Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Sounds like a Russ Berrie teddy bear to me, as they were the only ones I know of to add a bell to a teddy bear.  Although whilst some of their teddies were jointed, as far as I know, they never made ones full of pellets or anything heavier.

-- Thomas Adam

Hi,

I was told you might want to read how I go about deciding on a new teddy bear.  So here's the relevant link:

http://xteddy.org/teddies.html#toc3

Kindly,

-- Thomas Adam

I've chosen a spot for him next to Claude and Leo -- he'll fit perfectly in therem and it will mean I will be able to give him many cuddles a day.  :D  I can't wait, I just wish USPS shipping was faster.  :D  That, or I should move closer to Alaska.  :)

Yay!

-- Thomas Adam

Yes, he's wonderful.  :) :)

I can't wait for him to arrive.  :) :) :)

Thanks so much, Becky.  He's yet another brilliant teddy bear to add to my hug from you.

-- Thomas Adam

Good grief.  That's amazing.  I'm really impressed with teddy's nose being made, that's some detail!  :)

-- Thomas Adam

Oh how wonderful, Vicki.  :)  My nickname my mother gives me is "Tiddles" too.  I don't think that I am a pink elephant, but regardless I think she (in this case) is wonderful.  I just hope one does not have to be drunk to appreciate her.  :)

-- Thomas Adam

Hello all,

I recall at the end of last year reading this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop … o-bed.html

Then I have just come across this idiotic site:

http://gotmanswers.blogspot.com/2009/04 … e-men.html

Whilst the two sites mentioned are not related, it's likely the statistic for the latter comes from the former, and it's annoying to think that society, and men in general can't get past this fear that men might like teddy bears.

Not all men are:

* Jack-the-lads;
* Deluding themselves of their feelings;
* Afraid of expressing their feelings;
* Lager-louts with one-track minds, set on sex or football;
* Insensitive to others;
* Otherwise needing to be "macho" in a pack of other males (c.f. animal culture)

Yet, this stupid attitude amongst men means those of us (myself strongly included) who do cuddle teddy bears to sleep or otherwise, are still judged based on an act that has no bearing to personality, etc.  It's really annoying.

I wonder what others here think?  :)

-- Thomas Adam

I have six Steiff teddy bears, five of which have come from Teddy Bears of Witney.  Here's a photo of one of them:

http://xteddy.org/~n6tadam/pics/teddies … kshelf.jpg

They are not the only teddy I collect, I prefer artists' teddy bears, like the people on here, because I get to understand how they make the teddy.

-- Thomas Adam

Hi Peter,

Unfortunately, no.  There's nothing on it at all to indicate who it's by.  A shame because I was wondering if the artist in question might have painted more teddy bears, but we'll never know.  :)  It's going to grace the wall in my lounge soon enough when I get home.  :)

-- Thomas Adam

Hi all,

I am sure some of you will like this -- I'm slowly documenting Christmas by taking photos.  One of them in particular you might like:

http://xteddy.org/~n6tadam/christmas-20 … icture.jpg

It was given to me by a friend of my parents'.   :)

The rest of the photos are here:

http://xteddy.org/~n6tadam/christmas-2010/

I'll be updating them over the holidays.

-- Thomas Adam

Thanks for the head's up -- I look forward to watching this on iPlayer.  :)

I still prefer teddy bears though.  :)

-- Thomas Adam

Amazing!  I collect dog on wheels, and this is fantastic!

-- Thomas Adam

Hello all,

First of all, I want to say a huge Thank You to everyone who's sent me some wonderful cards, and some lovely messages in them -- it's been really heart-felt, and I really do appreciate it.  :)

However, I'd had to deal with a number of things which has meant I've been unable to get the time needed to send any cards in reply.  *BUT* -- I refuse to let this be a stumbling block -- so, in the New Year, I shall be replying to each and every one of you who sent me a card with a letter instead, as it's only fair -- plus, I want to do it.  :)

I just don't want people thinking their kind efforts are one-sided, far from it.  So, I shall be in touch.  :)

Thanks once again.  :)

-- Thomas Adam

Sandy Denny knows.  :)

-- Thomas Adam

It amazes me, quite frankly at the sheer disregard some people have.  A loose joint (as I have learnt) can be a part of the teddy's character -- and as such speaks nothing of the build quality of an Artist Bear.  Most people can therefore [INVALID] off, if they think this.

I don't care how many people are offended by this -- but it's true.

Shame on you.

-- Thomas Adam

Ah, damn!  I am really sorry to have missed it.  Alas, work has more bogged down at the moment more than I would like.

I am glad everyone enjoyed themselves.  Will there be any photos or videos of the event?  I look forward to seeing the teddies.  :)

Congrats to all.

-- Thomas Adam

I think at this point *all* bets are off regarding mail deliveries, so I would say you will need to wait, even longer, annoying as that is.  :/

-- Thomas Adam

Interesting indeed -- I don't think I've seen a design quite like that.  Where did you get the inspiration for that from?

They look heavy to my eyes -- are they filled with beads or some such?

Very well done though!  :)

Kindly,

Thomas Adam

I hope that's true.  :)

My ex-girlfriend used to speak often (perhaps often in fear, it was never clear to me) that she feared teddies looking cute was all to deceive us, and that at night when it's dark, they would revolt against us, and swap positions with one another, etc.  I didn't see the logic of this -- teddies are too cute.  Or maybe I've been taken in and fooled by their cuddly facade?   Needless to say, I don't have to worry -- I said *ex*, after all.    :P

-- Thomas Adam

Hello all,

I appreciate that for the non-technically minded this might not mean much -- but I've setup a teddy bear IRC channel (IRC is Internet Relay Chat -- a form of communication) on the following IRC server:

irc.freenode.net

In the channel:

#teddybears

Whilst the freenode IRC network historically has interests for programming, that's no hard and fast rule -- so if any of you fancy real-time chatting there, I'd welcome to see you there.

It's an experiment of mine to see how many people (not from here) crawl out the woodwork.  :)  I am sure there's many more people out there who like teddy bears.  :)

If you're wondering how the hell you get an IRC client, etc., then there's the following choices which are quite popular:

http://www.mirc.com/

and:

http://www.xchat.org

I personally prefer xchat for such things.  It's slightly easier to use than mIRC, in my opinion.

-- Thomas Adam

Aww, so sweet. 

A friend of mine once told me that teddies share hugs between them, and that a hug from a tinyest teddy is just as important as a hug from a larger teddy.  I wonder if that's true. 

I used to worry that not cuddling my favourite teddy would result in that teddy feeling left out, and would spend ages cuddling all my teddies at one point to make it even.

But it's OK, the men in white coats have yet to catch-up with me. 

--  Thomas Adam

FInd out if teddy left customs if he has, then they should be able to tell you the internal courier who distributed him.  Whereabouts in the UK is teddy destined for?  It's not that unusual for customs to take their sweet time over shipping things.  The bears I get from DangerBears often spend days in customs -- I assume the teddies like it there, but it can be weeks before anything happens.

I wouldn't get too worried -- but I would start tracing your steps as much as you can -- and given the tracking numbers you've mentioned, you should be able to find out if teddy has left customs, and if so, with which courier.  Is it definitely Royal Mail though?  If so, start causing merry-hell as they're useless in my experience at following anything up without a good kick up the arse.

I hope teddy finds his way to his new owner post-haste.  :)

-- Thomas Adam

Hey all,

When I cuddle my teddy bears, where do all the hugs go?  :)

-- Thomas Adam

I don't -- if the teddy bear already comes with clothes then that's fine, otherwise I leave them as they are.  :)  I always find to alter that sort of thing would change their character.

-- Thomas Adam

Thanks, Karon.  :)  I don't suppose you know the name of the manufacturer of Stitchy, or where I could find more packs?  :)  I picked him up in an art shop in Dorchester.  :)

I could have a whole Stitchy family before long.  :)

-- Thomas Adam