As promised in our last post on May 1, I managed to take two pictures of Rusty before he left Heytesbury for his current Forever Home in High Wycombe, driven by his Best Friend, Philippa. Because the weather was inclement, and neither of us wanted him to get wet after all he's recently gone through, Rusty was transported in the same plastic bag in which his stuffing was provided by my suppliers!
You can see, he took up a lot of the back seat of Philippa's car - so much so that he was actually blocking a clear view from her rear view mirror. So, for safety's sake, and as his arms would have caused some impediment to her safe driving if he'd sat in the passenger seat beside her, he ended up on his side for the journey home. Thus a satisfactory end to what has been quite an experience! He's a good match with her car, isn't he?
Now, to some slightly more mundane, but equally important matters. At the end of March, (in a post on 31/03/2012) I mentioned that in future all Coldham Cuddlies listed at www.etsy.com/shop/coldhamcuddlies would carry a label somewhere about their frame. The woven labels finally arrived and the first new creation to be labelled was Cy Bear II, who was the subject of our last post - on 01.05.2012. While acknowledging the usefulness of these additions (if only to provide some provenance should a Cuddly become a future valuable antique!) I've always felt that to have them on a Bear's foot pad for instance actually detracts from the overall appearance of that toy. So, I've chosen to put my labels in a more discreet position - where possible - on their bottoms. Thus, they will be labelled clearly - but it won't spoil their looks!
Since completing Rusty - who left on schedule (04/05/2012) with Philippa - I've been diligently applying the labels to all the existing toys in stock. (It does take me back - to the 1950's, when at the beginning of each school year, my mother and I set to, attaching name tapes to any new additions to the school uniform!) The only toys who will probably not carry this additional embellishment are the Baby Rabbits (all versions) because their rumps are a little small for the labels with their existing dimensions. The labels threaten to overwhelm them! The Baby Koalas (Etsy Listing #55190188) are sufficiently big to carry the labels off! There are now just 6 Dressed Toys that are listed at www.etsy.com/shop/coldhamcuddlies, that still require their labels - all the others have been attended to. Maybe, down the line, I'll get a smaller version of the labels, and then the Baby Rabbits and their ilk will not escape!There need to be some more sales first!!
Interestingly, and while on the subject of labels, my stuffing source has recently also taken to attaching a label to the bag in which the polyester fibre is sold to me. For the sake of good order and the record, here is what it says:
" CARELESSNESS CAUSES FIRE
Filling materials have been tested by our supplier(s)
and meet the requirements of the Furniture and
Furnishing (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988-BS5852
part 2."
In past posts I've mentioned that the source for this (and the plush off-cuts and other materials used for some of my Dressed Toys) is a Soft Furnishing/Upholstery Factory based in Frome, Somerset. This information provides me with great comfort: I hope it does for you, my readers - and all my toy customer friends as well.
Before closing: I've been invited to join a new blogging team - www.etsy.com/teams/misanthropy-creations-blog-team - and this post will be the first of mine to be sent to the Team Leader for her to edit and publish in due course. Michelle, the Team Leader, is well plugged into the social media scene and - I think - the objective of the team members is to publicise our blogs (as well as our shops), using her existing social media exposure to the mutual benefit of us all. Not sure how long I'll last, but I'm willing to have a go. I have to prepare this whole post in a HTML version and send it to her email - and then leave it to her. Will keep you posted (or you may want to watch out on Stumble, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, WeHeartThis and Tumblr, amongst others!). Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ I do have some connection with: the rest, I've not even tried to "play" with!
Given my recent luck when attempting to access new pastures on the internet, I'm a little fearful, but...... hopefully,
I'll see you around soon! Isobel
