Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Well Ladies & Gents...

After all of the good things many of you had to say a few weeks back regarding Apple computers, I took a GIGANTIC leap and went out today and bought myself a brand spankin' new Apple MacBook computer!  Needless to say, I am LOVING it SOOOO much!!!  It's such an easy to use, consumer friendly computer and I am happy that all of your praises about the brand really encouraged me to give it a go...

Thanks Everybody!!!

Jeremy

I machine sew EVERYTHING!!!  I am WAY too young to develop bad hands...Although I do have wrist problems already and I am only 25....

Jer

Shelli...I'm SOOOO Sorry to hear that your flight was delayed!  We all know how much you were looking forward to being there...I hope your weekend goes wonderfully and you have a great time when u DO finally get there...Take LOTS of pics for us okay?

Jer

Thanks Cheryl...

Happy Canada Day To You And To All Of The Other Canucks In This Place As Well!!!

Jer

Daphne...

If you have not read The Mournful Teddy, read it first because it kind of sets up the storyline for The False-Hearted Teddy...

Hey...

       Have any of you guys & gals read The Mournful Teddy or The False-Hearted Teddy books in this series?  I bought The Mournful Teddy a few months ago and it was SUCH a GREAT book, I couldn't wait for the release of The False-Hearted Teddy!  I just bought it a few days ago...Let me tell you, I can't seem to put it down.  BOTH are very well written and are very interesting.  The series revolves  around Brad & afficionados Lyons (fictional bear artists of Lyon's Tigers & Bears).  Brad is a former San Francisco Homicide detective who finds himself investigating  a series of teddy bear related crimes.  I recommend these books to anyone who likes a FUN mystery novel that can be both serious as well as quite funny.  Don't let the covers fool you...Adults and bear aficionados alike will enjoy this book!

More info about the books can be found here :  www.johnjlamb.net

Jeremy

Lynette...

This breaks my heart.  SADLY, stuff like this happens everyday all around the world.  I can't believe anyone could be SOOOO very cruel to anoth living creature.  Recently near my hometown, there was an animal abuse case that gained nationwide media coverage.    A.K., a 7 month old German Shepherd-Rottweiler mixed breed dog had both of his ears cut off by his owner in an attempt to make him look more threatening to people.  The puppy is fine now and living with a new family who are taking great care of him.  The owner who abused him is facing fines and 7 counts of animal cruelty.  This case has also brought lawmakers to try to toughen the sentences for people convicted of animal abuse.  Hopefully, with the new laws these sick deprived individuals will no longer abuse these wonderful animals.  I will indeed sign your petition and thank you SOOOO much for bringing this to all of our attention.

Here Is a Picture of A.K. Credit to Photographer Ian Willms of The Windsor Star :

I took a quick browse through one of the copies at our store, but didn't pick one up at the time as I assumed ours would be in the mail shortly thereafter.  LoL...I shoulda just bought an extra copy!  Thanks for replying though, at least I know I'm not the only one now...

Jeremy

Hey Guys & Gals...

Just wondering if anyone (preferably in Ontario) who subscribes to TBAF Magazine has yet to receive the latest issue.  Last time I was at the store (The Teddy Bear Abbey) they had it on the shelves.  This was June 9th and I believe they said they got it 2 or 3 days before that.  I haven't got my subscription copy in yet...Almost three weeks later and I only live like 25 mins away from the store.  I was just wondering because I wanted to know if I am the only one, or if the shipments are just slow this month that's all.

Thanks
Jeremy

PS

SUE ANN

....

     I will have to bring Cappuccino and Keepsake with me to have you autograph them in person!

     Here's a pic of them :

OK what has influenced you most to make bears?  Two bear artists that I know inspired me to get into bear making.  They are Cheryl Ross of Cherbears & Sally Winey of Winey Bears.  I can now comprehend why I was paying sooo much money for the little critters as I have seen how much time and work goes into them.

How did you get in the business?  Ummm....not really IN the "business" yet.  Still doing it as a hobby to add more bears to my own collection and to give as gifts to family and friends.

Want to post your very first bear.......?  Sure, He is the bear on the right of my avatar.  That wasn't sooo tough

How much did your first bear go for?  Haven't sold any yet...Haven't been able to make a design I like, so I am still just using Cheryl's patterns to make my bears.  I am not yet confident enough with my skills to feel comfortable selling them to someone, so for now they will just stay with me.

What was your favorite bear character as a child?   Probably Paddington Bear...Don't know why though!

What is your favorite mohair to work with and why?  I like dense, long and soft mohair, so the KID mohair is probably my favourite

I am planning on going to the show.  I will just be there as a buyer, but hopefully I can pick up some new bears, meet all you awesome people and maybe get a few bears for consignment to sell at the store.  It's my first Teddy Bear show, so I will be extremely excited to go...It's only a 6 hour trip from here, so it will make for a nice road trip.

Ooh....Thanks for bringing these our attention Sue Ann...They look like they would be very nice to use.  Let us know how they work for you if you end you buying some...I'll have to look for them up here or at an online store that ships to Canada...

Hey Folks....

  So yesterday, we returned to Point Pelee National Park.  It was a holiday (Victoria Day) here in Canada, so we both had the day off and thought we would make another visit to the park.  We made it to the point this time....Boy was I stunned to see how much it has eroded over the last 5 or ten years...There technically isn't much of an actual point to it at all.  So much so that I have now dubbed the park "Stub Pelee".  It is soooo discouraging, as years ago, we were able to walk right out to the tip and put our feet in the water.  Due to the rapid rate of erosion at the point however, there is CAUTION tape and barricades up preventing you from even getting a close look.  We HIKED and HIKED all day...I'm not a small person and I am willing to admit, I was quite sore and wanting to relax by the end of the day, but boy did we have another fun filled and adventurous day!!!  I was able to take a bunch more pictures and thought I would share them with all of you...

So Here They Are :

Little Turtle In The Swamp...Only About 3 Inches In Diametre :

Little Butterfly On The Swamp Boardwalk :

A View Of The Swamp From The Boardwalk :

Various Pics Of Flora In The Park Shot With The Macrovision Element Of The Camera :

The DuLaurier Homestead :

Unidentified Bird At The DuLaurier Barn :

Barn Swallow At The Point Visitor's Centre :

Hope Everyone Enjoys The New Pics!

Thanks for all of the compliments regarding the pics...Eliza, it's good to know that you enjoy being outdoors and all of the lovely little creatures as much as I do.  Jodi, I have an Olympus SP-510 UZ...I got it as a christmas present and I think it is one of the nicest digital cameras I have used so far...Here is the link to the website if you wanna take a look at it :

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_secti … oduct=1268

Glad Everyone Is Enjoying The Pics...

Jeremy

Thanks for sharing this video with us Peta...Very interesting and informative!!

I wonder if this is available on VHS or DVD from schulte as we have our Steiff Trunk Show on June 9th and I think this would be nice to play for th collector's throughout the show.  It would show them how the wonerful fabric used to create their special Steiff bears is made...

Jeremy

Hey Girls...

    Thanks for the compliments about my pictures and Ellen, thanks for identifying the bird as a barn swallow for me!  I never even noticed anything growing on the wall when we were there...I hope it wasn't poison ivy as Tanya would have gotten into close range of it....She just HAD to get as close as possible to everything there....LoL

Jeremy

Hey Guys And Gals...

       What a beautiful day we had today in Southwestern Ontario...My friend Tanya and I both had the day off so we decided we would do something we hadn't done for a while...Go spend the day at Point Pelee National Park in Leamington, Ontario which is located about 30 minutes from my house.  We started our little excursion off on the marshland boardwalk which is just beautiful this time of the year.  On the boardwalk, I managed to snap some nice photos of the turtles that inhabit the area.  When we returned to the boardwalk entrance at the end of our walk, we found a mother, father and three baby geese taking a little siesta and soaking up the sun...Can't say I blame them, the weather was perfect for doing so.  We climbed to the top of the watchtower, where I was able to grab some pics of a mother Robin laying rather securely on her nest as well as some pics of another species I haven't been able to identify (Edit - Barn Swallow).  We were also able to fit in hikes on the beach, the dunes and a wilderness hike to see an old homestead, an apple orchard from the 1800's and a Native settlement site dating from over 1300 years ago before the day was through...I thought some of you might like to see the pictures I took throughout the day....The baby geese are just WAY too adorable not to share!  It was a fantastic day and we plan on spending every weekend visiting the park.  I suggest to everyone : If you have a National Park close to you, visit it!!!  Nothing compares to the beauty and glory mother nature has provided to us all. 

Hope You All Enjoy The Pics!

Mother Robin Guarding Her Nest :

A Lonely Turtle :

Goose Guarding The Babies :

Baby Goose Basking In The Sun :

Three Baby Geese Sprawled Out For An Afternoon Siesta :

(Edit) Barn Swallow At The Marshlands :

Franklin & Sheldon...Two Playful Little Turtles :

The Du Laurier Homestead Barn...Is That Tanya I See Peeking From Behind The Barn Wall?  :

Sincerely,
Jeremy

I just wanted to take a minute and say Happy Mother's Day to any of you ladies who have children.  As a mother, you have a 24/7, 365 day a year fill time job...No matter how busy you are, you always stop and take time to bring the kids to their piano lessons, sports games/practices and to help out with last minute projects.  How you all do it, I'll never understand, but I CAN appreciate it.  So make sure to take the day off today...Be spoiled, have someone else cook for you for once and just RELAX!!!  Hope you all have a WONDERFUL day today...You definately deserve it for everything us kids put you through!

Sincerely,
Jeremy

I collect manufactured bears from companies like Steiff, Deans, Grisly, Deb Canham, TY, Boyd's Bears (Plush, Mohair, Bearstones, Dollstones, Folkstones, Villages, etc); Russ; Puffy Lane; Gund; Effanbee's Artist Designed Bear Essentials Line and Ganz Cottage Collectables.  Most of the manufactured bears I collect are Canadian exclusives, or small limited editions, but I have a SEVERELY HUGE Beanie Baby collection from about 10 years ago as well.   I also collect artist bears...One of my biggest artist bear collections (12 of them) being from Cheryl Ross of Cherbears. She was the artist who inspired me to venture out into the world of teddy bear making. Sally Winey, who originally designed bears for TY Inc., is also another one of my favourite teddy artists and I have 4 of her bears from the 1990's in my collection as well.  I also currently have some GORGEOUS bears in my collection from Sue Ann Holcomb, Anja McGowan, Donna Lee Wilson, Susan Redstreake Geary, Georgia Fox Yeager, Susan Lauhon and Deborah Stewart.  My collection is still growing at an exponential rate and before I know it, I am gonna have to move just to have more room for the collection....LoL

Happy Mother's Day To All of U WONDUL Mums Out There...

Hope Your Day Is Filled Joy & Love!!!

Hey Ladies...

    I happen to have one of the delightful Cappuccino's in my on collection and let me tell you, he is a wonderful bear in person!!!  Sue Ann did a GREAT job in designing him and should be SOOOO proud to he one of her creations be the first artist designed Steiff bear ever...For such a prestigous bear company, that is QUITE an achievement!!!

Jeremy

Wow Danni!!!!

What an inspiration you are to me!!!  I am overweight and have always had weight issues.  Seeing you, and knowing that you were able to do it, really gives me faith that if I work hard, I WILL be able to lost the weight and feel healthier.  I am soooo happy for you! 

Congratulations!!!

Keep Up The AWESOME Work!

Jeremy

Just another way for eBay and Paypal to dig into their loyal sellers pockets even more....Disgusting.  Shane, how did you manage to get a Paypal Mastercard?  It says right on the site that it is only available to US residents....I have been waiting for them to let us apply for them...

Jer

Hey Guys And Gals...

     I was thinking about ordering a yard of Intercal's weekly special, but when I go to checkout, it says shipping and handling will be charged after order is processed.  I would like to know what they usually charge onaverage, because if it's gonna cost a ton for shipping, I don't know if Iwill order a full yard.  Any Canadians who have ordered from Intercal before able to help a fellow out?

Thanks

Jeremy