The story of Honeythunder

 

The story of Honeythunder

The teddy bears I create are for other people to own and enjoy, I have never actually owned one of my own bears ... until now that is!

Honeythunder, made by me twenty years ago, has come full circle! ❤️ 

His story began in 2006, when I designed him for a specialist teddy bear show in London. Honeythunder met his new owners at that show and it was the last I saw of him. Fast forward twenty years and I could hardly believe my eyes when I spotted him for sale online, offered by a completely different teddy bear collector. I simply couldn't resist the opportunity to invite my lovely teddy bear home, so contacted the new seller to ask if they would be willing to let me rehome my own bear...

In doing so, I then learned Honeythunder had somehow found his way from the original owners, to an auction house, where he was purchased by a shop, then sold to another teddy bear collector, who also happened to have been an All Bear collector over the years. Quite an adventure for any teddy bear!

When I received Honeythunder yesterday, he arrived carefully wrapped and in pristine condition, clearly well taken care of over the past two decades ... and I was delighted to discover his growler still worked after all those years! I don't yet know why Honeythunder was rehomed with several other of my bears at auction, but I do know his first owner loved these bears and took exceptionally good care of them for many years, as did his subsequent owner. Whatever the reason for Honeythunder finding his way onto the secondary market in 2026, I am grateful and delighted to have my beautiful Honeythunder safely back home with my personal collection of special teddy bears!

Carousel and chat

 

Carousel and Chat

This lovely clown teddy bear was created at the request of a collector. Working with such bold, pretty colours has certainly brightened my week!

In other news, I have been making the most of our dry summer weather between heatwaves, spending time outdoors with my family, walking dogs and enjoying visits to our local country parks. I also accepted an invitation to a Cavalier King Charles party in Royal Tunbridge Wells with my daughter a couple of weeks ago! Full of curiosity, we took little Ed, her cheeky young Cavvie, along to a hotel to meet a gathering of other equally lively Cavalier King Charles pups and my goodness, they turned up in their droves! Some big, some small, some wearing bows and bowties ... one wearing a tutu!!! After saying a few shy hellos and eagerly lapping his complimentary puppucino (oh the calories!) our sweet Eddie decided the Royal Tunbridge Wells crowd were a fun lot but so many in one space was perhaps a little overwhelming, so we snuck out and headed to beautiful Dunorlan Park for a peaceful stroll around the lake instead. Ed swept up leaves with his beautiful long ears as he bumbled along enjoying sniffs a-plenty and watching the birdies fly by. Much more our thing!

Last weekend my daughter invited me to vist a local rose farm with Ed. It was an end-of-season event and being rose lovers, we couldn't resist the opportunity to browse among rows of blowsy blooms! After a welcoming cuppa, Ed trotted along the rose rows with us, while we ummed and ahhed over which we would like for our gardens. Little Ed quickly made friends with the owners' handsome Goose, a magnificent mink coloured labrador, who despite reportedly being not confident with humans, decided to keep us company on our mooch around the rose field. It was a lovely visit (thank you Eastcroft Roses!) and among others, we chose Pink Paradise, Dancing Queen and Cherry Girl, for a spot of autumn planting in our own gardens.

Today is the start of the new school year, so an important one for my Grandchildren. Once again, the holidays have flown by way too soon. We very much enjoyed our long leisurely Tuesdays together, arting, walking, knitting, reading, computing, exploring and of course, eating fish fingers ... but today is the day new school uniforms are donned, shoes are shone and teachers take over. It is also the day my Grandson transfers from Primary into Secondary School ... it seems only yesterday I was holding his hand on the way home from Reception Class as a four year old and now he is tall, handsome and looks like a bank manager in smart new blazer and tie! My goodness, time is so precious ...

I wish them both the best of everything school life can offer and have everything crossed in the hope they enjoy the first day of their new school year. I will be back on Nana Duty next week and look forward to my car buzzing with their school day chatter, on our way home from school. 

We are edging into Autumn now and today, have rain. The gardens are slowly starting to recover after what was a pretty brutal Summer this year... although my poor lawn has yet to fully recover. The cooler air is such a relief, so you won't hear me complain about the rain (not for a wee while anyway!)

I hope you have enjoyed your Summer (or Autumn, or Winter, depending on where you are reading this post) and look forward to sharing my new season's teddy bears with you on my website, in the coming weeks!