SuBEARstition Teddies
Bears with a Smile/Laurel Rudolph

One-of-kind bears find new homes through the Internet

For her one-of a kind creations, Laurel Rudolph has four requirements--that they have a big nose, big feet, a big belly, and a smile. Rudolph is in the business of designing and sewing collectible teddy bears.

Along with individual designs, the bears also come with unique names and each with their own story. There's an "Ebearneezer" bear decked in holiday sweater and hat and tangled in a string of Christmas lights. A "Leonardo Di Catrio creation, which is actually the first cat Rudolph has made, clutches a life-preserving ring labeled USS Catonic.

Adding to the exclusiveness in design and the charm of name and character, Rudolph uses only imported German mohair for her bears' bodies. This luxuriously soft fabric comes in 50 plus colors with names like butter cup, antique brown, old rose, light honey, champagne, rusty brown and dusty lavender and runs $100 to $300 a yard. To complement, leather or suede is used on the paw pads.

Inspiration for bear designs come from different sources, Rudolph said. Sometimes people inspire her. For instance, she said, her husband has a friend "whose looks would make a good bear." Sometimes, the mohair fabric itself determines the type of bear Rudolph designs. In the end, she added, the bears all come out with their own personalities.

The names for the bears also have unique origins. Sometimes, Rudolph said, the names "just come to me." Other times, travels bring her into encounters with names she likes, such as a street named Ebenezer which became a  bear's name of Ebearneezer." These inspired names she records and refers to when needing a name.

Rudolph's journey into the bear business began some years ago. A former seamstress and dressmaker, running her business in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area for 15 years, later working as a secretary for a manufacturing company there, Rudolph's earliest creations were bunnies and dolls sewn primarily as gifts.

Back then, she used acrylic fabrics for her creations. That was until she discovered a mohair bear kit in a bear shop. Rudolph said she loved the mohair so much she didn't want to go back to the acrylic or fake fur.

In 1944, Rudolph and her husband retired, and she went exclusively into bear designs. The  couple also took some time to travel. In 1996, their travels took them into Las Cruces. They arrived in Las Cruces on a Sunday, and by Thursday of the same week, decided to buy a house.

Rudolph went official with her bear business two years ago and also has a web site, www.suBEARstitionteddies.com. She also shows her creations at bear shows, including the upcoming Enchanted Albearquerque, Teddy Bear Show and Sale.

With her web site, orders have come in from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Kentucky. Rudolph's bears have also sold in California, Arizona and Washington with one bear now in Australia and another in the Netherlands.

Even Rudolph's web site designer now owns one of her bears. She purchased it, Rudolph said, to remind her to smile.