A Blog Anniversary - and the Cuddlies set off in a new direction.

Hello there Everyone:   I'm giving Cy Bear a well-earned rest.  He's been doing his bit supervising the selection of a lot of the Coldham Cuddlies Rabbits Family prior to their leaving their Burrow in the hope of finding their respective Adoptive Homes - using a new medium.  They're off to be part of a real live Shop Display.  

Here are the selection of Baby Bunnies that have been on offer since the Christmas Carnival Craft Bazaar at Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire on December 5th last year.  These, and some duplicates, are off tomorrow (together with two Girl Dressed Rabbits and the two Dressed Men Rabbits shown below.  (There are still some Baby Bunnies left in the Burrow, too)

and they are all accompanied by the four Fleece Rabbits shown below:

Making up the contingent is a Snowy March Hare (which can also be made up in the Plush fabric used for the Brown Rabbit shown here..

Just a few weeks ago, a new shop, called The Artful Buttoner, opened in Kirkby-in-Ashfield to supply the crafters of the Town and it's surrounding areas.  It turns out that Claire, the Proprietor, lives just around the corner from both Clare and I and not only is she offering the usual haberdashery items (yarns for embroidery and knitting, plus all the attendant supplies), but she wants to provide shelf-space to local Crafters who might like to exhibit and sell their wares too.  As the name implies, there are buttons galore to pick one's way through, as well as some beautiful buttonwork at which Claire herself excels.  There are also "Knit and Natter" Sessions on offer during the week, and Clare is already a regular attendee.
Naturally, Clare and I weren't slow in calling in (separately) to see what it was like. Clare (accompanied by Alan) beat me to it and was full of praise for the site, the friendly proprietor and her equally friendly assistant, and urged me to follow up on both their visit and my own burgeoning idea to see if I could possibly sell some Cuddlies in the Shop (after all the usual discounts or other business arrangements had been discussed).  
During my visit - where the Cuddlies were welcomed with very kind words - and with Easter rapidly approaching, I arranged to take in a selection of the Rabbits we have in our shop at www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES - and leave her to display them as and where she wanted.  Last week, I called in to warn them of our impending arrival, and this coming Monday (9th March), the Boys and Girls shown above are going to see how they might do in this new environment. 
The arrangement is for them (and others who will be substituted after Easter) to try the arrangement for a three- month period - after which, we shall see what happens next.  The business offer is most acceptable from my point of view - and it means I've got more space to put the new Boy Foxes,  Wolves and Rabbits that I'm in the process of replacing, making for the first time, and so on.
I'm not the first local Crafter to take advantage of the space on offer and  I've given the Ladies plenty to choose from - and the way Claire operates is that Crafters leave their handicraft with her, and she and Maggie, her assistant, move the goods around the Shop - so that when Customers come into the Shop, they never see the same thing twice.  One pays a very reasonable some for the privilege and Claire takes an equally reasonable percentage of every sale that results.  (This is the first time I've ventured into this selling arena, so am somewhat apprehensive of the outcome.  But nothing ventured, nothing won!)
Now, the anniversary mentioned in the title of this post is the Fourth Anniversary of the my first post here - which took place on March 11, 2011. (So, not an inappropriate time to be trying out something new in the promotion of the Coldham Cuddlies family)   Since then, we've received 31,665 page views, attracted 367 confirmed Blogger.com Followers - not to mention all the lovely folk who comment, on Google+, Etsy.com, Facebook and Twitter.  When tentatively beginning this experiment in 2011, I never dreamed it would get like this:  thanks to you, I still have the energy and motivation to carry on!  Cy Bear joins me - in his own inimitable way - in saying thank you too.

Right, I've now got to get on with the new Foxes and Wolves mentioned by Cy Bear in his last contribution.  One Fox is complete.  Because it has been sometime since I last made the Dressed Boys, the first one has taken longer than I thought it would - but the second one (a Wolf - just so I don't get bored!) is coming along well.  Two more to go, and then I shall have to make some more Boy Rabbits.  
Going through the Burrow today showed there are still got a selection of Girls on offer.  They are more fun to make, I have to say - largely because I've made a rod for my own back with the Boys: by going "off-pattern" and giving the coats their own lining (even though they aren't visible!) and making the boots from leather (rather than felt, as stipulated in the original patterns).  I just feel they aren't properly finished without those additions and above all, COLDHAMCUDDLIES do like to offer value for money!
Until the next post - thanks again for all your support.  We could NOT do this without you.  Isobel