Bertie, a bear with Olde English flair

'Bertie'

There are times when an idea pops into my head and I become quite nervous about seeing it through, because I know it will be a complete diversion from what I usually create for my collectors. Still, you know how it is, a bear maker's gotta do, what a bearmaker's gotta do and I do love a challenge!

17" Olde English style bear, 'Bertie'

You may remember the lovely 'Leon' bear I created in tribute to my favourite bears of all time, the fabulous English Chiltern Hugmees, well, I can tell you now I've been itching to evolve that design into a 'proper' old English style teddy, not a replica, but a fresh new All Bear teddy (with twinkly midnight blue eyes!) for 2008. 17" Bertie is the outcome!

'Bertie's' profile ... note the typically flat head, short muzzle and lack of hump

Now, come on, be honest, if I had told you in advance I would be making a bear with an overly large head resting on a stout little body with undersized limbs, you might have thought I'd finally lost the plot eh? So I'm hoping that with a few photographs to scrutinize, your view may soften a little!

Bertie's behind!

Naturally, I didn't want to stray too far from the original charms of the early English teddy bear, so I have chosen a cotton velvet for his paw pads and have kept his trim to a classic satin bow. With the fabulous fabrics we now have available in the UK, I could have been spoiled for choice, but for me it was an easy decision and this beautiful soft honey mohair and silk blend seemed the perfect choice.

Those modern twinkly eyes give Bertie a lovely soulful expression

Don't worry, if Bertie isn't the bear for you, more familiar All Bears will soon be making their way along! However, if you are keen to find out a little more about the original English Chiltern Hugmee bears and their place in my design process, I hope you will enjoy reading some of the other thoughts I have thunk on the subject:

http://allbear.blogspot.com/search/label/Chiltern%20Hugmees

Incidentally, I have at last worked out what 'tags' are for. Apparently they are used to categorise blog posts conveniently for readers: so, if there is a subject of interest to you, please check out the 'labels' listed in the left hand column of my blog (you may have to scroll down a bit to find them) and click on a heading - by the magic of Blog Land, all relevant posts will be pulled together especially for you! Handy eh?!