Thursday 31 July 2008
Soul food interlude
Wednesday 30 July 2008
Hudson, as in Rock
Right, back to work right this minute Paula, you have orders to complete and customers still waiting!
22" Hudson will debut at Teddies 2008 in Kensington Town Hall, London on Sept 14th.
Ssssh, before I go back to my workroom I'm going to let you into a teeny tiny secret, don't tell anyone, but this bear maker thinks she's earned herself a little treat so she went internet shopping yesterday and ... her 'Prada' perfume came in the post today!
Ooh I smell pretty, oh so pretty!
Monday 28 July 2008
Messing about on the river
All in all, we walked in a big loop for about three solid hours until we reached the Malta for a swift half (in my case, although not Stuart's!) then trudged the last half mile homeward bound ... why is it, that bit of the walk is always uphill?! Once through the front door, we flung some lovely fat sausages on the barbecue, opened a chilled bottle of Chardonnay and settled down to a few hands of cards and a couple of games of draughts in the garden by candlelight, while dusk fell.
Saturday 26 July 2008
Camisoles, commissions and Prima Donnas!
14th September Kensington Town Hall, London
Naturally, with one of our most prestigious UK shows on the horizon straight after the summer holidays, I am now irrisistibly drawn towards thinking 'show bears' thoughts. Trouble is, I still have several long awaited orders to complete first, so must resist the temptation to leap headlong into creating a table full of Prima Donna bears, all clamouring in my head to be the first in line for show day. No, instead I need to mentally file them for a while longer, sensibly scheduling my work a little more carefully so that no-one is overlooked. With that firmly in mind this week, I have been giving a lovely privately commissioned alpaca bear my full attention, closely followed by 'Humphrey', the very first of my show bears (well, a girl has to surrender to a little clamour now and again, doesn't she?!)
'Humphrey'
My theory is that if I have at least one or two of my big show bears peering down at me from my workroom shelves, I will begin to feel more in control and confident of being able to produce a table full of bears in time for the Big Day.
23" Humphrey - will make his debut at the Teddies 2008 show.
Next week I will re-focus on my order book, but in the meantime, this weekend I have a fabulous piece of curly golden mohair calling to me from my sewing table and you guessed it, yes, he's the next 'Prima Donna Big 'un' destined for Hugglets!
Friday 25 July 2008
Theft at the Musée du Jouet
One man's passion is another man's prize? Surely not?!
I wanted to post this message to let you know my toy museum received "visitors" last night....All my antiques dolls have been stolen, most of my trains (O gauge), and lots of little cars, truck and bus made between 1910 and 1935.Lucky I am they did not know teddy bear very well and they made not the choice choice !!!!Maybe, we never know, if some of you hear of a lot of french toys for sale, an unusual lot of french dolls, or of trains, please contact me.I dont' dream, I know it is going to be very diffocult to find a part of my heart that is gone but well as we say "Tant qu'il y a de la vie, il y a de l'espoir translated as "as long as there is life, there is hope still . Thank in advance for you help, Eric.
So, my message to you is, please 'keep 'em peeled'! As Eric says in his message, if you see anything suspicious while you are browsing Ebay, antique shops, collectors' shows etc., please let him know.
http://www.jouetmusee.com/document.php?project=jouetmusee&locale=fr&doc=Contacts
Thursday 24 July 2008
Poorly Puddle
Taking a cat nap
Wednesday 23 July 2008
Bearing All Blog Award!
Arte y pico Award
The fun part of this award is that is now my turn to consider who I would like to receive the award! I am permitted to select five special bloggers for this privilege and so, after considering the many blogs I enjoy visiting, I would like to list below, the five blogs I currently find most inspiring for my own work as a teddy bear creator ... I do hope you can make time to visit these very special bloggers.
2. Aleta's 'The Silly Bear' ... this lady has the most amazing eye for subtle feminine colour and can make something beautiful from virtually nothing! I never tire of her beautiful pictures and Pollyanna outlook on life. Aleta is also a gifted bear artist! You can visit Aleta at: http://thesillybear.blogspot.com/
3. Tami's 'Inside my studio' ... Tami creates truly beautiful big bears with such soul. She is also an amazingly talented maker of dolls and a wonderful artist toboot. A super lady with lovely gentle humour. I think you really will enjoy a trip to: http://insidemystudio.blogspot.com/
4. Karen's 'Cider Antiques' ... I can't resist this blog! Karen has a artistic eye for all things vintage and constantly inspires me with her stunning collections. Please pop over for a visit: http://www.ciderantiques.blogspot.com/
5. Deborah's 'Land of Nod' ... what a great name for a blog! Deborah's blog always makes me smile, not only does she have a wonderfully entertaining writing style, her pictures are beautiful and her talent seems to know no bounds! One week there will be a stunning teddy bear to see, another fabulously whimsical altered art and another ... well, why pop over for a visit to find out! You will find Deborah tucked away at: http://www.bearhavenbears.blogspot.com/
Monday 21 July 2008
Just like Grandad ...
Wednesday 16 July 2008
Tiddlywink, a pal for Domino
14" Tiddlywink 2008
22" Domino 2007
I didn't want to be predictable and completely replicate Domino in a smaller size, so instead I thought it would be fun to base Tiddlywink's design in a smilar style, but focus on the colours of Domino's buttons, making little Tiddlywink a dramatic black and red bear, with pale beige head. I also opted to use my special hand painted eyes in a similar shade to Domino, to reinforce the family resemblance! Tiddlywink will wear a matching collar, just like his big brother, when he travels to meet his new owner later this week. I think these two bears will look very smart together in their new home!
Tuesday 15 July 2008
The UK Teddy Bear Guide 2009
All Bear's 'UK Teddy Bear Guide' advertisement for 2009
After some degree of procrastination I have chosen 'Victor' for this advertisement because for me, he sums up what All Bear is all about. He's obviously proud to be British and is traditional but far from boring ... the perfect 'All Bear' mascot for 2009!
If you would like to purchase a copy of the 2009 Hugglets' UK Teddy Bear Guide, please visit www.hugglets.co.uk to place your order. The Guide is published will be published in October 2008.
Monday 14 July 2008
Leybourne Lakes, a Sunday stroll
Peeking at the Leybourne housing development across the lake
My son recently mentioned there was a place called 'Leybourne Lakes' within about ten minutes drive of our house. I had assumed it would be just another housing development as there are so many popping up in the area, but it just goes to show, you really do need to look further than the end of your nose sometimes!
The tranquility of Leybourne Lakes
I wasn't completely wrong, because there is a housing development next to the lakes. The newish development is quite unusual for the UK, with all the houses painted in pretty shades of blues, creams and reds, not at all like our more predictable British red brick buildings. In fact, although I've never visited the States, these colourful weatherboarded properties make me think far more of American style dwellings than traditional British homes ... any of you visiting my blog from the States will have to correct me if I'm wrong! (You can just about make out the colours of the buildings in my photographs, despite the overcast start to our afternoon.)
A housing development isn't really my idea of the perfect choice for a Sunday afternoon walk, but I was prepared to give it a go. I had no idea 'Leybourne Lakes' would also prove to be a very picturesque country park with the development built overlooking actual lakes, complete with ducks and geese.
In fact, we were soon ambling along woodland tracks edged with weeping willows alongside peaceful lakes, far away from the more populated areas and as you can see, (this time I remembered my camera!) the area was very pretty indeed and best of all, the heavy clouds cleared and the sun came out!
We walked for a good couple of hours before heading back to the park entrance for a well earned ice-cream ... yes, with a chocolate flake of course!
Friday 11 July 2008
British Bears on the Net gets a makeover!
British Bears on the Net logo
I have been responsible for BBN for quite a few years now and as with all such groups, it has its peaks and troughs in terms of membership activity, but over the past couple of years I've been a bit concerned that there have been slightly more troughs than peaks. At its best, BBN is an energetic chat group providing a sense of community to many bear artists who, like myself, work pretty much in isolation. (It isn't limited to bear artists, we also have many collectors, makers, suppliers, shops, magazines and so on ... in fact, all the colours of a beary rainbow make up our membership and many friendships have been formed between members) However, we have been in existence for so many years, I think maybe we've been suffering a degree of complacency, with more lurkers than active contributors of late.
New BBN Coffee Shop logo
Here's to a very bright future for British Bears on the Net!
Wednesday 9 July 2008
Grey days
Tuesday 8 July 2008
Going for gold!
The 2008 Teddy Bear Olympic Challenge
Hosted by the Taiwan Teddy Bear Association, this fun competition is now open for public voting and YOUR VOTE COUNTS! Please take a moment to visit the competition to cast your vote by clicking the link above.
Belt and braces
It was as easy as that. With one little click I was on my way and five minutes later was fully backed-up, so if anything terrible should ever happen in Blogland (war, pestilence ... that kind of thing!) 'Bearing All' can be restored and all will be well with my tiny world. I will definitely sleep a little easier tonight!
Friday 4 July 2008
Dashing Pablo
I guess there's nothing else for it, I'd better get back to work quicksmart to make sure there are plenty more special bears emerging from my workroom this year!
Thursday 3 July 2008
Oh Grasshopper ...
Pretty pale pink vintage Nottingham Lace collar
I returned from Majorca to a substantial pile of less than interesting mail and thankfully, to several far more interesting brown packages which had arrived in my absence. These gorgeous bits and pieces will be added to my magpie stash for future inspiration!
Published 1989
Lovely vintage crochet collar
Another super vintage crochet collar
Such skilled workmanship! Close up of vintage crochet flower collar
I like to keep my eyes open for possible beary bits whenever I'm online and as well as the beautiful collars which are an absolute delight in terms of hand crafting skill, I was so pleased to find some gorgeous sky blue and lilac cotton velvet for my bears' paws just before my holiday - such pretty colours!
Beautiful cotton velvets for paw pads
After opening my post and dealing with the inevitable housework and endless laundry throughout the week, my 'to-do list' also dictated I had accounts to reconcile, supplies to purchase, advertisements to create, website and blog updates to produce and a list of emails as long as my arm, to respond to. Despite all that, I still managed to make a start on a new bear! I have one more fabric yet to sample for Intercal and so this little cub is currently being created in their new 3/8" dense straight pile mohair, he will be white by the way. I have give him pure wool felt paw pads and inner ears airbrushed in a nice olive shade (a tiny nod to my week in Spain!) ... I think he's going to be lovely! He should be making his debut on my website in the next day or so.
Tuesday 1 July 2008
It's competition time again - URSA Awards!
Florrie - Category 2
Raffles - Category 7
The outcome of this competition will be determined purely by public vote, so if you think my bears have what it takes, I would be eternally grateful for your votes! Thank you so much!
Polite Request
I hope you enjoy sharing my blog and politely request that you do not copy either text or photographs without my permission.
Thank you.