Skylark

I have been pottering my way through the summer holidays, enjoying walks with my dogs and funshine days, playing and reading with my grandchildren. Between times, whenever the weather was cool enough, I made time to work on an occasional summery teddy bear.

There is the slightest hint of Autumn creeping into early mornings now, so I don't suppose it will be long before my bears take an autumnal turn and my thoughts turn to knitting needles and cosy yarns. Before Autumn happens though, there is just enough time to introduce a lovely summer clown, created from softest peach and pale bluey-grey mohair. I called him 'Skylark' and popped him onto my website this very morning.

19" Skylark

Skylark is a striking teddy bear, with chunky proportions and a tilt growler in his tummy. If he tugs at your heartstrings, I would be delighted to hear from you...

To find out more about this lovely clown bear, please pop over to my website:

www.allbearbypaula.com

Thank you!

:-)

A vintage Singer

Recently it dawned on me that twenty five years of designing and creating teddy bears is really quite an achievement, so I should probably mark it somehow. But the question was how? Then I had a lightbulb moment...

When I was a little girl, I remember being fascinated by an old treadle sewing machine which stood behind the door of my Gran's living room. Back in those days, the living room was a place in which we kids were under strict instructions to sit politely while the grown-ups chatted, making certain to stay quiet and keep our feet off the settee. There was plenty of time to peer at the myriad of tiny glass animals held captive in a glass fronted cabinet next to the black and white television and of course, to admire Gran's lovely old sewing machine.

I have had a secret yen for a vintage sewing machine for many years, but have never really known much about them.  In view of my quarter century anniversary, I decided to invest some time researching their history, in the hope my investigations might lead me to find one of my very own to commemorate twenty five years in the wonderful world of teddy bears. I wanted my machine to have age, to be British, beautiful and interesting, but most importantly, to be working! It has been a completely absorbing study and did indeed eventually lead me to discover a special sewing machine. So, I have taken the plunge and placed an order for my first ever vintage sewing machine, a beautiful hand cranked Singer 128k, almost a hundred years old. My dream is that one day, this sewing machine will pass to my Granddaughter and hopefully help to inspire her creative journey.

Nana and Izzy

My vintage Singer hasn't arrived yet, but for those interested, I promise to share a pic when she does ... am so excited!

:-)

Castle Canines

We always enjoy a visit to beautiful Hever Castle in Edenbridge and one of my favourite times to visit is when 'Castle Canines' dog show is being hosted in the grounds. There is something completely joyous about seeing the Southern Golden Retriever Display Team strut their formation stuff to music; they always seem such happy dogs!

Naturally, we take Polly and Betty with us as they love to be involved in trips out and always enjoy a visit.

They are such good girls whenever we take them out and they love all the attention they receive from other visitors, especially the children. Hever Castle is a very 'dog friendly' place to visit and although dogs aren't allowed inside the castle itself, well behaved dogs are welcome to enjoy the beautiful gardens with their owners, so long as they are kept on leads.

And those gardens are breathtaking!

I especially love the Italian Gardens and the formal Rose Garden...

In fact, near to closing time, while the garden was quiet, I couldn't resist taking a few photographs of my girls posing rather regally among those gorgeous roses!

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Hever Castle this year and after eating way too much ice-cream, mooching around fabulous gardens, seeing the many other dogs visiting and watching the Southern Golden Retrievers display team, we headed towards the lake to spend one last hour strolling right round the water along meadow flower paved pathways. It was such a pretty, peaceful walk!

Polly and Betty enjoyed their visit to Hever Castle too and even though they were on leads, so didn't have a run that afternoon, they didn't seem to mind in the least. In fact, they were both very sleepy when we arrived home on Sunday evening. Trips out are both exciting and exhausting it seems!

Hever Castle is a very lovely, dog friendly, place to visit. 

We will definitely visit with our girls again!

:-)

Summer

Summer is in full swing in the UK and so here is the perfect teddy bear to celebrate our sunshine season ...

15" Summer

Butterflies, flowers, peach mohair and a carnival pink striped nose ...  definitely Summer in a teddy bear!

This pretty girl was snapped up super fast from my website yesterday and I am delighted to say, is now on her way to Germany meet her new family.

:-)

Competitive Investments

The deadline for the 2019 TOBY Industry's Choice Awards has now arrived and after a time away from competition work, I decided to stop umming and aahhing and actually enter this year. Not that I am terribly hopeful of success, as my experience of the TOBY Awards has been mixed over the years. That said, I did have the honour (not to mention shock!) of winning a couple of times with entries several years ago, so I guess you never can tell!

You could have knocked me down with a feather when I received notice that my big clown, 'Billy Buttons' had won a 2008 TOBY Industry's Choice Award... my very first TOBY Award!

And in 2011, I was absolutely thrilled to receive the TOBY Award again, this time for my careworn style 'Lonesome' teddy bear.

That said, it has been a good while since I last entered a competition after a disappointment with another competition, regarding an award I won three years ago. Sadly, despite contacting the organiser many times, my trophy was never sent and as competitions are costly and somewhat nerve-wracking to enter, I felt a little discarded after the initial joy of winning an award. As a result, I decided to take a step away from competing for a time.  Bear artists invest not only their hard earned pennies, but also fragile self belief, into submitting competition entries and to my mind, organisers should respect that investment.

So, why even enter artist bear competitions? 

Well, as I see it, teddy bear competitions are about so much more than who has made the 'best' bear that year. They are about promoting teddy bear artistry as an industry and validating those bearmakers who put heart and soul into their creations. They are also about inspiring creative talent in others, whilst sharing passion for the teddy bear, his heritage and also his future.

My 2019 TOBY Award entries (there are two) have now been submitted so there is nothing else to do but sit back and enjoy the suspense, while judging takes place. I dare say there will be a twinge of disappointment if at least one isn't placed this year, but if that's the case, it certainly won't be the first time and probably won't be the last either!

:-)

The universal language of teddy bears

After twenty five years of creating teddy bears and sending them all around the world to live, I was excited to add a new country to add to my list of globetrotting teddy bears this week ...

This sweet fellow will be the first of my bears ever to emmigrate all the way to South Korea!

I have been trying to list all the countries my bears now live in ... it's not easy to remember after so many years as a teddy bear maker, but I think these just about cover it:

United Kingdom

United States

Canada

Australia

New Zealand

Japan

China

France

Germany

Italy

Finland

Denmark

Belgium

Spain

South Africa

Luxembourg

Singapore

Hong Kong

And now ... ta da ...

South Korea!

Teddy bear hugs, it seems, speak a universal language!

:-)

Vintage cars on the Green

My little boy (now 34 and far from!) has always had a passion for cars, so after a sleepover with my Grandchildren the night before while Mummy and Daddy had a night out, we all went to a super little car show held on Bearsted Green at the weekend. I loved mooching around in the sunshine with my family, listening to the 1940's tunes warbling from a corner of the Green, while we admired the beautifully polished and much loved elderly cars ... I'm no car buff, but isn't it strange how old cars have the power to evoke a sense of fond nostalgia?! I must admit, I found myself recalling all kinds of long forgotten trips and visits from my youth!

My four year old Grandson on the other hand, was very impressed with this HUGE American fire engine!

We had a lovely afternoon but most of all, I loved seeing the excitement in my son's eyes, as he shared his enthusiasm with his son.

The old music was good too and my Granddaughter had a lovely little dance to the Lindyhop!

My daughter took a bit of a shine to this wacky VW Beetle ...

... and as we weren't driving, we enjoyed a crafty glass of lovely bubbles in the sunshine!

After a fab time wandering around the vintage car show, we headed to the pub garden across the road, to cool off with a pint and take a front row view of all the cars as they left the Village Green...

And one very excited little boy and his daddy, parked themselves firmly on the pavement opposite, to wave the old cars goodbye. They were absolutely delighted when the NYPD police car obliged onlookers by leaving with a very loud siren blast!

Mr Mod also kindly gave my Grandson a cheery goodbye wave, as he headed back home to his garage.

We had a very enjoyable afternoon at 'Vintage Cars on the Green' in Bearsted at the weekend. The sun shone, the cars were fabulous, the atmosphere was relaxed and fun and it was a great way for a family to spend an afternoon together!

:-)

Cosy Cables

This week I finished a very sweet teddy bear and have been enjoying some quiet time in my garden, knitting him a cosy cable jumper to wear. 

I first attempted to knit with a little pair of pink plastic needles when I was about five years old. My mother was a keen knitter when I was growing up, making many items of knitwear for my sisters and I. She tried to pass on her needlecraft skills to me, but as Mum was right handed and my left handed self didn't translate instructions easily, it didn't end very well! It wasn't until I was expecting my own daughter thirty seven years ago, that I became sufficiently competent with my knitting needles, to knit her baby clothes.  Since those first clumsy attempts, I have continued to enjoy knitting for nearly forty years, cable or Aran knitting especially ... which of course, is ideal for making cute little jumpers for my teddy bears to wear!

14" Sammie

Sweet Sammie is now looking for his special person to live with. If you would like to know more about him, please pop over to my website:

www.allbearbypaula.com

:-)

Updated: Sammie has now been adopted and will be flying off to the United States!

Lovely Lupin

I have just finished this beautiful teddy bear ...

20" Lupin

Another truly fabulous mohair from the famous Schulte company in Germany; this time, a stunning kid mohair with a soft wave to the pile ... in possibly the prettiest shade of lavender ever.

In fact, I think this is the perfect mohair with which to celebrate Summer!

Lovely Lupin is now available for adoption from my website. 

I hope she makes you smile!

www.allbearbypaula.com

:-)

Update: Lupin has now been adopted and will be flying to the US!

Life's a beach in Norfolk

Back home after a lovely week enjoying peaceful countryside and beautiful beaches in Norfolk. We knew we were almost home on Saturday, when we left quiet roads and lush green fields, only to arrive on a completely gridlocked M25 on the hottest day of the year so far ... now we are dreaming of a return to Norfolk as soon as possible!

Polly and Betty have had an absolute blast on the local Norfolk beaches and met a curious grey seal on beautiful Sea Palling beach. He popped up out of the sea to get a better view of the dogs and they all had a lovely time playing along the shoreline together. Thankfully my girls have excellent recall, so when the seal came up almost onto the beach, I popped them back on the lead, just to be on the safe side. It was an amazing experience and one I don't think any of us will forget in a hurry.

We were so lucky with our holiday this year. Taking two large bouncy hairy dogs on a self-catering holiday, can be tricky because so many properties don't welcome more than one little dog and never seem to actually have the fully enclosed safe gardens they claim to have, which of course are essential for dog owners. We have been frustrated by this many times over the past few years and a couple of years ago, even discovered our Betty in a nearby field of cows, up to her eyeballs in cow dung!

This year I searched even harder to find a perfect dog friendly property and hit the jackpot with 'Pack Holidays', run by lovely Gail.  Gail invited us to stay in her own fabulous and completely 'dog friendly' property and on arrival, we were bowled over by the care she had taken to ensure that our dogs were able to have a wonderful, safe, fun holiday.  Not only was the garden totally secure, huge and beautiful, there were dog blankets, beds, toys, tasty treats, a poo bin, food bowls, poo bags, great suggestions for dog walks, a vet, pet shop ... the list went on! There was also the piéce de resistance, a full 'doggy salon', complete with walk in, fully tiled, warm water showers!  Our girls were made to feel completely welcome and so were we.  I really can't recommend 'Pack Holidays' highly enough if you are looking for a genuinely dog friendly, 'home from home' style of holiday.  Gail really does set the Gold Standard for dog friendly.

It has been almost forty years since I last stayed in Norfolk (that was a very different holiday, as I was there working with an Club 18+ plus group, so saw nothing of the local surroundings but plenty of the nightlife in Great Yarmouth!) This time we fell in love with the unspoiled Norfolk coastline, quiet fields of corn, winding streams and wildlife.  We saw deer, swans, a hawk hovering over sand martin nests in the cliffs and those fabulous grey seals at Sea Palling!  The beaches were sandy and endless, so Polly and Betty had an amazing time chasing through waves and running along the shore to their hearts' content ... now they are back home again, they are very, very sleepy pups!

I loved seeing my girls on the beach and so wish we could play there together every day ...

Ah well, as lovely and relaxing as our holiday was, I guess it's time to return to my teddy bear workroom now and finish the pretty bear I left on my sewing table.  Will share soon I promise!

:-)

Olde English Charm

It has been a while since I worked with dense straight mohair, so when I saw this piece in a beautiful aged gold, I decided it was time to indulge myself...

I love trimming a bear's muzzle in this mohair .. it gives such a gorgeous effect.

And I make no apologies for creating such a traditional teddy bear ... in fact my days of fiddling around with fancy techniques for the sake of contemporary embellishment, are long gone. The plain fact is I love making traditional bears and these days will happily leave the modern twists and turns for someone else to battle with.

In fact my latest bear is so traditional, I designed him a classic Harris Tweed waistcoat, lined with Liberty print cotton - it really doesn't get much more classic than that! I even taught myself how to embroider my first proper buttonhole by hand.

So here he is, 'Tomas', a beautiful, 18" classic teddy bear with lovely chunky drumstick legs, designed in the traditional style of fine old English teddies.

My apologies if you just fell in love with Tomas and his drumstick thighs, he is a bit of a heart-breaker with all that olde English charm of his I know, but as we speak, he is on his way to meet his new owner in America!

Boy Voyage Tomas!

:-)

Tweedy Teds Tags

Since making and selling quite a few Tweedy Teds over the past few months, I think they have earned the right to their own postcards and hang tags, to celebrate their unique identity.

The Tweedy Teds!

My new 'Tweedy Teds' stationery arrived yesterday and I confess, I am delighted with it! Next time you adopt one of these stylish cloth bears, he or she will arrive with official 'Tweedy Teds' hang tag attached and a matching 'thank you' postcard.

The first 'Tweedy Ted' to be released with this smart new hang tag, is of course, the rather debonair 'Loveday Tweedy' ... which seems only fair, as he is the bear featured on it!

:-)

Soggy doggy days

It has been a weekend for pottering about and doing nothing much in particular, with a brief exception when I popped out to visit my daughter for a cuppa and a catch up.  Unfortunately the weather is continuing the rainy theme I mentioned on Friday and Saturday's walk with my dogs must rate as the soggiest for quite some time ... in fact I was soaked right through to my undies after tromping along in torrential rain with them for an hour an a half. Madness!

Thankfully Sunday's walk in Jeskyns Community Woodland was a little drier and a whole lot more fun ...

Polly and Betty had a lovely time racing around through pretty meadows and along woody pathways, then finished their walk with a splash in the duck pond ... although neither was quite brave enough to venture in for a proper swim as that meant stepping from a ledge and dropping into deeper water. Big they may be, but brave they are most definitely not!

And as if I haven't been quite wet enough already, this week has begun with storm warnings and yet more torrential rain. As I write, rain is crashing onto the glass roof of my conservatory and my poor roses are struggling to stay upright in the garden. Not a good day for walking dogs that's for sure, but we'll don raincoats and I'll hunt out my wellies anyway ... urgh.

On a happier note, it is the perfect day for staying cosy in my workroom sewing and yes, that means a new teddy bear is on the (hopefully sunnier!) horizon!

:-)

Rain, rain, go away!

The rain is lashing down here today, boo! I am hoping it will ease soon so that I can walk my dogs ... I really don't fancy a soaking. While we wait for the skies to clear, I'm sat here supping a mug of hot coffee and the dogs are snoozing on the rug, so I have time for a short blog post ...

11" Wilber

It is a shame about the rain, but as we've enjoyed some glorious June sunshine of late, I suppose I shouldn't really complain, but it is a pity that my roses will be spoiled by the heavy rain as they have been so pretty this month.

I popped out to my garden to take a couple of photographs of little Wilber before the heavens opened. I decided he needed a sweater, so knitted him a cosy cute cable to wear ... I think it suits him and hope you do too. I do enjoy a bit of cable knitting! He is back on my website now by the way:

www.allbearbypaula.com

In other news, I am starting to think about our Summer holiday. This year we are taking the dogs to Norfolk for the first time. I am especially looking forward to long coastal walks and visiting the seal colony at Horsey ... goodness only knows what Polly and Betty will make of them!

Until then, I plan to finish a few more teddy bears, tidy my workroom (long overdue!) and perhaps teach myself how to make a bag or two. Yes, I'm feeling the urge to learn a new skill again! I've purchased a few books to get me started, so watch this space ... 

Oh and I might also squeeze some time for using some of my Harris Tweed stash to make a few smart waistcoats for my bears to wear. Here is 

a little practice waistcoat, modelled by one of my Chiltern Hugmee teddy bears, cute eh?!

I just need to stop myself from flitting from project to project and never quite finishing anything. My Dad used to call it a 'grasshopper' mind ... perhaps he had a point!

:-)

Update: Wilber has been adopted.