A river runs through ...

So, as I was saying yesterday, my car only just managed to wend its way home after Sunday's show and the engine sounded like a rocket launcher as we pootled along the motorway.  By the time we arrived home, she was complaining bitterly.  Unluckily for me, the auto-centre is what I would term 'a significant hike' from my house, so when I limped my little Saxo gingerly along the road for surgery yesterday morning, I knew I'd be in for a long, tedious wait while she was fixed ...

The Royal Star Arcade coffee shop

... and that was when I remembered a comment Yvonne made on Sunday about enjoying my blog walks!  So, rather than mope around in town for hours on my own, I slipped my point 'n shoot digicam into my handbag so you could join me while my catalytic converter was being fitted! 

The Royal Star Arcade built in 1989 on the site of the old Star Hotel - where I used to disco way back in the days when strawberry lipgloss was 'cool'!

The first picture is a bit of a giveaway; after popping into a book shop to hunt down a new paperback, I decided to indulge myself with a cappucino and pecan and maple syrup danish pastry.  Several chapters of my book later, I remembered my camera and began to snap discreetly as I went on my way ...

Middle Row, I used to go to disco's here too when I was a girl!  Sadly the street is fairly run down these days - a real shame; but if you look above eye level, there are still  plenty of clues to Maidstone's history ...

Fortunately it stayed dry while I was walking and it was quite warm,  so although the skies were heavy with cloud, rain didn't interfere with my play. 

These days Maidstone suffers in much the same way as many other towns, with boarded up shops, gum plastered pavements and general air of 'can't be botherdness', but if you know where to look, it is still possible to enjoy the best of this historic County Town and after more than thirty years of residence, my feet have traipsed all over the town and know exactly where to take me ...

The Bell Tower, All Saints Church

All Saints Church is a beautiful building, whether you 'got religion' or didn't.  I won't whitter on here like a history teacher, suffice it to say this is a fourteenth century church and not only was my niece baptised here, I have also attended many charming Christmas carol, Easter and Harvest Festival services here whilst working with the infant department of All Saints C of E Primary School, which is across the road.  One day I'd like to look out at Maidstone from the top of that magnificent bell tower!

The Archbishop's Palace

Taking these pics for you gave me the perfect excuse to slip down the steps behind the Bell Tower to show you 'The Archbishop's Palace' built by Archbishop Courtenay in 1396.  I think this is probably the most impressive building in Maidstone.  These days it is the town's Register Office and many a bride and groom have been photographed with the front elevation gracing the background (including two of my sisters in fact!) but my favourite view is here at the rear of the building, where it dominates the riverside.

The Millenium Bridge

Surprisingly perhaps, modern mingles quite comfortably with medieval in this area.  I'm guessing no matter how rich in history an area is, life moves on demanding practical solutions to modern day needs - no matter the romance of yesteryear!  I confess that when the Millenium Bridge was opened in 1999, I shuddered at the concept of something so blatantly contemporary being built across the Medway close to the Archbishop's Palace and All Saints Church, but when I realised this little metal bridge could bring the local 'B &Q' do-it-yourself store so much closer to me, my ire began to soften ...

Medway Bridge

I have no idea how many times I have crossed this ancient bridge.  As a child I crossed it twice a day to reach school and as an adult, who knows how many times to reach the shops!  I think it's one of those purposeful constructions that is used so frequently, it becomes almost invisible with time.  It was rebuilt in 1879 and now draws traffic away from the town centre but I think it lends the town a sense of permanence and has a certain solid, supportive charm ...

Travel Lodge

I couldn't resist including this recent glaring monstrosity.  A 'Travel Lodge' now perches on the side of the river upsteam from the historical buildings ... talk about a blot on our landscape!

Invicta Regimental War Memorial

I think Maidstone is like many towns, a mix of the old and the new.  It's a little jaded around its rather scruffy edges, but like the river that has always flowed through it, the town moves forward reflecting current times, whilst quietly remembering its past.

Showing off ...

Well, show day came and went in a flash as they always do and now my head's in a whirl after all the chatting yesterday!  As the hours have slipped through my fingers today, I've been feeling wearier and wearier and ... yawn!  I shouldn't complain though, it was a very good day for 'All Bear' yesterday and I am so thrilled to be able to tell you, all my bears found new homes.

Set up in the nick of time!

We arrived in the morning with half an hour to spare before the queue of eager collectors flew into the building and from that point on, I don't think I stopped chatting for more than about five minutes at a time - in fact, whenever I tried to grab a mouthful of sandwich, or gulp a glug of coffee down, someone else said 'hello Paula'!  It was fun catching up with old friends at the show and meeting new collectors for the first time and I was very happy to have my stand situated next door to lovely Yvonne and Chris (www.bebbinbears.co.uk) so we could enjoy a good ol' natter between customers ... oh yes, it really was the very most sociable kind of day!

Kensington Town Hall

Barbara and Mungo

Those of you who have visited the Hugglets shows in past years may remember Frank Webster's 'Charnwood Bears'.  (In fact, Frank made the very first artist bear I ever collected!)  Frank, one of the UK's longest standing teddy bear artists, has created many great bears over the years but one of his biggest characters (quite literally!) must be 'Mungo', shown above with his owner Barbara.  'Mungo' has visited many bear shows over the years and yesterday, he arrived at my stand in spectacular style garbed as a pearly king.  Barbara, who I have known for many years, has worked tirelessly creating fabulous outfits to assist Mungo in his charitable fund raising activities and after chatting with creator Frank, she decided to rise to his challenge of creating a special nautical themed pearly outfit for Mungo.  Little did Barbara realise at the outset exactly what that would involve!  It's hard to imagine how many hours were involved in researching, designing and sewing on 4,200 buttons to create such a stunning outfit for Mungo, but I think you'll agree with me, the result is absolutely fabulous!

The Great Hall

I almost forgot to mention my Autumn Dolly Doodle!  If you were wondering, yes I did finish her just in time for the show and here she is .. (this time wearing bloomers to spare her modesty!)

Autumn Aggie

After a successful day 'showing off', Stuart and I loaded the stand equipment into my Saxo and started the engine.  Fortunately the traffic home wasn't too heavy, but as we sailed along the motorway we both noticed my little engine emitting more of a roar than its usual gentle purr ... 

... but, *yawn*, that's a story for another day.  I think it's time for this sleepy bear maker to sink into her armchair before she falls asleep at the keyboard ...!

Nailing it!

By some little miracle seven new bears have materialised in time for tomorrow's show ... hooray!!!!  I'm calling them my 'Careworn Classics' because they are all lovely cuddly traditional bears created in semi-careworn style.  Needless to say, I would have preferred to have a couple more bears for my stand, (isn't that always the way?!) but never mind, seven should be fine.  I spent yesterday on my knees crawling around the living room floor between cables and lighting equipment, with camera in hand ... you would not believe how long it takes to photograph seven bears and today my old lady legs actually ache as a result of all the crouching and crawling!

My 'Careworn Classics' collection

Full details and more pics can be found on my website at www.allbear.co.uk

Unfortunately I haven't quite managed to finish 'Autumn Prim Dolly Doodle', so she sends her apologies because it's unlikely she will be able to attend in person tomorrow.  As you can see below, she's not really dressed for the occasion!

My Autumn Prim Dolly Doodle

If I conjure up some spare time this afternoon, I will make her dress and bloomers from those lovely fabrics on the chair and if by another little miracle they don't take too long, maybe I'll be able to finish her hair and shoes too ... but with all the other 'little' jobs waiting for me today, I think it's unlikely she'll be dressed and decent enough to show off in Kensington tomorrow.

So here I am on the day before show day with a list of jobs as long as my arm to complete, not least of which is making time to paint my tatty chipped nails before they disgrace me in public! 

If you were to peek into my workroom today you'd probably frown at the chaos I've created, but I'm simply going to close the door this weekend and worry about tidying next week - there's no point making too much work for myself today when there are so many more important jobs to deal with.  The most important thing is that everything is packed and ready to travel to London at the crack of dawn!

For full show details please visit: www.hugglets.co.uk

If you are hoping to come to the 'Teddies 2010' show tomorrow, please stop by stand 75 in Hall 2 to meet my bears, we'd all love to meet you!

Teddies Worldwide Holiday Show!

How exciting, a new online show in time for Christmas!

 
Daphne Blau of 'Backroad Bears' is well known for creating lovely bears, ellies and dolls (and occasionally the odd lion too!) but she is not only a teddy bear artist, oh no!  In her 'spare' (ha!) time Daphne also organises two super US teddy bear shows.  How she finds the time for all these commitments I will never know, but I am delighted to announce multi-talented Daphne has now added 'international webshow' to her list of promotions and as I never could resist a good idea, I've signed up to exhibit!

www.teddiesworldwide.com

This show looks like being a whole lot of fun with bear artists from all around the world creating special bears and gifts especially for the event, so please reserve the weekend of 20th & 21st November to join us!

Elves, where are you when I need you?

This week is disappearing fast and I still have so much to do before the show opens in London on Sunday morning.  My poor old arm is holding me back - I'm not quite sure what I've done to it, but I have a sneaking suspicion it probably falls within the 'repetitive strain injury' category ... bearmakers beware, those years of stuffing, tweaking and tugging may well catch up with you too one day!

I am trying to rest my arm as much as possible, but of course, that isn't a very practical solution for stocking a show table ... I could really do with a cheerful team of helpful elves at my disposable!

One for the pot!

This poor little bear is still a 'work-in-progress', but I thought I'd share his before and after pics here with you before I give him a brush and maybe a rusty ol' bell, and send him on his way.  When I first started distressing bears to achieve a careworn look I was nervous about treating my bears quite so radically, but as you can see, I'm so over that now! 

Cute, but not nearly grungy enough for the scruffy, careworn look I want ...

Aha!  Did you notice my stockpot in the previous picture?  Time for this little bear to take a very quick dunk in my magic brew ... I know, wicked aren't I?! Lol!

To stain the parts my special brew can't reach, a thorough sponging!

Oh dear, one soggy little bear ...

A night spent in the airing cupboard to dry and here he is, a rather scruffy, grubby and  sorry looking fellow!  Perfect!

Before and after!

Careworn bears may not be to everyone's taste, but I think they have a special 'take me home please, I need to be loved' quality and they sure are fun to make!

The Careworn Celtic Collection

'McTavish', 'Morag' and little 'Logan' are wrapped up warmly in preparation for their impending journey to Abderdeen in bonny Scotland, where they will make their official debut at http://www.sillybears.co.uk/ from September 1st.  Before they wend their way north of the border though, I couldn't resist showing them off a little here first!

'The Careworn Celtic Collection'

Perfect places

Now and again it doesn't hurt to stop the world and reminisce for a moment or two, does it?  Perfect times, in perfect places, here are a few of mine ...

Polperro, Cornwall

I have spent many wonderful holidays in this enchanting fishing village

Pagham, Sussex

Memories of a special holiday with Stuart and his grandson

Old Pollensa Town, Majorca

Our wonderful holiday in the Spanish sunshine

Mote Park Lake, Maidstone

More than thirty years of walks, beautiful in all seasons

Clovelly, Devon

Wonderful memories of this unique fishing village

Myrtos Beach, Kefalonia

Our fabulous Greek holiday this year

Boscastle, Cornwall

Happy family times - usually in the rain! 

Visits to my favourite pottery

Teston Bridge, Maidstone

Quintessentially English, a lovely stroll

The River Medway, Maidstone

An integral part of my family life in Maidstone across three decades

Watersmeet, Devon

Beautiful scenery, walking with Stuart in Devon

Knowle Park, Sevenoaks

A stunning Autumn walk

Port Isaac, Cornwall

Visiting Doc Martin, laughing in the rain!

Polperro to Talland Bay cliff walk

So many walks, over so many years ... always breathtaking

War Memorial, Talland Bay, Cornwall

The most perfect spot for a memorial

Talland Bay, Cornwall

Rock pooling with my kids, cliff walking with Stuart

River Avon, Stratford Upon Avon

Watching the world sail by on a perfect summer's evening 

Mousehole, Cornwall

Happy holidays in pretty South West Cornwall

Heddon Valley, Devon

A stunning cliff walk with Stuart on a clear day and yes, we could see forever ...

All things advertising

It occurred to me this morning, if I want to have promotional postcards available for the Teddies 2010 show on September 12th I'd jolly well better organise myself and design some!  So, with a cup of coffee to hand and specs perched on my nose, I've twiddled and tweaked in Photoshop and this is what I've come up with ...

My new promotional postcard for 'Teddies 2010' show

Ad copy for the 2011 'Teddy Bear Annual'

While we're on the subject of advertising and promotion, I recently designed the above ad for the 2011 edition of the 'Teddy Bear Annual' which is now on sale. I used a very similar advertisement for 'The UK Teddy Bear Guide 2010' too, but had that one printed in black and white as colour ads can be pretty costly and we teddy bear artists have to keep a careful eye on our advertising budgets!

If you would like to purchase a copy of the 'Teddy Bear Annual' please visit:

http://www.collectors-club-of-great-britain.co.uk/magazines/default.asp?magazine=5

And 'The UK Teddy Bear Guide 2010' can be purchased from:

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

Happy bear reading!

Biscuits and good fortune!

This collection of bears has been fun to make!  They will be heading to 'One More Bear', a lovely teddy bear shop in Stoke on Trent, tomorrow.  I think I must have been obsessing about biscuits when I named the first three bears ... names like 'McVitie', 'Strawberry Shortcake' and 'Hobnob' give the game away eh?!  I sure do love a biscuit!

20" 'McVitie', 14" 'Strawberry Shortcake' and 12" 'Hobnob' have been created exclusively for 'One More Bear'.

Tracy, the shop owner, also put in a request for a classic panda bear, so I created the handsome 20" 'Fausto' to travel with the biscuit bears ... he's quite majestic don't you think?!  His name means 'Lucky', so let's hope he brings good fortune to Tracy by finding his special someone quickly!

Fausto will also be available exclusively from 'One More Bear' in Stoke on Trent.

I'm continuuing with my shop exclusive theme for a little while longer as I have another shop waiting for an order too and once those bears have been brought to life, I will need to start work straightaway on the 'Teddies 2010' show bears ... I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to be busy, busy, busy!

Nesbit is a 2010 URSA AWARDS FINALIST!

I am delighted to be able to tell you dear ol' Nesbit has been voted a finalist in the 2010 URSA Awards.  Thank you so much for taking the time to vote for him, your vote really did count! 

Nesbit is a 2010 URSA AWARDS FINALIST!

Now the time has come for the final round of voting.  This competition is judged solely by public vote, so your vote is very important. If you would like to choose the one special bear you think deserves to hold the title of  '2010 URSA MAJOR', please click the link below to cast your final vote!

2010 URSA AWARDS FINAL VOTE!

Good luck Nesbit!

Does the breeze blow a kiss?

I posted this poem when I first started writing my blog.  It still makes me smile, so I thought I'd share it with you here today ... I hope you enjoy the read and yes, in case you are wondering, it was written by my occasionally whimsical self!

DOES THE BREEZE BLOW A KISS?

Will the world stop turning

If the sun stops yearning

To shine

Each and every day?

And does the breeze blow a kiss

When the sky’s all a-mist

To cheer up

Its miserable ways?

Do the stars ever croon

When they gaze at the moon

As they float

On their Milky Way?

And does thunder ever wonder

If it's really made a blunder

When it rumbles

Through a Summer's day?

Can the wind really tickle

The leaves of a thistle,

Pick berries from the mistletoe?

And when all is said and done

Can a moonbeam truly hum?

These are the things

I'd like to know.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Autumn on my mind

Autumnal Dolly Doodling ...

So here we are at the start of the school summer holidays and already I have Autumn on my mind!  It's not so surprising though, when Stuart and I walked through the woods yesterday we noticed brambles carpetting the ground already, so I'm guessing it won't be many more weeks until those prickly creepers are laden with juicy blackberries and we can return with Stuart's grandson to gather a bucketful and stain him purple in the process!

I'm still up to my eyeballs in teddy bear creations, so there haven't been any dolly doings in my workroom for far too long, but that hasn't stopped me from planning my next project - after all, Autumn is such a great time for Prim Dolly Doodling.   I am determined to find time to make an autumnal dolly or two this year and as you can see, have started to harvest a few seasonal bits 'n pieces in readinness ... progress pics to follow shortly, with a little luck!