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puca bearsHiya
just a warning - I noticed that on their website, they had two different dates for entry cutoff for the competition - end November AND end December...so I checked with the organisation, and the end date for entries is end NOVEMBER.....and there go my carefully laid plans! A whole month LESS to come up with something..........
huggies
Maria
LuxembearsGood Luck Maria. I am sure you'll do very well. :clap:
Year before last I entered and had to send off three pieces to Germany. I had NO COMMUNICATION from them what so ever. I had no idea if my pieces even arrived. They never answered any of my emails either. Ever since then I am very unsure about that competition.
I do wish you well though. Let us know how it goes for you. 
Cleathero CreationsOh Judi how awful. how long did it take to get yor stuff back?
Bears by JodiDid you get it back
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)This is one Yank's opinion:
As I've never sent bears there only submitted in them person, I would have to say that while the Golden George's are one of the half-dozen world-wide BIGGIES in the awards world, but the main impetus of that weekend is the Teddybär Total Show.
Wiesbaden has been giving it a 'run for ther money' in the past 5 or 6 years and chose a weekend 6 or 7 weeks before TT. TT used to be billed as the largest TB show in the world; 14,000 - 16,000+ through the door over the weekend (during the 90s into the early 00s) but show attendance is down everywhere including TT in Munster, Germany.
The bears are on display in huge glassed-in display cabinets (locked & roped off to keep the public at least a meter back from them).
Depending on the size of the other pieces in your category, your piece may or may not look squeezed in. They do allow you to stand there as they put it into the cabinet and request a particular side be shown to advantage.
But no, Mr Schepp and his staff are not equipped to send acknowledgements upon receiving the bears; know that if you used the correct address and timing, they'll arrive and be on display.
It is still a huge show compared to US venues. The set-ups are INCREDIBLE! You'd swear that whole shops have moved in, lock, stock & barrel as we Yanks say! They are often next to just bears-on-a-table, but I've always felt that the Europeans have much more of a flair for display than we do. What they can do with a length of cloth, a few flowers and a few seasonal accessories is breathtaking. Attending a show like TT is great for just looking at display ideas. They definitely have captured the 'Less is More' theory!
puca bearsMe again.....
I fear things have changed a bit, Bobbie - apparently the visitor numbers this April were around the 6,000 mark! Sign of the times?!
Next year the show will be in a new venue, at Rheda, which is a bit south of Munster.
I've only done the show for the last 2 times, and the competition bears are now exhibited on a LONG table, which is roped off from the public - you are allowed to set up your own bears, and those which have been sent in (including your two, Judi) are perfectly set out. What IS nice is that you really are made to feel a bit special - they produce a special "sonderheft" - a mini mag with all the nominated bears, plus a short biog. of the artists, and your table number (if you are an exhibitor), for the visiting public.
Personally, I have absolutely NO complaints about the competition, or the show
huggies
Maria
LuxembearsThat's really nice to know. Thanks Maria.
For me, living in the states with three kids it was just not possible for me to make the trip for the Golden Georges. I think the problem was the language barrier. The only way I knew that they even made it to Germany was that another bear artist was there and saw one of my pieces, took a photo and emailed it to me. I think when you send off pieces to be in the care of the show promoters it would be a nice courtesy to send a quick short email to let the artist know they have arrived.
Yes, Jodi, I did eventually get my pieces back but never had any communication from the GG folks. 
The TITA show promoters send an email once they receive your piece(s) and again when they send them back. They are wonderful communicators. Nothing long and fancy just enough to let the artist know everything is in place.
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)Maria, I knew that the 'gate' was dropping but didn't know the exact count. I saw it becoming a smaller show each year of the 6 we exhibited. It was 14,000 in the late 90s but as all shows have changed.....
Do you know why it's being moved again? Germany is a pretty large nation (it's the only one of the European countries that we couldn't buy a map for the entire country, but was broken into separate regions); is it to give a better exposure to different areas, or do you suppose it's just to move to a smaller venue if attendance doesn't support the price for the venue?
It still doesn't take away from the fact that many Europeans set up their booth space like a mini-shop, or a Gallery. Breathtaking displays that take at least a whole day to assemble! While we bring boxes, table coverings and spend half the day in Duisburg (Schulte factory!!)
We're limited in the amount of set-up we can bring by the high postal fees if pre-shipping and the weight restrictions on plane luggage, but even at home it's a rare artist, shop or manufacturer that assembles a mini-Gallery!
puca bearsMe again........
Judi - I'm with you there - doing any show entails a lot of work, and overseas - well......for us, it's always one or other of our pets who gets sick just before. My first big show here, a few years back (Teddybar Welt) was almost a disaster -.... the plan was to put the dogs and cats into boarding kennels for the weekend -hah! NO WAY - they conspired to scupper that one - so I had to do the show alone , and more than a little nervous as my command of the German language leaves a lot to be desired! I needn't have worried though - it's amazing how much you can communicate over a shared interest!
Shows here are very multi-national, with exhibitors from all over the world - and I'm pretty sure that a lot of them DON'T speak German.
As for moving the Teddybar Total, Bobbie, I think it's probably a financial thing - less exhibitors, less visitors - so they are "down-sizing" a bit. Rheda isn't far from Munster, so I don't think it will pick up a whole set of new visitors. From the pics on the website, it looks as if it will be a nice venue though hotels will probably be a problem - it was bad enough in Munster itself for the show weekend.......but we already booked for next year, so don't have to worry.
And oh yes - isn't the Schulte factory a great place to visit - an Aladdin's cave of fabrics!
back to work.
huggies
Maria
