With love from me to you

WITH LOVE FROM ME TO YOU

I wonder, what style of teddy bear do you like best? It's a tricky question, I know! There are so many wonderful teddy bears available online these days, it must be very hard to choose that one special teddy bear...

Since the start of the pandemic I have stayed home and shopped online. I learned that I don't actually need shops in my life and a good photograph will suffice in most cases when choosing what to buy. I don't miss stuffy changing rooms, queues or busy car parks and I certainly don't miss being hustled and bustled in busy stores. No, online shopping suits me just fine these days. I even managed to order a lovely new rose for my garden last week ...(although, if I'm honest, I did feel a twinge of nostalgia for mooching along rows of roses at the garden centre, umming and aahing over which would be my perfect choice).  I suppose one day I may rediscover the urge to visit a shop, but until then I am content to scroll, click and wait patiently for my deliveries.

I think in the case of teddy bears, choosing a companion bear from a photograph must be quite a trepiditious affair. Teddy bears are by nature a cuddlesome purchase so when buying online, a sense of touch is swapped for sight ... and imagination. It becomes ever more important to trust your bear maker when buying online. Thankfully, the wonder of the internet provides us with opportunities to 'chat' ...in fact probably more so now than at an actual teddy bear show where time was always so limited!

I used to love watching collectors reaching for my bears at teddy bear shows. It was always a privilege to witness those first few seconds in person, when a bear caught the eye of a collector and the collector couldn't resist picking him up for a cuddle. Nowadays of course, that precious moment happens after a teddy bear has already been purchased, packed into his box for travel to a distant horizon and safely delivered to a new owner after I have wished him a safe journey. Times have changed but fundamentally, the process of falling in love with a special bear does still happen... a teddy bear catches the eye of a collector across the internet, rather than across a crowded show room and when he (or she!) arrives at their door, I like to imagine the box being carefully opened and the same joy on the new owner's as they reach inside to hug their bear for the very first time ... 

I may not be able to share smiles and conversation in person with collectors these days, but my bears will always share them on my behalf, wherever they travel in the world ... with love, from me to you.

Change is as good as a rest

The Winter Bearfest will be taking place in London tomorrow but sadly I won't be among the exhibitors this time.  Rather than worry about reserving teddy bears for shows, I plan to work at my own pace in future, fitting  my bear making in, with time for Polly, Betty and Toby.  After exhibiting with Hugglets for twenty years, I sure will miss all the fun of being in London with everyone else this year, but hopefully will be able to make a return with my bears in the not too distant future ... fingers crossed!

20" Marshmallow

I will of course, continue to make special bears for special people!  This pretty 20" pink 'n white girl was recently commissioned by a keen collector.  She is named 'Marshmallow' and will be meeting her new mum next week.  New mum has been waiting for my tennis elbow to settle so I could finish the knitted dungarees ... thank you so much for being so patient!

Wishing all my bear making friends and teddy bear collectors a wonderful show in London tomorrow.  I hope the day is full of magical teddy bear buzz! Have fun!

An inviting decision

I um-med ah-ed for quite some time when invitations for next year's Hugglets' shows arrived, because after so many years exhibiting at their lovely London shows, committing to a change of plan, had me feeling very torn, but the truth is, I have been struggling to create enough bears to set aside for shows since Polly, Betty and my Grandson arrived and to be absolutely honest, after twenty years of bear-making, much as I have enjoyed the shows, I no longer have an appetite for the inevitable deadline crisis that always has me in a last minute twirl of bear-making madness.

Preparing to exhibit at bear shows is time consuming and costly, so I have come to the conclusion that in preparation for 2016, it is time to put on my big girl pants and make a firm decision about how to move forward. The result is, I will be taking a break from shows for the foreseeable future.  

There. I've said it, so that makes it real. Phew!

So, I am looking forward to working at a more gentle pace, creating bears from the heart, walking each day with my girls, taking care of home, hearth and  husband and of course, sharing time with my precious Grandson while he is still little enough to need me. 

Yes, I think it's time to put the brakes on a little and maybe even smell those roses!

I will continue to share new bears via my website and will of course, keep in contact as usual, through my blog, mailing list, Facebook page, Twitter, Bearpile and ... well, you get the picture. 

You can take the bear-maker out of the shows, but you can't take the bear-maker out of the ... er bear-maker!

:-)

A Winter Bearfest Break

I should probably mention I will be taking a break from this year's 'Winter Bearfest' show at Kensington Town Hall in London at the end of February.  With too many other prior commitments dominating my time, I thought it highly unlikely I would manage to create sufficient bears for the show this year, so decided reluctantly, to give myself permission to decline my invitation.

My apologies to anyone who may have been hoping to see my bears at the Feb show ... I will miss you!  I will be exhibiting at Hugglets again in September though, so hope to see you there instead.

Hugglets done and dusted for another year ..

So that's Kensington done for another year!

My exhibition stand

I think my first Hugglets' show would have been back in the mid/late 1990's and it hardly seems possible I have been exhibiting at this show for the best part of twenty long years! 

Peeking out from behind my stand five minutes before closing

As usual I spent the entire day chatting ... in fact every time I popped behind my stand to grab something to eat or drink, another collector would arrive at my table - this truly is a very sociable show!  It was lovely to catch up with many old friends, good people who are the backbone of these shows.  Also such a privilege to make new friends discovering artist bears for the first time.  Thank you to everyone who shared their time to chat with me on Sunday and special thanks to those of you who took home one of my teddy bears - it is always a huge compliment when a collector commits to my work from among so many fabulous artists exhibiting at this prestigious show.

16.5" Logan is now available to adopt

19" Huckleberry is now sold

16" Pomegranate is now sold

I am happy to say only three of my bears came home with me after the show.  Each enjoyed a lovely fuss from many enthusiastic collectors, but either those kind folk had purchased already, or were simply unable to adopt on Sunday.  So, time now for me to pop Logan, Pomegranate and Huckleberry onto my website in the hope new owners will soon be found from around the globe.

Please let me know if any of these very special teddy bears tugs at your heartstrings ... I will be thrilled to hear from you!

www.allbearbypaula.com

Update: Huckleberry has been adopted!

My Autumn Celebration

Autumn is my favourite creative season, I love the colour, the smell, the dewy sense of anticipation ... 

An Autumn Celebration

And I am especially grateful to this most glorious of seasons, content in the knowledge my Dad woke to the joy of a perfectly golden Autumn day on the 17th of September, four years ago, his final day here with us.

 My Autumn Celebration Collection will be making a debut at the 'Teddies 2014' show in London on Sunday.  If you would like to say hello and meet me and my bears in person, we will be tucked in the corner of Hall 2, on stand 75.  

For full show details, please visit the organiser's website:

www.hugglets.co.uk 

A Tiddler of a show update!

This may well qualify as my smallest show update ever, but nonetheless, it IS a show update!

8" 'Thimbleberry' will be coming to the Hugglets show

There were moments when I questioned if I would actually succeed in making enough bears to display on my stand at this year's 'Teddies 2014' show (on Sunday 9th September) but by some miracle, have managed to create a select group of Autumn flavoured bears just in the nick of time to show visitors on Sunday - phew!

My Autumn collection of show bears ranges in size from 8" to 19".  This group of bears is sized smaller than usual, so hopefully, those of you who are space compromised and in need of more compact teddy bears, will be able to find a lovely new teddy to fit your needs.

If you would like to know more about the 'Teddies 2014' show, please visit the Hugglets website:

www.hugglets.co.uk

I am looking forward to saying hello in person!

A show update?

Let's just say, there have been times when I have been better organised before a show ...

Here comes Hugglets and yet I am still ploughing through piles of mohair between dog walks, housework and general 'life'.  Not quite sure how this will resolve ... all I can say is please watch this space and hopefully I will have updates any day soon!!!!

Teds in Tweed!

After receiving fabric samples from a couch maker recently, I couldn't resist ordering a cosy old fashioned wing chair and cushions to be made from Harris Tweed for our living room ... and being the bear maker I am, one thing naturally led to another!

Paying homage to the war time tradition of using alternative fabrics for making teddy bears (http://www.bourtonbears.com/bears-mohair.php) I will be making a few special teddy bears in Harris Tweed, complemented with pure wool felt paws, for the forthcoming 'Teddies 2014' show in London on 14th September.  This fabric has a lovely autumnal essence, perfect for creating cosy traditional teddies with olde worlde appeal.

If you would like to come along to the show to see my latest bears, please visit www.hugglets.co.uk for further details.

I spy ..

I spy with my little eye, blackberries ripening in the summer sunshine!  

It isn't yet quite time, but those blackberries leave me in no doubt that Autumn's delicate footstep will soon tiptoe through our English countryside, weaving early morning mists and lace webs, before taking a final flambuoyant bow in September and October.

The 'Teddies 2014' show will take place in London on the 14th September and I am looking foward to exhibiting in Hall 2, as usual; this wonderful specialist show always provides me with the perfect focus for my Autumnal inspirations. I am delighted to say, if Autumn is just around the corner, it is now time to gather together cosy fabrics and start work on my golden season teddies!

For further details about the 'Teddies 2014' show, please visit the organiser's website: www.hugglets.co.uk

New bears available to adopt!

The All Bear stand

With four large halls full of visitors and exhibitors at the Winter Bearfest show in London on Sunday, it was a good day for teddy bears, thanks to the Hugglets team.  People were immersed in the serious subject of bears everywhere, eager to chat, inspect and adopt.

Unfortunately my day didn't start well after spending the first couple of hours at the show trying to connect a new card reader to my mobile phone to take payments, but then being unable to establish a wifi connection ... so much for modern technology!  Maybe I should have stayed with my old paper voucher/swipe machine system after all?!  By lunchtime I'd given up all hope of making the wretched thing work and abandoned it before it spoiled my day entirely. The bears behaved impeccably despite the card reader hiccup.  They sat smartly on the stand, welcoming visitors and lapping up compliments, while I fussed and flapped ... I don't think there's a bear maker in the business who would be able to honestly say show days are never stressful!

Happily as the day wore on, five of my bears found lovely new owners.  The bears below came home with me after the show, despite being much admired; sometimes that's just the way shows go.  I am now free to offer these fine teddy bears for purchase online ...

Beau

Handsome Beau is a 20" mohair bear, created in traditional clown/jester style.
I have used a lovely dense wavy gold mohair for his head/paws and beautiful silky plum and sky blue for his body.Beau has black glass eyes, a professionally embroidered black nose and wool felt paw pads, which I have shaded. He wears a cotton lace collar tied with hand dyed ribbon and has vintage buttons stitched to his front. Inside this lovely bear's tummy is a growler.

Beau is priced at £325 plus shipping.Update: Beau has now been adopted.

Crumpet

Cutie-pie Crumpet is an 18" mohair bear, created from the same lovely dense wavy gold mohair I used for Beau. He has vintage black boot button eyes, a professionally embroidered black nose and wool felt paw pads, which I have shaded.  Crumpet wears an old fashioned key tied with hand dyed ribbon, around his neck.

Crumpet is priced at £250 plus shipping.

Rhett

Dear Rhett is a wonderfully chunky 20" teddy bear, created in a soft, mid-brown mohair. He has black glass eyes, a professionally embroidered black nose and wool felt paw pads, which I have shaded. Rhett wears a cheerful multi-coloured, hand knit waistcoat and like his companions, has a growler in his tummy.

Rhett is priced at £295 plus shipping.

Do any of these bears tug at your heartstrings?  If so, I would be delighted to hear from you and to help facilitate your investment in my special statement teddy bears, I am able to offer a layway instalment opportunity spread over three monthly instalments, if required. 

To arrange a purchase, simply email me at: allbearbypaula@aol.com 

Thank you!

Cutting it fine!

Talk about cutting it fine!  I am ploughing on with show preparations and there is still so much do, so please forgive me for keeping this post brief!

Introducing my 'New Romantics' show collection

18" Romeo

20" Beau

18" Lancelot'

20" Rhett

18" Crumpet

8" Patootie

This collection of teddy bears has been created especially for 'The Winter Bearfest' show in London and will be making their official debut in Hall 2 of Kensington Town Hall tomorrow. I will also be bringing along 'Gentle Star', a beautiful white bear I created at the end of 2013.

15" Gentle Star

I hope you will be able to come along and share in the fun.  I am looking forward to introducing my latest one-of-a-kind bears to you in person!

www.hugglets.co.uk

Countdown to The Winter Bearfest!

Only a few more days until my trip up to the 'Big Smoke' with my first bears of 2014 ... the days are flying past.

Show-bear-in-progress

 

For this show, I have created a select collection of beautiful traditional bears (sizes 8" to 20") from classic shades of gold/cinnamon, wearing scarves or knitted waistcoats.  I will also be bringing along a gorgeous plum/pale blue traditional clown bear, wearing a cotton lace collar tied with hand dyed ribbon.

Show-bear-in-progress

There is plenty more to do before I load my little car with stand paraphernalia at the weekend, not least of which will be to set up my studio and take formal photographs of each of the new bears ... but before I do that, I really must get my skates on and finish my final two big bears!

I will post studio pics of my completed show bears later this week for those who aren't able to visit the show, but if you are coming to Kensington Town Hall on Sunday, please pop over to stand 75 in Hall 2 to say hello and see the bears in the fur ... we bearmakers love to escape from our workrooms to share our bears with you in person on show days!

For details of 'The Winter Bearfest' including a full list of all the famous bear makers from both the UK and overseas who will be exhibiting, please visit the promoter's website: 

http://www.hugglets.co.uk/festivalindex.php

No shakin' 'em off!

It's funny how twenty years of bear-making works ... I started out mastering traditional teddy bears, then discovered new techniques so slipped towards creating contemporary bears for a good long while, when eventually the urge to try out a new take on a vintage twist grabbed me and my 'shabby chic' bears evolved ... but finally I'm facing facts, me and traditional bears are destined to stay together; this bearmaker is happy to tell you, there is just no shaking 'em off !

I am currently working towards the Hugglets' show in Kensington Town Hall in London, which takes place on the 23rd February.  I will be bringing along my latest traditional teddies to sit loud and proud on my stand, so I hope you will be able to come along to this very special show and meet us in person!

For full details of 'The Winter Bearfest Show' please visit the organiser's website:

www.hugglets.co.uk

Hey, I'm a bearmaker not an accountant!

Silly me turned a blind eye to my Tax Return until the very last minute (as usual!) then had to put my show bears on hold to plough through my paperwork right at the last minute to meet Friday's filing deadline on time.  I know these things need doing, but oh how I hate filling in my Tax Return ... I'm a bearmaker, not a flippin' accountant!  

Anyway, now that nasty job is done and dusted, it's time for me to get back to work on my show bears.  I already have a couple ready for the Winter Bearfest: the one in the picture above is called 'Crumpet' and the one below has yet to be named.  I think they make a really cute pair ... I hope you like them too.

I will take formal studio photographs on my posh camera when I have a few more bears finished, but in the meantime, thought you might enjoy seeing the bears exactly as I see them, after I have stitched the final stitch and they are sitting looking back at me from my workroom desk.

Besides show bears, I have several other projects to complete in February, not least of which will be a special limited edition of four splendid big bears for The Bear Shop's forthcoming catalogue.  I selected the fabric for these bears this morning and let me tell you, it is absolutely gorgeous - I am so looking forward to making them and it is a great compliment to have been invited to do so.

First things first though, today I have a sweet dark brown bear to work on for a lady in France and I need to paint a pair of twinkly eyes for him.  So that's enough blogging for now - back to work Paula!

A Bearmaker's Stride

As certain years have drawn to a close, I have pondered whether my bear making was all it should have been during that year ... last year was definitely one of those years.  Illness and a bouncy new puppy knocked a significant hole in my work schedule, causing me to miss shows and deadlines in 2013.  Naturally, Polly pup became my first priority once I'd recovered from a bout of ill heath earlier in the year, so bear-making hours were of necessity limited, as my focus shifted from bear design to obedience training.

I am happy to say, the months of dog training have been a huge benefit to us, helping Polly to become the polite, gentle and friendly girl I hoped for.  Our training has been very beneficial and Polly enjoys it so much we intend to continue indefinitely; but hopefully, now that her 'manic puppy phase' has passed, life will become more settled, allowing me to take up the reins of my bear business once more.

That said, 2013 wasn't a total wipeout for All Bear.  I like to put together a calendar and portfolio of my work at the end of each year to remind me of what I achieved and although undoubtedly, there were a few less bears emerging from my workroom last year, if I flick through my portfolio I am relieved (and quite surprised!) to see that somehow, I still managed to create a solid body of work during the year and even collected an 'Excellence in Bear Artistry' award!

Thankfully my 2014 calendar is now filling with scribbles for new commissions and show commitments, so the coming year already looks reasonably positive as far as my bears are concerned and with any luck, I may even find a little spare time for some 'Prim Dolly Doodling'. 

As I have said before, at the start of each New Year I like to try to learn a new skill by perhaps taking a course, or teaching myself something interesting.  I must admit, I thought 2013 had slipped by without me managing to do this, but in hindsight, I was thinking 'craft' and overlooked my dog training, which was of course, a totally fresh challenge with much to learn. 

After twenty years in the bear industry, I admit I was ready for a fresh challenge and dare I say, am quite proud of myself for tackling something so alien to me.  Joining a dog training group has been way outside my comfort zone and working with other dog owners in the great outdoors, after the comfort of my cosy workroom, certainly hasn't been an easy transition ... but it has been immensely rewarding and I am sure it has been beneficial to my health too!

By the way, the 'Winter Bearfest' in Kensington is looming and I am booked in to exhibit. One way or another, it's time for me to get organised and start work on my show bears. I am looking forward to getting back into my bear crafting stride!

If you would like to visit this superb display of teddy bear artistry in London on the 23rd February, please visit www.hugglets.co.uk for full details.  

I'll see you there!

Best laid plans ...

My best laid plans have been scuppered today.  It has been a tiring few weeks, then I was hit with a throbbing tooth and sinus infection in the middle of the night a couple of nights ago and much as I hoped it would ease, this morning I had to face facts, smiling and chatting are out of the question today, so there was nothing for it but to make my apologies and bow out of the Brighton show. I feel so bad for letting everyone down.  My sincerest apologies to you if you were hoping to meet my Christmas bears at the show.

22" Balthazar

Now the bears will miss their big day out, which is such a pity, so I have decided to offer them for immediate adoption from 'Santa's Sack' on my website this week ... 

Big 'ol Balthazar is my first offering.  He is an impressive 22" fellow, with vintage boot button eyes, guaranteed to make a statement under any Christmas tree and throughout the new year ahead!  If you would like to find him in your Christmas stocking, please visit my website at:

www.allbear.co.uk

Balthazar is happy to hop onto Santa's sleigh straightaway, to travel to you, wherever you are!

Update: Balthazar has now been adopted ... please visit my website to see which other bears are currently available for adoption, thank you!

Chasing squirrels ..

With Christmas only four weeks away, 'what's happening in the All Bear workroom?' I hear you ask ...  well, with only a week and a half until my Christmas show, I'm running way behind as usual.  I do have three lovely teddy bears under my belt for the new Brighton show, but with only a week and a half to go, this is definitely not as many as I would prefer by this stage!  Hopefully with a fair wind to blow a team of elves in my direction and a generous sprinkling of fairy dust to help us, there should be at least half a dozen brand new teddy bears to sit with my Christmas tree by the end of next week ... (and if I buy a tin of wrapped chocolates to share with visitors, that should also help fill a little more space on the stand!)

This is a quick peek into my workroom this morning ...

The shelf spaces are at last starting to fill ...

The knitted neck warmers I made last week are being worn ...

There are teddy bear pieces piled on my desk waiting to receive some of that magic fairy dust ...

And the reason for my oh-so-slow show progress is parked here on the carpet, hoping I'll put down my bear-making very soon to take her out chasing squirrels in the woods again!

Polly may have slowed down teddy bear production but I don't begrudge her a single bear ... my beautiful girl has been very time consuming since her arrival back in May, but in return, she has brought me so much joy each and every day!