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Bearhaven BearsHi All,
Just thought I would see if anyone out there will have a table at the TBAI in New York in August? This will be my first US show and I'm very nervous. I have never done a show of this magnatuded and I'm not sure what to expect. I've heard good things about TBAI (that's why I signed up 
) but not knowing anyone and not being well known myself has me hoping some one from this list will be attending. You all seem so nice and caring it would makes things less scarry knowing that there will be some friendly faces in the crowd. I realize I have months to get ready but the stress has already kicked in, I knew there was a reason I didn't like doing shows, the getting ready part. :doh:
I'm a nervous nelly but excited too!!
Hugs Deborah
Posts: 3,177Hi Deborah :hug:
Nice to meet you.
I should'nt worry about doing a big show for the first time if your bears are all as gorgeous as your avatar bear. What a stunner!
I'm in the UK so unless i win the lottery i wont be going to the TBAI - but i really and honestly don't think you have to worry - your bears speak for themselves.
Can i have one please? ha ha ha
Good Luck 
Penny x
Bearhaven BearsAwwww 
Penny,
That is so sweet of you to say, I'll save you a bear!!! it's not like I will ever sell out I have done shows here in Canada and have done okay but being the insecure artists that I am, it is hard to take the next step and enter the big time. I'm sure when things are all over and done with I will look back and laugh at how silly I was being.
Thanks for your kind words
Hugs Deborah
Posts: 3,177Yeah you will Deborah - but i bet at the moment you are very nervous.
I'll hold you to that offer of a bear too ha ha ha 
Penny :hug:
Canna Bear PaintHi Deborah,
I'll have a table at TBAI this year (with my co-business partner, my mom), so we'll see you there! We had a table at TBAI for the first time last year, and had a wonderful time. It's a really nice show, the atmosphere is very friendly and warm. Considering that there is a 55 artist limit in the room, I thought they did a lovely job getting a variety of styles represented and I'm sure you'll fit in splendidly.
I think I've got Deb from TT convinced to come to the show this year and visit us, so that's one more person from the board that you can meet! Anybody else? I need to bury my head back into our gallery project for this year's show, it's a doozy!
Cheers,
Kelly
the piece paradeMy bears and I and a whole group of wonderful teddy bear collectors and friends and families from North Carolina will be heading to TBAI in August unless something dire happens to keep us from going. Mary Dowd and I will each have a table and the rest of the crowd are coming for all the fun. I am sure there are some fantastic shows all over the world, but only in my dreams am I able to attend them! In my experience, if you can choose only a few shows to attend, either as an artist or a collector, this is one you will not want to miss! It seems that everything is done to perfection and all who are there have the best time - lots of fun and laughter and lots and lots of the most fabulous bears you will see. It seems to get better every year and I hope this year is no exception. If I seem a little biased, well, I suppose.... I am! The show is held to raise money for the Ross Park Zoo and endangered animals. The gallery of artist pieces are unbelieveable! And the collectors - let me tell you - they love love love bears! It's one of the few times I am content to be behind the table so I won't be tempted by every thing I see. (I let my daughter roam around and then she comes back oohing and ahhing over all she's seen!) If you are going, please stop by and let us know who you are and meet the whole crazy crowd! Anyone else here going to TBAI in August?
ginger
Dearest Deborah,
I will be attending the TBAI this August, Good Lord willing. Last year was my first as an exhibitor and I must say it is the best show I have ever attended.
Everyone is so friendly and helpful. I enjoyed the Gala Event, the Friday Preview Show, the Wonderful Banquet, the picnic after the show, just everything about it. I'm sure you will have a great time and your bears will be very well accepted by the collectors.
Don't worry, you won't be the only Nervous Nellie. I think we all get a little bit that way right before a big show. The secret is to not let it show by enjoying the occasion and having fun.
Will be looking for you and your wonderful bears.
Hugs,
Wanda
Hello, Yes I will have a table at TBAI this year also. This will be my Fifth time there and it is my favorite show because of the wonderful friendly atmosphere and all the fun events. So, relax and plan on enjoying it. I am in the midst of getting my gallery piece ready now as I don't like the last minute pressure. See you all there. Janet
Posts: 139I, obviously, won't be having a table, but I am going to go as it's less than an hour away. I'm soooo looking forward to it!
Nearby hugs,
Lyn
Janet,
So good to hear you will be attending the TBAI also. We were next to each other last year and I didn't realize you were the TT Janet until I got home. Small world, huh?
And I met Kelly and her mother too while at the show.
If anyone has a chance to attend the show, it is well worth the trip.
Hugs,
Wanda
Past Time BearsSo, if all of you are going to be at TBAI in August, is anyone going to participate in ABC's August San Diego show??
Teddy Bear and FriendsI'll be at TBAI in August. I've seen it grow from a tiny thing at the country club to a full-blown Event. It seems strange that one of the country's major shows should be in Binghamton--when I went to college in the area, we joked about being "centrally isolated" because we were 4 hours from everything--but it grew by sheer force of will of the late great Millie Gage and the artists who believed in the cause of the zoo, endangered species, and having a really great show that was affordable and fun.
The Thursday night party started in 2002, when John Port and Denis Shaw hosted it to celebrate the teddy bear's 100th anniversary. It was such fun that it's kept going. This year, Cindy Malchoff is planning a wine and gourmet food gala (I've been sending lists of my favorite Fingerlakes wineries).
There will be things to do on Friday during the day--usually something at the hotel and something out in the world--then the artist gallery show and reception Friday night. That's the part where we all munch hors d'oeuvres and drink beverages and view the gallery and vote on our favorites and see how fast all the gallery pieces can sell out. Something like 80% of them sold in an hour last year. The theme this year is sleuths and detectives--though Cindy has a much more clever way of putting it.
After the gallery will be dinner, which is always great and usually has a terrific dessert. The People's Choice Winners are announced, and there's usually a big collaboration piece auctioned. There are lots of door prizes (I'm donating some, and I've got pretty good stuff lying around the office).
On Saturday, there's the show. It is medium-sized, in numbers of exhibitors and attendees alike. The thing is, the people who hike themselves to Binghamton for a show are serious about bears, and they buy. The collectors tend to come back year after year because they like to hang out with the artists at the various events, and they know that the artists will bring their best work and even save good pieces for this show. But at the same time, it's a laid-back, friendly atmosphere. Collectors are comparing purchases in the aisles and chatting over bears in the foyer.
After the show, everyone packs up and goes out to the zoo for a cookout dinner. I'm hoping they have speidies again this year (a chicken kabab unique to the Binghamton area and really yummy). We get to wander around the zoo and visit the animals and see what our money has accomplished.
Long story short, it's a fun show and well worth the trip to Binghamton for collectors and artists alike. TBF is providing souvenirs for the gala on Thursday night, and I would very much like to have to increase my original order, so I hope lots of people will sign up to go. I know it's conflicting with Expo, which is also a nice show, but I think we'll have more fun in Binghamton.
Cheers,
Mindy
PS: Sorry all my posts seem to be long, drawn-out epistles. What can I say, I'm a writer!
Upstate New YorkWill not miss it! No excuse to either with being just a little less than an hour away. Won't leave until I've met everyone from TT who is going. Maybe next year, I'll even think about having a table.
P.S. I am SO serious ... if anyone needs a place to crash, please let me know.
Bearhaven BearsHi All, OHHHHH this is soooo fantastic, I'm really excited now :dance: . I've written everyones name down so I can pop by all the TT Members tables and formally introduce myself , theres nothing like being able to put a face to everyones name. I've just changed my gallery choice so now I really need to get my butt in gear if I'm going to make the March 15th deadline for the photo shoot. I'm a indecisive procrastinator not a good combo. 
Hugs to all Deborah
How many people attend this show?
I looked on the website for it, and they showed pictures of pieces that artists donated last year. Do artists sell other work there besides these pieces?
the piece paradeTBAI is a wonderful place to see a great selection of many of the artists finest work. The gallery pieces will be special one-of-a-kinds for sale to benefit the zoo, etc. and this year's photos will be posted on the website when the pieces are ready. The set up is like most bear shows, with each artist having their own table and everyone going crazy trying to decide which ones they want the most. I have met the most interesting people there and there is much excitement building about this year's show. This will be my 5th year I think...and it continues to be a great place for bear people of all sorts!
ginger
What are the exact dates and times for the show? If I am not elsewhere, I will make the 5 hour trip to visit everyone............
Oh this sounds like a fantastic show! Wish I could go... but have fun and good luck to everyone who is going! And a belated "welcome" Deborah! I'm sure you will do well, your avatar bear is wonderful!!!
the piece paradeHere's the info on TBAI:
The "event dates" are Thursday August 17 through Saturday, August 19
On Thursday evening there is a Gala Reception open to anyone to come and meet and chat and view a small selection of artist bears on display - this isn't "The Gallery" with the 1/1's for sale, just a sampling of the artists work.
The event activities include:
Friday - fun & interesting activities, set up for the show, "The Gallery" revealed, an artist preview, and "The Feast" (it truly is a feast!)
Saturday - 10:00 am - 3:00 pm is the TBAI show and sale. And afterwards the picnic.
Please join us. I think you will have a lovely time! If you cannot come for the entire thing, I think the sale on Saturday would be worth the trip, in my opinion.
The website for the show will be updated with this year's info sometime in the near future. Check it out at:
We'd love to see you there! And if anyone has more questions, I would be happy to answer them. If I don't know the answer, I can ask Cindy, who runs the show and is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.
ginger
Cindy is fabulously helpful; I had several email exchanges with her last year and found her to be so knowledgeable and supportive.
I was invited to show at TBAI last year and this but the timing of the show, especially given the huge distance (I'm in California; the show is in New York) is bad for my family, because it coincides with the start of school for my young sons. So, unfortunately, I had to decline in-person participation.
However, artists can create a Gallery piece for inclusion in the auction, with 100% of proceeds going to the auction charity (endangered species), even if they can't attend.
Also, the Gallery piece does not have to be ready by the photo deadline of March 15; that applies only if you hope to have your piece photographed for possible inclusion in promotional literature, including the trade magazines which publish teasers for the event prior to the show in August. You can have up until around May or June, if they do things the same way this year as they did last year, to get your piece in to Cindy on the east coast.
I don't want to encourage a mad, haphazard rush to donate pieces to TBAI; please realize that unlike many exhibitions, TBAI is a very exclusive, juried show (meaning you have to have/present a portfolio of work, and need to be "approved" for inclusion). Thus, it's an amazing honor to be invited to participate.
But... If you think your work is very good to superb; have interest in creating an above-and-beyond-the-norm, spectacular piece for a charity auction; and are willing to donate ALL your proceeds to TBAI's chosen charity (p.s. - those who exhibit at the show are allowed the option to donate less than 100%, because they are already paying table fees!); then I think Cindy might welcome your contact and inquiry about being involved.
I'm mentioning this because it just felt really good, last year, when I was able to participate in this small way, contributing my proceeds to such a worthy cause, even though I could not attend in person.
Those participating... What's the theme this year for Gallery pieces??? Oh wait... Mindy mentioned it's something about Sleuths and Detectives, I see.
Cindy does like to be sure there aren't "duplicate" entries for the Gallery, which makes sense because it allows for huge variety and keeps things interesting for the collectors! So if you are interested in exploring this 100% donation Gallery option, please remember that not only your participation, but also your idea for your Gallery piece, needs to be approved for submission. In other words, don't start working on something until you have the 100% green light on both your donation and your idea!!!
