Hello!
Since my Mom is too busy to blog about us bears these days, I thought I would do the honors myself.
I am Timmy, my Mom's favorite bear. (Don't tell other bears in my hug that I am her favorite though - it is our little secret). I think my first blog post will help people understand why a bear is a must for everybody.
Some people think all you ever need is one teddy. Some think all you ever need is no teddy. While one teddy is understandable, I never realize why "no teddy" seems a good option to some.
A bear brings a smile to one's face. That in itself should be reason enough to adopt one of us. A bear also brings comfort when one is sad. Now that is not something your gadgets or other toys can do, is it? Ha! Score = Bear - 2, Others - 0.
We are also soft, cuddly and infinitely cute to look at. :) We are nice, good and are great at keeping secrets. :D And, you don't need to feed us anything more than your love. :)
Teddy bears make the world a better place. (Wow, I should copyright that phrase. On it as soon as I post this.) So gift yourself or a loved one a bundle of cuddliness, adorableness and love! :)
Much Love,
Timmy the Teddy Bear.
The Bear for the month of September 2010 is "Birthday Cheeky" from Merrythought, available in a Limited Edition of 80. This little 6" fully jointed mohair Cheeky has been made especially for Merrythought's 80th birthday celebrations. 1930 to 2010 is embroidered on his footpad.
As no teddy bear collection can be complete without the classic Cheeky bear, I chose this bear to be our September bear.
The bear of the month of August, 2010 is "Willow" by Deans.
An extra soft panda made from a longish brown and peach mohair combination. He has suedette pads and paws. He is a 15" jointed bear from the Deans 2010 Collection. This bear is a limited edition of 30.
Image and info courtesy, and purchasable from: http://www.ashbybears.com/acatalog/Willow_by_Deans.html
July 24th is Margarete Steiff's birthday. She was born in 1847 in Germany and founded Steiff. So this month's bear, is of course, a Steiff bear.
The bear of the month of July 2010 is STEIFF COSY YEAR BEAR 2010 - 40cm - a superb present to commemorate a special event in 2010 (3 years and upwards) bear. (Steiff teddy code : 663413, overall size ~ 40cm, £39.95 [ postage is still free !! ])
Here we have the long awaited Steiff 2010 Cosy Year Bear. He is made from knitted brown plush and is machine washable and has the year 2010 embroidered on one of his paws. The Cosy Year Bear embraces all the traditional ingredients we love about Steiff but he is also so very soft and has a huge hug. Whether you are buying him as a gift or are a collector of our year bears we are sure you will be thrilled with this years design. So whether he is your companion or a gift for someone special he is sure to bring great happiness. Yellow label with famous Steiff button in the ear.
Remember you receive a free exclusive Bel Air Collectors bag and free delivery within the UK. Image and info from: http://www.steiffteddybears.co.uk/steiff_bear.asp?steiff_code=663413
Holidays are the perfect occasion to give and receive teddy bear gifts. It is a wonderful time for collectors, with family and friends feeding their collecting frenzy.
These holidays, make your own wish list of bears! And don't forget to buy a special Santa Bear to remember the Christmas by.
Also, make sure teddy bears are included in the holiday decorating! A bunch of bears under a Christmas tree would look simply adorable. Santa and other red and white bears scattered around tastefully in the rooms would also give a christmas-y feel to the home.
It is also a time to take a deep look at your collection, and decide upon the objectives for the year ahead. It is a great time to take an inventory of your bears, and may be even decide which bears are ready to be given away to others who might enjoy them more - especially if storage is becoming a problem for you.
Make some new year bear resolutions, and figure out the direction you want your collection to grow in, in the upcoming year. It would be good to do this fairly early, so your wishlist can contain the bears you really need.
Last but not the least - take the time to really enjoy the collection, by playing with them and taking many photos of them posing in various settings!
I decided to have seasons themes for my teddy bear collection displays. I will be having themed displays for each season, with bears wearing the right colors and costumes. I can also set the theme by staging certain elements of the season in my bear display shelf - miniature snowmen, hanging snowflakes, santa's deers and valentine hearts for winter; florals for spring and so on. Here is how I plan to arrange the bears each season:
Winter:
Winter says christmas, snow and also valentine's day for me. So my winter display will have my polar bears, cream bears, grey bears and also bears of other colors in winter clothing (think Boomer bear from Russ). Not to forget Santa Bears! The left portion of my display will contain the christmas theme and the right will be a valentine's theme, with all my I love you bears and red bears. In the middle, I will put bears to blend the themes in by using some transition bears.
Spring:
Pastels and green shout spring. A spring display needs lots of pink, lavender, silver, pastel blue and other shades well blended, using bears of that color. Green bears can set a background for the display, or a green spring landscape scene would be the perfect setting for all the pastels to bloom in. No greys or whites here!
Summer:
Summer is for bright colors and daring patterns. I shall put up my yellow, orange, deep blue and other summery colors in this display, all set in a background of sunflower pictures. Multicolored bears can also be a part of a summer display. Light and airy summer or outdoor costumed bears in any color fur can also join in the fun, and will help to set the mood. While it is always fun to mix and match bears of different bold colors, it would be important to create a balanced look by blending the colors well with transition bears. I am even thinking a rainbow theme - bears from violet through red, all arranged from left to right.
Autumn:
A fall display can look great in harvest colors of red, orange, gold etc. One or two purple bears can also add to the fun of the setting and prevent it from looking too orange-y. I would want to throw in a background setting with fall pictures to set the mood.
Some of the bears can fit more than one season. Every bear in the collection gets to come out in at least one season - so none is left forever in storage. Plus, this setting gives me my shopping list, too - "now, if I can find a lavender bear for the spring season, it would be great!" So my bear collection would be more enjoyable and more visually appealing too.
You can try this yourself. Find out themes you love, and put up a display exclusively for that theme. You will have a lot of fun, and perhaps even add more bears to your hug after an exciting hunt for the perfect pieces of your theme. And you never know, you may even end up centering your entire collection around that particular theme!
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Heya,
Let's face it - bears aren't exactly something you can store away in desk drawers, they take up space. And as with any collector, a bear collector also tends to collect first and think later about storage and display. Plus, in these economic times, it is not easy for non-multimillionaire collectors to buy everything they love.
So, what do we do? How do we make sure that our collection doesn't end up wasting money or space? The answer is direction.
The reason why many teddy bear collectors seem to end up with rooms overflowing with bears and hardly any time or space to enjoy them, is because they went around collecting every bear that caught their eye. In the initial stages where teddy bears of any and every type attract us, it is hard not to fall into this problem. I admit I had it too.
But sooner or later, we realize that if we keep doing things that way, we would soon end up homeless, or would have to part with a majority of the collection in order to make room for new comers. Or it may cause friction with your loved ones who once tried to be supportive of your bear-mania by gifting you special teddies.
So, a time comes when we just have to find a direction to our collection. A time when we decide, okay, from now on I am going to focus on this manufacturer / material / character / color / country, and only buy teddies of that area. This would significantly reduce impulse buys, and you would have a collection which looks more professional and appealing. Plus, it might even end up being more valuable than a generic and unfocused collection.
Now, finding this direction would give us specific collecting goals. What is the next thing I am looking for? And the thrill of the hunt begins. It is much more fun to actively seek and find a special bear than to randomly pick up a cute bear at the local mall.
Since you can pick your direction depending on your taste, budget and space availability, chances are it wouldn't end up causing you too much trouble. And you might even be able to enjoy the collection more.
Once you feel you have collected enough from a certain niche, you can always move on to a new niche, so it is not like you are tied up for life. Also, even while you are focusing exclusively on one segment, if a unique and special bear comes your way for a great price, you needn't hesitate to bring her home either ;)
Now, after eight years of collecting, is my own collection starting to find a direction now? Yes, finally! I am now focusing on colors, and adding uniquely colored ones to my collection. So, if you have an amethyst or gold colored bear to spare, feel free to send them my way ;)
Cheers!
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