Blazing June

 

Here we are in June and after the heatwave ... it now feels like autumn! What is happening with the UK weather?! Last week I was gasping for cool air and today, I'm actually chilly. Yesterday it hammered down with rain. It's a crazy world we live in!

The roses are now in full bloom, heavily laden with the most beautiful flowers this year. Our gardens is a riot of colour and the roses never fail to inspire me. So, this week I am introducing a fabulous new teddy bear created from the most glorious dense burnt orange mohair, with sunset yellow tips. A real showpiece. He is simply stunning! 

The eagle-eyed collectors among you may remember 'Sunset', a beautiful 22" teddy bear, made using the same mohair back in the Summer of 2024. That bear is now owned by a lovely UK collector. 'Blaze' is a smaller bear at 18", but still a lovely substantial fellow, unique in his own right, but with all the characteristics of a younger brother bear. (If you would like to see a pic Sunset, he's featured in the gallery on my website.)

Hopefully, this bold young cub will soon find a caring home with someone who appreciates a confident teddy bear!

Time will tell

  

I had a secret commission to fulfil last week. A couple of months ago, my Granddaughter asked if she could special request a yellow Nana elephant as her birthday gift this year ... and of course, I wasn't ever going to refuse.

Izzy gave her elephant design great consideration and decided she would like a yellow elephant with 'lilac bits', so that is exactly the elephant I have made to celebrate my lovely Granddaughter's special day today. I have called this elephant 'Honeysuckle' as a working title, but will of course give Izzy free reign to name her own elephant. Time will tell whether she stays as 'Honeysuckle', or is given a jazzy new name..

Whatever the name, I know this elephant will be loved and well cared for, for many years to come, by a little girl who has the kindest and most protective heart. Izzy is full of fun, creativity and determination and lights up wherever she happens to be, a joy to be with. I love my time with both my Grandchildren and am very touched to have been asked to make this special handmade gift to celebrate my granddaughter's 8th birthday today!

Happy Birthday to you my Iz,

With loads of love, always and forever.

Nana xxx 

Noses of Distinction

  

Noses of Distinction

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I have a soft spot for the Chiltern Hugmee teddy bear and have had a love affair with them for many a long year. In fact, I was a collector of these beautiful English teddy bears, long before I ever created a bear myself!

My collection, or rather family of Hugmees, began with my first teddy bear in 1964, a fine 20", 1950's design, named 'Big Ted'. He has stayed with me through the ups and downs of life and is with me still. There have been a fair few more adoptees over the years, the most recent of which arrived with me a couple of weeks ago. He was made in the 1930's by the Chiltern Toy company and has pristine mohair, unaffected by the passage of time; still dense, rich in colour and absolutely glorious ... the kind of mohair to make any bearmaker's heart beat a little faster! However, this poor chap had a nose to rival the most bulbous of noses, probably over-stitched more with love than skill, by a previous owner. He also arrived quite typically, with a loose glass eye ... but a small operation will soon fix have that safely secured.

The nose was another matter entirely. I initially wondered if I could live with it, but after researching further to find similar examples of 1930's Chiltern Hugmee teddy bears with their original noses intact, I decided it really had to go! A nose is one of the defining characteristics for any self-respecting teddy bear of course, but for the 1930's Chiltern it was especially important. The 1930's Hugmee was granted a splended vertically hand-embroidered nose, with two end stitches sweeping elegantly upwards. It was a fine, distinguished teddy bear nose, a nose of great distinction, making its manufacturer instantly identifiable. My new arrival was in need of an upgrade if he was ever to grace the teddy bear toy box, alongside his Hugmee contemporaries.

So, out came my stitch ripper and my determination. I pointed a spotlight at bear's hooter and carefully took out each of the many loose stitches, together with what remained of his mouth thread. As I did so, I used pins to mark where the fabric colour had changed over the years, providing a useful clue for the original line of nose stitching and mouth placement. Unfortunately the thread I used was slightly thinner than the original embroidery thread, but with careful sewing I managed to recreate a much neater new nose for teddy, far more in keeping with the appropriate 1930's Chiltern Hugmee nose. I may re-do this nose at some point, as I would have preferred the two end stitches to be a millimetre or two longer than I made them but all in all, not a bad job and after taking a photograph with two new pals, both original 1930's Chiltern Hugmee teddy bears, it is clear to see this nose is without doubt, far more sympathetic to the original 1930's shape and placement.

If you would like to read more about the Chiltern Toy Company, here are a few links:

https://allbear.blogspot.com/2011/09/challenged-part-2.html

https://allbear.blogspot.com/2007/12/once-upon-design.html

https://allbear.blogspot.com/2008/08/making-chiltern-memories.html

https://www.teddybear-museum.co.uk/collections/chiltern

https://cheshammuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/chiltern-toy-factory/

https://www.bourtonbears.com/bears-chiltern.php

The return of Sam Scarecrow

 

Back in the early 1980's, my sister knitted a Jean Greenhowe scarecrow for my daughter as a gift. 'Crowman' as he became known was much loved and sat on my daughter's bed for many years. Fast forward to early Spring 2026, when I was flicking through some old knitting pattern books, now deemed vintage (!)  

As I flicked through my knitter's Memory Lane, I rediscovered the original 'Sam Scarecrow' pattern in one of Jean's lovely books and it made me smile to see him again. Then my knitting cogs began to whirl! My sister had invited me to an Easter themed celebration at her lovely house in the countryside, planned for our Mum's 84th birthday a few weeks later. I knew she loved to decorate her home for Easter, so I decided to knit Sam Scarecrow as a surprise thank you gift for all her hard work.

Jean's patterns are great fun to knit and very detailed, so Sam was quite a time consuming project but I managed to finish him just in the nick of time and my sister was both surprised and thrilled with him ... and she instantly remembered making him herself, all those years ago for her first niece, my daughter!

A Spring posy

The Bearmaker and Primrose teddy bear

When I was a small girl, there was a low gate at the end of our garden and sometimes Dad would take us through that gate to play in the woods beyond. Even now I see the bluebells and primroses in my mind's eye, soft colour and delicate blooms spread like a dainty pastel carpet over muddy banks.  In those days of childhood innocence, my sister and I would pick posies of woodland flowers, clutching them proudly as we took them home muddy footed, for Mum to keep in a glass milk bottle on the kitchen windowsill. They were the happy days of childhood, days when the woods were full of magic and adventures.

Fast forward more than half a century and I don't mind telling you, one of my favourite walks of the year is still through the woods in Spring. A twisty stroll among nodding bluebells, shy primroses and tree branches bursting with tiny new green leaves, brings with it a beautiful peace ... one that can only be truly gifted by Mother Nature.

These days I preserve precious childhood memories through my creativity, weaving the beauty of those first spring flowers into my teddy bear designs to share with collectors, so that they too, can feel the gift of a timeless Spring, bursting with beauty and hope for the future.

Guardian of Childhood Memories

 

Those who have followed my teddy bears since the mid 90's, will best know me for creating large, traditional teddy bears with soulful faces.  

I love these stately bears, protectors of our teddy bear heritage, guardians of our childhood memories ... and I am so proud to continue to make them for collectors around the world, thirty years after creating my very first traditional teddy bears.

If you would like to know more about my latest big bear Noah, please visit him by visiting my website: www.allbearbypaula.com

Thank you!

Hibearnation

 

Hibearnation

So far, January has been mostly a cold, muddy, grey month here in my little corner of Kent. We missed the excitement of the heavy snow that turned the rest of the UK white and instead, slipped our way through several days of black ice. This week, not only is it time to complete my tax accounts (groan!) it is also raining heavily. Spring can't come soon enough! It's early yet, but I can just about see tiny signs of new buds on my daily walks with the dogs, so there is hope of an end to this bearmaker's self imposed hibernation!

I have been using this cold dark month to build my annual portfolio photobook, incorporating my 2025 teddy bear designs. It is quite time consuming but I believe, worth the time to record my designs. I have created these books since 2006, so now have quite a library of them. I think last year's portfolio book is due to be delivered to me by postie later today, which is always such a lovely satisfying moment! Flicking through the pages with a cuppa, is a lovely way to remind me that my little business has ticked over for yet another year, all thanks to the loyal collectors who invite my teddy bears into their lives, time and time again.

Last year I sent most of my bears to new homes in the UK, America, Australia, France and Hungary. Many of the bears went to lovely collectors who have supported my work over the years and I was delighted to hear from new collectors who found me through my social media outlets (Instagram and Facebook) ... (if you haven't already, you are welcome to follow me and my bears on the links below:)

https://www.instagram.com/allbearbypaula/

https://www.facebook.com/allbearbypaulacarter/?locale=en_GB

I usually like to begin a new year with a classic teddy bear and this year was no exception. After the chaos of Christmas, I opted to have a slow start to 2026 by tidying my workroom and packing away all the household Christmas decorations, so that I could create my first bear of the year in a calm, peaceful environment. Dear Irving teddy bear was the result and he is now available for adoption from my website.

During the long dark winter evenings, I enjoy a spot of knitting and not only for the bears... I have also had fun knitting a Jack Frost doll and dressing a duck recently! I find knitting a great way to fill time while I wait for longer daylight hours and warmer weather to make a return. I'm no winter gardener, that's for sure, so my garden will have to wait until Spring but I do have a patch of daffodil bulbs shooting up sturdy leaves in the front garden now and am excited to see them burst into cheerful yellow nodding blooms ... that shouldn't be too much longer surely?!

On that note, I will end my post for today. I hope you are easing your way gently into 2026 and I look forward to sharing my teddy bears here with you again this year. 

Happy New Year Everyone!
Best wishes,
Paula x

Christmas Wrapping

Christmas Wrapping

As our thoughts turn towards Christmas wrapping and all things festive, I would like to take a moment to say my heartfelt 'thank you' for your support throughout 2025. It has been my absolute pleasure to create teddy bears to share with you this year and to hear from my teddy bear friends around the world.

I plan to take a break and recharge my bearmaking batteries over Christmas, while I spend time with my family and enjoy a well earned rest. I'm not sure yet, but I think  'Little Drummer' may well be my last teddy bear before Christmas ... I will have to see how things work out with the elves!

Hopefully you are all looking forward to Christmas, but of course, it can be an evocative time of year and I do know that is not always possible. Wherever you are though and whoever you will, or perhaps won't, be with over Christmas, just know you are in my thoughts and I will always be grateful for the time we have shared through our love of teddy bears.

I wish you warmth, comfort and peace this Christmas. 

With hugs and gratitude always,
From,
Paula and the bears xxx  

Dilys and the Ellie-bears!

 

Dilys and the Ellie-bears

I have had a soft spot for elephants ever since I was a very little girl. My uncle made my first elephant many years ago and although his ears and eyes have long since been hugged away, I still have that little pink ellie. In fact, I borrowed the simple three piece design to create a replica ellie as a gift for my new niece when she was a baby.

The next elephant I made was a funny little chap called 'Abe', back in 2008. I took the vintage design a stage further by introducing a moveable, jointed head and that was when I decided I really wanted to tackle something a little more complex, so started work afresh, using one of my previous teddy bear designs, as a starting point.

I had to redesign the bear head entirely to incorporate a trunk and floppy ears and completely changed the shape of the feet and arms - in fact, now I come to think about it, the only part of the pattern that remained the same was the body! Delilah, a shell pink ellie with striped feet and ears, was my first jointed elephant, created in 2008 and the following year, I decided to return to my jointed elephant design to see how it would work in alternative fabrics ...

I was thrilled when my 2009 white ellie 'Starlight' was featured in 'Australian Bear Creations,' as that was the first time I had ever had anything other than a teddy bear published in a magazine. 2010 was a challenging year creatively speaking, as I spent the first two thirds of the year working hard to develop my 'Careworn Collection' of teddy bears and the remaining third of the year simply trying to find motivation to work at all, after saying a sad farewell to my Dad that Autumn. Sad to say, there were no ellies whatsoever in 2010 ...

However, the ellie bug bit again in 2011! I decided to develop my ellie's personality further; I wanted give him cute low slung ears and close set eyes, to lend his personality a endearing dimension. I was so pleased with my new whimsical blue ellie design, I named him Forget-me-not, in dedication to my Dad.

Also in 2011 came Ma Cherie, a pretty pale pink ellie. I decided to create a slightly smaller elephant called Butterfly in 2013 and it wasn't until 2021, that I developed my smaller jointed elephant design to create Buttercup, the sweetest little elephant, part of my 'Springtime Pals' trio, which also included a bunny and a bear, all wearing knitted jackets.

And that was it. The ellies really were almost as rare as hen's teeth! Until today. I found the very piece of mohair I needed to complete an ellie-bear I started this summer, then had to discard because frustratingly, I misremembered how much mohair to buy and ran out of the denim coloured fabric, as did my supplier. However, all was not lost, I finally finished my 2025 Dilys ellie-bear yesterday and can at last share her with you ... and add her name to my catalogue of elephant designs!  

Spellbound

 

Spellbound

When I was a child, way, way, way back in the 60's, Halloween wasn't especially celebrated where we lived but buried deep in my primary school library, was a book I found utterly magical. Sadly, I don't recall the title now but I have never forgotten the sillouette illustrations of witches flying across a moonlit sky and how they captured the imagination of the little girl I once was. The memory of that mystical book is why, half a century later, I let my imagination loose to cast a spell of childhood magic in teddy bear form ... and celebrate the witches' flight of All Hallowes Eve! 

Happy Halloween Magic to you!

Making Memories

 

After a lovely holiday away in Devon with my family and our five dogs, I am now catching up with website updates, orders and life in general. I am also scratching my head over new US tariff legislation, which is rather a rude post-holiday come down and seems to have most countries in a somewhat grumpy trade spin.

From what I can gather, before the 29th August 2025, US collectors were protected by something called the 'de minimis' rule, which meant imported goods up to $800 were exempt from nasty import duties, so my teddy bears could travel happily to new lives in the Land of Milk and Honey. However, President Trump, in all his presidential wisdom, has now removed this friendly trade exemption, meaning import duties and a variety of charges, will now become due on receipt of any sweet natured teddy bears travelling to the US to share hugs. Mean eh?!

I will of course, be checking tariff codes carefully to see whether or not handcrafted teddy bears are definitely part of this shake-up ... and keeping fingers crossed that US collectors will bear with me while my creative brain attempts to fathom export details and shipping consequences. Needless to say, this is all a million miles from my cosy world of teddy bear-making!

In happier news, the scenery in deepest Devon was, as always, spectacular. We stayed on a lovely two hundred year old farmhouse, which everyone enjoyed hugely and the dogs had a blast on the beaches. My favourite day trip was spent on Dartmoor, an area of breathtaking natural beauty, where wild ponies, long horned cattle and sheep roam freely. The children climbed tors and adventured to their hearts' content and when they were ready for a rest, we visited a beautiful ancient village called Widecombe-in-the-moor, for a very welcome cream tea.

Time now to make my memory book and preserve our holiday memories ... and once I've figured out the implications of exporting to my US friends, to settle back into my workroom to find peace, by being me and simply creating teddy bears!

We're having a heatwave

 

We're having a heatwave

As I sit here, relishing the breeze wafting across my shoulders from the fan conveniently placed behind me, with my dogs snoozing in front of yet another large floor fan, I must admit I feel rather lazy and a little bit sleepy! The summer heat is back here in the UK and that means the temperature in my workroom is on par with a sauna, the garden is scorching as the strong sunshine beats down outside ... and my energy for all things creative, is well and truly zapped!

It has been a while since my last blog post, so now seems as good time a time as any, to tap away on my keyboard...

Besides making teddy bears and walking my three dogs, I have recently re-introduced my 'Tiddler' sized teddy bears after their brief sabbatical.  If I am totally honest, they are not my favourite to make, simply because at only slightly bigger than my coffee mug, I find the small scale a fiddle... but even I can't deny their cute appeal and they certainly do look super cute perched among my bigger bears. How some bearmakers cope creating miniature teddy bears, I really do not know. That is a skill far from the ability of my own bear-making fingertips... the Tiddlers are the smallest bears I think I am ever likely to make.

Last week, the postie delivered some fabulous mohair all the way from the US. One piece I must set aside for a special commission order, promised for early Autumn. The other two pieces are so glorious, I may decide to use them together to create a summer clown bear ... although I am also tempted to save the wonderfully vibrant orange for Halloween ... Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Summer can be a strange time for making teddy bears. Working with mohair becomes tricky when the weather is so warm and my workroom becomes stuffy. No bearmaker really enjoys working with their hands when they are hot and sweaty! Also, teddy bear collectors are usually otherwise occupied at this time of year, with 'treat funds' naturally redirected towards family holidays, summer wardrobes and special days out... and of course, school holidays mean my 'Nana Duty' is reinstated with long days to fill entertaining two lively Grandchildren... not that it is a chore you understand, we really do love our time together, but of course, it means that just for a few weeks, there will be a little less time available for work.

With luck, we may take a last minute short break somewhere with the dogs too; after all, summer wouldn't be summer without giving them the chance to splash through a few waves! Fingers crossed I can whistle something up, I am definitely craving a change of scenery ...

In the meantime, I have been ploughing through a stack of paperback novels to while the afternoon heat away... today I placed Rob Rinder's second novel, an engaging legal thriller titled 'The Suspect', on my 'ready-to-pass-on' pile and slipped a bookmark (aka All Bear postcard) into the cover of David Nicholls' latest book titled 'You are here'. I watched the author interviewed on 'This Morning' recently and thought his book sounded like my cup of tea, so ordered it straightaway, much as I dislike ordering brand new books... (at heart I am a secondhand book reader and always try to buy used copies where possible. However, this time, I made an exception and by the magic of Amazon, a shiny new hardback copy arrived yesterday, with perfect timing!) I also read books by Kristin Hannah, Percival Everett and Rebecca F. Kuang over the past couple of weeks ... the Kristin Hannah books were by far my favourites, so I will definitely read more of those; the other two books were okay but not really to my lazy day, easy read, summer heat, requirements.

Hopefully this wearisome heat and humidity will ease soon. It is the second heatwave we have endured of late and already I am bored with it, so are the dogs. By August, days usually start to feel more pleasant with a promise of autumn ...  so for me, a much nicer time for making teddy bears ... and perhaps some knitting too!

Anyway, I seem to have rambled for quite a considerable while, so I will sign off now. Please bear with me if the website seems on the quiet side through the coming weeks; I will still be working on new teddy bears, but likely at a slightly more leisurely place!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.

Catch up soon,
Paula x

Nothing Ventured!

 

1930's Chiltern Hugmee restoration project

Nothing ventured!

Those who know me well, know I was a collector, long before I was a bearmaker. I have always loved Chiltern Hugmee teddy bears especially and was lucky enough to collect several over the years. Well, recently the collecting bug bit me again when I spotted a beautiful, if somewhat grubby, 1930's Chiltern Hugmee, on a well known auction site. After talking myself in and out of making an offer, eventually 'in' won and now this lovely bear lives with me and I have undertaken my first serious teddy bear restoration project! 

My initial inspection unveiled several areas of concern for this lovely bear's future, a very wobbly head, glass eyes that were not secured, a grubby but beautiful mohair coat and tragically, split paw pads. I decided to undertake radical surgery and plucked up courage to take my bear to pieces ... completely! I sought advice in a restoration group and was told in no uncertain terms I should not have done so and that thirty years of bear-making did not qualify me as a restorer, which was probably fair comment, but I decided 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' ... and as this bear was my own, not for resale, I went ahead anyway.

The mohair revealed fabulously rich colouring hidden around the joints and the only way to bring it completely back to life was to wash the pieces thoroughly by hand, to the horror of some of the professional restoration artists. I have to say, I am feeling rather smug as the result is stunning! A century of dirt and dust washed to reveal a glorious orange gold mohair, a beautiful today as it would have been when it was first created. 

My next job was to rebuild the head, secure the eyes safely and replace the head joint. The head was stuffed with woodwool (excelsior) and it was ultra important I retain the original look of the bear, if I wanted to claw back any credibility after my apparent recklessness (!) so I worked carefully, taking great care to ensure his eyes were secured back into their original holes and the muzzle was stuffed sympathetically, retaining the original nose stitching, which has naturally faded over the years. I had to replace the mouth stitched as the original embroidery thread disintegrated but fortunately, I use the same perle thread on my own teddy bear designs, so that wasn't a problem... I simply ensured the mouth was exactly the same shape and position at it had been originally. 

This week I have lined the original arm paws with cotton velvet inside, to support the existing velveteen fabric, restuffed the arms taking care not to overstuff and reassembled in the original holes, using new hardboard discs and cotter pins, which should last my bear for at least another hundred years. The most delicate job will be to create new velvet footpads to replace the original split ones, which unfortunately are not able to be saved... so I plan to insert new pads into the mohair, with the original cardboard liners, which I plan to use to create the footpad pattern. 

I am taking this project slowly and very much enjoying the process. So far my beautiful Hugmee bear has clean mohair, which is suprisingly rich in colour and still dense, a hundred years since his manufacture, plus head and arms now securely attached. Once I have braved making him new footpads, his legs will be reassembled, his body stuffed and the original non-working bellows growler reinstated safely in his tummy for posterity. I will then close the final seam, knit him something smart to wear to protect his beautiful mohair, put him with his pals ... and sit back and simply enjoy him! 

NB: If you have a much loved elderly teddy bear in need of a little restoration, please don't try this at home folks! Professional restorers' work is undertaken with utmost respect for teddy's heritage and with great skill. Teddy bear restoration is a serious undertaking and should be done sympathetically. A skilled teddy bear restorer can work miracles!

Ken Yenke, A teddy bear expert

 

A teddy bear expert

I have been re-reading my teddy bear reference books lately and adding a few more titles to my bookshelf. There are some superb collectors' books, written in the 1980's and 90's, now listed secondhand on websites such as 'World of Books' and good old Ebay... and usually offered at very reasonable prices.

I love to read about the development of the teddy bear over the past century. It is fascinating to learn about the teddy bear phenomenom and its impact on social history... and as a teddy bear designer myself, I am always inspired by photographs of old bears. I think I may be a bit of a teddy bear geek (!) but the written history of the teddy bear has always interested me; perhaps because the authors who write about our beloved teddy bear, are also genuine collectors and enthusiasts, writing with deep passion and respect for their subject. One such author was Ken Yenke, an American teddy bear expert, sadly lost to the bear world after his death in 2014...

Ken was an expert in the truest sense of the word. Not only respected internationally for his broad subject knowledge and love of teddy bears, but also a dedicated private collector. He built a significant collection of antique teddy bears with his wife Brenda and shared them with the world through his books... which I am fortunate enough to have on my workroom bookshelf.

I first learned of Ken Yenke's work through my subscription to a US teddy bear magazine published in the 1980's. Subsequently, as a competitive teddy bear artist, I was honoured to have Ken include my nomination in 'The Golden Teddy Bear Awards' presentation video in 2011. I didn't win my category that year but it was such a thrill to be included in his presentation! https://allbear.blogspot.com/2011/10/2011-golden-teddy-award-winners.html 

If you would like to read more about Ken's beautiful teddy bear collection and the wonderful personal histories behind many of the bears, I highly recommend hunting for copies of his books. They are written in his inimitably warm, personal style and in my view, are a real treat for any teddy bear enthusiast!

Ken Yenke's titles are as follows:

Teddy Bear Treasury Vol. 1
Teddy Bear Treasury Vol. 2
Bing Bears and toys

https://www.kenyenke.com/about


There are of course, many other fine teddy bear titles, written by a variety of authors, now available to find secondhand. I will publish a list of some of my personal favourites at a later date for anyone interested in delving deeper into this fascinating topic.

Happy teddy bear reading ... and collecting!

Featured Artist!

 

Featured Artist!

A little plug for the Teddy Bear Times magazine, which has kindly featured a lovely multi-page article about my work as a teddy bear maker over the past thirty years, in the latest issue!

If you would like to purchase a copy, please visit the magazine's website at:

 https://www.teddybeartimes.com/issues

There is a beautiful traditional print magazine available to purchase, if like me, you like to savour your read with a cuppa... but if you are overseas, you might prefer to download the online copy, which is a great way to avoid paying pricey shipping costs!

Retired teddy bears of distinction

 

Retired teddy bears of distinction

After thirty years of creating teddy bears for adult collectors, I thought it was time to remind myself of how it feels to open a special teddy bear delivery... and when I spotted this beautiful 1930's Chiltern Hugmee teddy bear, I knew he would be 'the one' to mark three decades of me creating teddy bears for other folk.

Opening his box was a complete delight. He had been carefully wrapped in tissue paper and as I gently peeled back the layers, I could see he was in superb condition, especially for such an elderly gent!

As many of you know, my childhood Chiltern Hugmee teddy bear led me into the fascinating grown up world of arctophilia and bear artistry, so this fabulous fellow now brings me full circle. The perfect bear to commemorate thirty years of making teddy bears for other collectors. This, as yet nameless Chiltern Hugmee teddy bear, will be joining a small collection of special Chiltern Hugmee bears who keep me company in my workroom each day ... as well as somewhere to create bears, it is also my little place of safety for retired teddy bears of distinction!

Where it began...

 

Where it began...

Where it all began. This photo is an important element of my bearmaking journey over the past thirty years. My connection with teddy bears has lasted my entire lifetime and long before I made my first teddy bear, I was a bear collector. It began with a love of Chiltern Hugmee teddy bears, the British manufacturer of the wonderful Hugmee teddy bear range, made in the UK from 1923 until 1967. My parents gave me a beautiful large Chiltern Hugmee for my first birthday in 1964, a very special big bear (third from right, centre row) who sat on my bed for many years... and the rest, as they say, is history!

Full Circle

 

Full Circle

One for vintage teddy bear admirers... a proud moment in my bear making history.

My first childhood teddy bear, a fine 1950's Chiltern Hugmee, holds a copy of the 2011 Hugglets UK Teddy Bear Guide, featuring one of my original handcrafted teddy bear designs called 'Chester' on the front cover.

Now that is what you might call a full circle!

The art of...

 

The art of...

The art of creating artist teddy bears follows a long road of trial, error, determination to improve and the gift of a creative soul.

An original handcrafted teddy bear flows from the maker's heart and hands, into a character woven with the warmth of childhood nostagia and a sense of comfort.

The centre seam design

 

The centre-seam design

I think I designed my very first centre-seam teddy bear under my 'Auntie Bears by Paula Carter' label, way back in 1996... a lovely white bear called 'Mischief'. Since then, I have continued to make these unique teddy bears, first inspired by Steiff, who were famous for creating one very special teddy bear in every seven made, with a two piece centre-seam head design, which in practical terms made maximum use of the precious mohair fabric yardage... and by chance, also created exceptional beautiful teddy bears!

My centre-seam design creates a lovely rounded teddy head shape and dare I say, sometimes slightly grumpy faces! The centre-seam teddy bears have their own endearing identity and are instantly recognisable. I usually lean towards traditional bear styling with this design but have occasionally tried it with more contemporary teds. These teddy bears are rarer for collectors to find, as like Steiff, I make them less frequently... 

Incidentally, my 23" centre-seam teddy bear clown 'Billy Buttons', was honoured with the prestigious International Industry's Choice TOBY Award, in 2008. One of my proudest achievements as a teddy bear designer.

This year I have introduced my centre-seam teddy in a smaller 16" size, perfect for hugs! If you would like to add one of these special teddy bears to your collection, please pop over to my shop page to meet 'Reggie'.

Thirty years, in print!

 

Thirty years, in print!

I have some exciting news to share this week... I was sworn to secrecy until the 'Teddy Bear Times and Friends' latest publication date, which is this week... so, at last, I am able to share my secret with you!

Earlier this year, the UK 'Teddy Bear Times' magazine asked if they could publish a feature about my thirty year career as a teddy bear artist ... of course I agreed instantly as it is such an honour to have my work published! This month, the team has kindly included a beautiful multi-page article written about my life as a teddy bear maker. I am so thrilled!

Issue 276 will be available for single copy purchase from the TBT website in a few days' and if you are fortunate enough to hold a subscription, you should be receiving your copy through the letterbox this week.

I am not able to share a photo of the new magazine here today, as I haven't yet received my own copy, so for the sake of nostalgia, the photograph I am sharing with you today is a flashback to 1997, when a wonderfully large bear called 'Gently', a bear I designed and created, was featured on the front cover of the prestigious Teddy Bear Times magazine! (Incidentally, the cover price has risen somewhat over the years... a printed copy is now priced at £7.99 and a year's subscription £65.00... the days of £2.95 for a specialist collector's magazine are now long gone!)

If you would like to order a printed copy of issue 276, featuring my article, or a copy of the magazine in digital format, please head over to: 

https://www.teddybeartimes.com/

I am reliably informed that the most recent magazine, issue number 276, will be available to order directly from the Teddy Bear Times website very soon.

A traditional trio

 

A traditional trio

Meet Floyd, Flo and Fitz, my three latest shop exclusive teddy bears. They have just arrived at The Bear Shop in Norwich and are busy meeting and greeting customers and all the other teddy bears!

If you are interested in adopting any of these bears, you are welcome to visit, or telephone the shop for current availability.

The Bear Shop
18 Elm Hill
Norfolk
NR3 1HN

Tel: 01603  766866

Apple Blossom Serenity

 

Spring is such a lovely time in the UK. The blossom trees are an absolute picture in their beautiful pastel shades. It is the perfect season to be inspired by nature and for creating pretty pastel teddy girls. 'Apple Blossom' is my latest teddy bear, a vision in peachy pinks and pale apple green, with a tiny hint of lilac... capturing a moment of sweet teddy bear serenity.

Magic Moment

 

Magic Moment

While I was hunting through the old photographs I mentioned in my last post, I started to sort through the many teddy bear magazines I have collected over the past thirty years and I came across this copy of the 'Teddy Bear Times' magazine...

I couldn't help but smile to myself... seeing the cover again took me right back to 1997 and the early days of my bear-making career. Having one of my teddy bears published as cover star on a national teddy bear magazine for the very first time was thrilling!

'Gently', a very large teddy bear with a beautiful, gentle face, was featured on the front cover of Issue 45. I had taken the photograph myself, then sent it to the magazine, together with several others... and they chose to use Gently on the cover! It was a wonderful compliment to my bears and in those pre-internet days, very exciting to rush hotfoot into town to see the copies displayed for sale in our local High Street shops!

Bear Beginnings, Auntie Bears

Bear Beginnings

I have been hunting out old 'Auntie Bears' photographs from the 1990's... this photo was snapped at 'The Big Bear Show' in the Business and Design Centre, Islington, London in 1998...

Back in my early bearmaking days, teddy bear photographs were taken on an old SLR 35mm film camera and developed at the local printers. Sharing new work was a much longer-winded process than it is today...digital cameras and mobile phones have made the process of distributing photographs so much faster. However, it has also made it even more important to remember to document my bears because digital pictures are so easily lost and forgotten.

For the past twenty years, I have always made an annual photobook of my designs. I keep the books lined up neatly on my workroom shelf and enjoy referring back to them regularly when I am designing new bears. It is a lovely document of how my teddy bears evolved over the years and one day, I hope my grandchildren will enjoy these portfolio books and take a sense of pride in their Nana's 'work'. 

It occurred to me recently, that my earliest designs weren't ever made into a photo album and neither was the 'Auntie Bears' story...

The 90's was a very special time for hand crafted teddy bears in the United Kingdom, re-igniting a nostalgic passion for teddy bears in collectors who had loved them as children and lighting a flame of creativity in many aspiring bearmakers. Prior to the age of the internet, teddy bears became established as an art form in the UK in the early 1990's, designed and created with dedication and love by bear artists in their own homes, then sold through shops and at specialist teddy bear fairs across the country. 

It was an exciting time to become a new bearmaker. There were so many creative challenges... learning to run one's own business effectively, fulfilling the desire to produce quality teddy bears to share with collectors, establishing a market for them and helping secure their heritage for future generations. Creating 'artist bears' for adult collectors quickly became an all-encompassing passion for me, one that I have never tired of and probably never will.

In those days showcasing work was an important element of growing a small business and developing new ideas, so participating in specialist competitions hosted by magazines, seemed a sensible path to take, if I wanted validation for my teddy bear designs. I pushed forward with what I considered exciting new bear designs and despite being in complete awe of my fellow competitors, braved entry into the British Bear Artist Awards in 1997, 1998 and 1999, achieving recognition instantly when my submissions were honoured with awards.  It was a heady time!  Suddenly my bears were invited overseas, exhibited in museums, featured in magazine articles. My order book quickly filled and my telephone didn't stop ringing at all hours. My bears had arrived on the worldwide teddy bear stage!

Auntie Bears was the banner under which my sister Fiona and I sold the bears we designed and made individually. We both loved creating big bold teddy bears and were great friends, besides being good sisters. In fact, it was Fiona who launched our bear-making journey by one day by showing our work to the owners of 'The Rochester Bear Shop'. We were then invited to exhibit at our very first local bear show, hosted by the shop and our bearmaking path was set. Going forward, we shared costs, attended shows together and planned marketing strategies as sisters, working hard to establish 'Auntie Bears' and find our niche in the heart of the teddy bear industry.

So, back to my dusty photographs! I was looking for my earliest teddy bear designs to begin making a book of my earliest work but of our four years as Auntie Bears, I could only find a couple of small slip albums holding photographs. Unfortunately many of my original photographs were disposed of when I moved house in 2007; caught up in the fast paced age of the internet, it didn't occur to me back then, I might find a purpose for those old photographs in the future...

Thankfully, whilst searching for photographs, I also came across boxes of old teddy bear magazines and found many of the articles featuring Auntie Bears and our work as teddy bear designers. Happy memories that made me smile all over again almost thirty years later, reminding me of long forgotten moments in my own teddy bear making history. It was a magical time to begin a bearmaking business and one I now plan to document properly...  I am so glad I kept those magazines!

It hardly seems possible I have now been making teddy bears for the best part of thirty years. Those thirty years have seen many changes in the bear making world, the most significant being the use of the internet to reach out to collectors around the world. These days information can be made available instantly at the press of a button, which is amazing but I do sometimes wonder whether the internet can ever truly convey the dedication to creating teddy bears and many hours of work and skill involved in their production... the passion behind their evolution. I do hope so.

Sadly we have seen the demise of many specialist teddy bear publications, teddy bear shows, shops and competitions worldwide in recent years and yet, collectors still love teddy bears and creators still need to express themselves through the art of their creation. Hopefully, that love and dedication always be sufficient to protect the teddy bear both as an art form and also as a friend, in the disposable digital world in which we now find our much loved Teddy Bear.