and collecting

Adoption — the word collectors use instead of "purchase". Not sentimentality: it reflects that the piece exists once and moves on to one owner.

Reserved — the bear is held for a specific person and is off the market even though the page is still up.

Found a home — sold. Sold pieces usually stay published as an archive: they show what the maker does and how their work has changed.

Certificate — a slip with the name, size, materials and date. There is no single standard for artist bears; each maker issues their own.

Provenance — the history of who owned the piece. For contemporary artist bears it barely matters yet, but for older work it does.