Post Tiger Invasion; What Happened Next?

Hello there!  Back, as promised, to carry on with the Tiger Who Lost His Stripes Saga you learned about late last week.

Well, Isobel did not want to find herself in the same position of having orders, and no way of meeting them.  So, when the Honey Plush purchased from Plush Addict of Peterborough had proved a suitable substitute for our favourite, Khaki Premier Plush, she went back to the new supplier, and ordered the normal 2 metre length we go for when stocking up.  It arrived, again, almost by return of post, but because the material comes in a different roll width, so we didn't get as much to work with for the long term, but sufficient for the time being. 

 

The New Look Tiger Who Lost His Stripes:  slightly smaller  -due to the different fabric weight.

As we still had one more outstanding order for a Tiger Puppet, this time heading for Franklin, Wisconsin, Isobel set to and cut out the entire new Coldham Cuddly using the current Honey Plush fabric (making a bit of a dent in our supply).  After 14 repeat Tiger Orders, she'd got into a good working routine for these Activity Toys, and the remaining order was completed in two evenings and dispatched early in June.  MrsSD, who had been kept informed about the dramas happening before her commission arrived at the head of Isobel's "To Do List" - and was equally  happy to accept the new-look Puppet  - has yet to respond as to whether the toy has arrived safely.  However, as we always send our Cuddlies by International Tracked and Signed For service offered by Royal Mail, (the best travelling route available) Isobel has just checked the Tracker Number under which the Wisconsin Tiger travelled, and sees that it was safely delivered on 13th June.  Now that is somewhat longer than our toys normally take to reach their destinations in the United States, but all international travel is taking longer under Covid 19 Pandemic restrictions than it once used to.  (So far, too, all our packages sent to the United States have got to their addresses:  some people around the UK, have not been as lucky!)

The New Look Tiger Puppet has ears that have a furry lining, rather than the usual silky look

However, it has meant that our Listing in our Shop - https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/650644825/tiger-puppets-without-stripes-tiger?ref=shop_home_active_55 needed to be up-dated, with photographs of the New Look Tiger, rather than the original ones.  You can see some of them interspersed with the story here today as well.  There are still some of the Old Look Stripe-Less Tiger Puppet - because Isobel does intend to return to the original arrangements - mainly because we get more fabric for our money, than with the new version.  

The Honey Plush is narrower in width, so we don't get as much for 2 metres of that material, whereas Khaki Premier Plush comes in a much wider format.   Also, this week, we learned that we'll not be able to travel to the Peterborough Warehouse for the foreseeable future, as the firm has decided that they're going to carry on supplying customers on-line for the time being, as they were not sure it was the right modus operandi for them to have people in their building as happened previously.  The Pandemic basically showed them the way forward, so we might as well carry on getting our supplies from old, trusted sources.  

Another view of the New Tiger Who Lost His Stripes, minus its usual Operator's Arm/Hand

So, while all the Tiger orders were coming in, Isobel also began to get more requests for Clerical Bears.  We made a Bishop Bear for starters (one of two orders that arrived on the same day!), after the Wisconsin Tiger left for its Forever Home (or rather the Buyer's home), because like most of the Activity Toys, they tend to be presents for younger members of the buyers' Families and often far distant from the Buyer's actual home.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/628372290/bear-novelty-collectable-fun-gift-for?ref=shop_home_active_1

The destinations for the two Bishop Bears were well apart from each other.  One went to Parkville, Maryland and the second was, this time, not too far away from Cuddlies HQ in Kirkby in Ashfield, Notts.  He only had to travel to Evesham, Worcestershire, England,UK.  Isobel applied her newly acquired skill for making multiples of the same toy, and both of the Bishop Bears were sent off within a day of each other.  

One side-effect of all these dispatches, is that Isobel's injured hip is having more exercise than usual - as we now can walk to our local Post Office, whereas, since May 2019, she's been going to the Town's more central Post Office, which has meant reliance on the local 'bus service to access the services needed.  It is taking her about 40 minutes each time she does the round trip, and it's not a flat surface she walks on either!  (Now that the local 'bus service has resumed, she will have the choice!).

While Bishop Bears production was under way, we received an order for a Treasure Yellow Rabbit - from Isobel's older daughter, Philippa.  Fortunately, we still had one in stock, so he/she was on his/her way within a day or so.

These live in the Coldham Rabbit "Burrow", and replacements for many of our Baby Rabbits are now required, including these!

Incidentally, the very first Yellow Baby Rabbit was actually made for her when she was a baby and it was named "Treasure", because that was what her Grandmother called her at the time! The name has stuck ever since for this particular version of our baby plush rabbits. (https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/coldhamcuddlies?ref=seller-platform-mcnav&section_id=18803204)

 At the same time, out of the blue, another order arrived - this time for one of our Halloween Spiders.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/587570247/yellowblack-spider-finger-puppet?ref=shop_home_active_2

This one - which we then found was the last one in the Shop, for the time being - is on its way to Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA - because MsVQ saw it while she was visiting and "liked the look on its face".    So, the replacement To Do List is now getting longer, although we're planning on adding some new faces/toys to the Shop before we attack that particular task.    

We've got two new additions to tell you about as well - one is a Clerical Bear, which was a Custom Order for one of Isobel's fellow Members of the St. Barnabas Cathedral Arts & Crafts Guild, as well as a brand new Toy - made with one of the "mistake" fabrics recently purchased while the Tiger Saga was under way.   Isobel has got patterns for at least another two more new Cuddlies she wants to make, so as you can see, she's been kept on her toes over the past three months while the Lockdown  has forced her to stay within the confines of our Flat.   

She's still somewhat restricted - by official edict, as well as her walking ability.  In November, thanks to one of our vigilant doctors at the local Surgery, she discovered that her injured leg is now 2.2cms shorter than the other one. (No wonder she'd been walking like Donald Duck and beginning to walk with a stoop!)  But it now means she has to have any future new shoes altered to account for that difference, so that she can walk upright.  Because she'd been going from side to side while getting over the May fall, her pelvic bone was tilting in the direction of the shorter leg, so recently she's had to almost re-learn how to walk again.  It's still painful, but she's getting there.  Being "confined to barracks" during that time has therefore not been too much of a problem for her, although it has meant that she's not been able to see her local family as much as normal - which hasn't been nice for anyone concerned.

I'll be back to tell you more, next week - hopefully.  Meanwhile, stay safe, everyone and have a good one!

Your Friend

Cy Bear

An Inundation of Tiger Arm Puppets - And Some Consequences

Hello there Everyone:  Cy Bear back once more, and a little later than intended.  Nevertheless, we are back again.

In last week's post I said one of the reasons we stopped posting last October was because we began to get several orders for our Arm Puppets, most of whom were based on our Tiger Who Lost His Stripes. ( https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/650644825/tiger-puppets-without-stripes-tiger?ref=shop_home_active_7    Well, while preparing this week's chat, Isobel went through the orders she had received, made and sent to their various homes (all over the United States of America), and we thought we would share the locations of where these members of the Coldham Cuddlies family now find themselves:

Listed in the order in which they left us - starting in October 2019, the Stripe-less Tigers are now living in:

          Perkassie, Pennsylvania
          Boyds, Maryland
          Longboat Key, Florida
          Indianpolis, Indiana
          Iowa City, Iowa
          Saint Louis, Missouri
          Lancaster, Pennsylvania
          Flushing, Michigan
          Raleigh, North Carolina
          Medina, Ohio
          Walkersville, Maryland  - where two now live together

All of them were made with what has become Isobel's fabric of choice for making our Arm Puppets (where possible), Premier Plush - except for one, which is what this post is going to be about.  We normally get this from the fabric shop Isobel used to frequent when she and I lived in Wiltshire, prior to moving to Nottinghamshire in 2014.  Called Fabricland, they have several "brick and mortar" shops in the West of England, and she used to buy the materials needed for Cuddlies over the counter from their Salisbury Shop mostly.  She could easily reach it using the local 'bus service  then. Since arriving in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, thanks to the internet, we've been able to maintain our links there with no problems - until now. 

Because our flat is considerably smaller than where we previously lived, storage space is more limited, so Isobel buys replacements in 2 metre (just over 6.5 yards) at a time.  Due to the orders coming in at such a rate, and with the arrival of the Covid19 Pandemic in the UK, our usual supply line became somewhat less reliable.  Being a fabric warehouse, materials needed for the specialist needs of the UK National Health Service understandably had a priority rating for the Fabricland staff, who were working with fewer people in their Warehouse as well.

That seems to have coincided with Isobel having a "senior moment" on two different occasions.  First time around, she ordered the wrong colour:

A selection of the fabrics from which Isobel usually buys for our Tigers taken from the Fabricland online Shop site.

The colour we usually go for is called "Khaki" and is shown here on the right side of the photo, next to the white version.  For some reason, and we can only think it was because Isobel ordered it just before going to bed that time, we ended up with what is called "Rose", next to the Red and Black versions.  Quite understandably, when fabric is cut out, and the customer makes a mistake, he/she has to take what arrives, and get on with life.  Isobel was cross with herself and when checking to see which WAS the right colour, again she must have been not concentrating, because the replacement for the replacement that  arrived looked  like the fabric on the other side of the red material shown in the photo! 

That, we discovered is called "Mustard", and Isobel cannot for the life of her understand how the mistake happened once again (except that it could have been in the evening again, and colours look different when seen under electric lights these days).  It was her fault, as she had clearly ordered "Mustard", rather than Khaki.  We had to accept that the mistake was once again ours  So, valuable space was being taken up by 4 metres of potentially non-usable material!  (However all is not lost .... that could mean at least another blog post or two!!)

However, back to the Tiger saga:   Fabricland were unable to guarantee the second replacement delivery in the time needed, because they too were awaiting delivery of the Khaki fabric! (Another possible reason for the wrong colour choice:  the Khaki having been temporarily withdrawn while delivery was awaited?)   Isobel just HAD to find matching material for the back of the second Tiger Who Lost His Stripes that was due to head for Walkersville,Maryland! within days.   Thus we were faced with the dilemma of all Crafters worldwide.  Matching exactly fabric from a different source, whose dyes and original fabrics might not be an exact match. All knitters regularly face this problem: but so far, in the 10 years that COLDHAMCUDDLIES has been operating, this is the first time we've had to! 

Not really an exact match, was it?

Following a frantic on-line search (aided and abetted by daughter Clare) Isobel was able to contact a fabric warehouse which is located about 1.5 hours drive from us - rather than almost the other side of the country, as is Fabricland!  However, the lock down regulations in place in the UK meant that we were unable to actually drive to the new fabric source.  We had to rely on their judgement about the colours we were only able to provide via the internet - not always the most reliable medium when one needs a perfect match.   Driving to Fabricland HQ, located in Bournemouth, on the South Coast of England,  would have meant at least  6-8 hour drive, even with the wind behind us - and equally forbidden in present circumstances.

Isobel contacted the Mother of the two children who were looking forward excitedly to getting their own Tiger Who Lost His Stripes to play with and explained the situation.  MrsLB was wonderfully understanding, and more than open to the possibility of having one Puppet look slightly different from the other.  (Fortunately the missing piece would actually be on the back of the finished Puppet).  So, Isobel went ahead and ordered just enough of the "Honey" plush fabric stocked by the new supplier, Plush Addict - based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.   Prior to this  "hiccup", Isobel had offered to embroider the initials of each child in the lining of each Puppet, so that there would be no mistaking which Tiger belonged to which youngster.  Now, with one with a slightly different coloured back, there COULD be no argument!

The Plush Addict replacement:  definitely more acceptable

We were lucky in that the material arrived almost by return of post - and when actually compared to the original front of the Puppet (and its arms) the new arrival was not that different, and certainly unlikely to worry a young man, intent on playing puppets with his bigger sister!!  Whew!!!
The project was eventually finished and both puppets travelled together early the next week after all the excitements.  Our usual Farewell Ceremony took place, and here's a photo of the three of us before they were packed up and dispatched on their way to their Forever Home.

So what happened next?  Well, I think I've said enough for this week - and if I'm going to get back into our usual publishing regimen, you'll only have to wait a couple of days (instead of a whole week) to find out!

Until there, do hope everyone has a good end of week - and see you all again, (hopefully) on Sunday.

Your Friend,

Cy Bear

Heigh ho! Back once more - after quite an absence.

Hello Everyone!  Cy Bear here, starting the conversation.

It's been a long time since Isobel and I were here, but we've jointly decided it's about time we corrected the situation.  So, here we go.

2019 was a kind of difficult year for Isobel after her fall in May, when she broke her hip.  Rehab took longer than she really wanted, but it progressed satisfactorily for all the experts involved.   We'd only just re-opened our blogging, when she became very busy with several orders for our Tiger Who Lost His Stripes Arm Puppet,

Our Tiger Without Stripes Arm Puppet in 2019

and more repeat orders for Sister, Bishop and Padre Bears (all of whom were needed as Christmas presents).  We had posted about most or all of  these various toys just before this happened, thus there wasn't much point in repeating ourselves, so we didn't!

There are some newer members of the Clerical Bear Collection needing to be added - see below

Then after Christmas, when orders for any Coldham Cuddlies goods normally tail off, the orders for the Tiger Arm Puppet took off skywards, and Isobel got some unexpected custom orders from people who wanted arm puppets to look like other toys or, even, dogs.

So, as posts can't get written when Isobel is sewing, I've been sitting in my normal place on her bed, waiting to help her in this task, when the time was right. There didn't seem to be much point in telling you all about which Puppet was being done - since you already know how they are made.  Similarly the same can be said about telling you about the Clerical Bears - the Bear bodies are all made the same:  it's only their "uniforms" that change, and you've been told about how they come to be made too.  So, I'm afraid the blog has languished ..... but there are very good reasons now for resurrecting our weekly posts from now on. I'll tell you about that shortly, before I close this week's post.

The real  "Pink Nuns" live and work in several US States.

Now, the entire world has been affected by something called the Covid19 Pandemic - which as a Beaver Lamb Bear really hasn't affected me directly, but it has had quite an effect on Isobel.  No...she's not actually been ill, but because she will be 80 years old later this year, she was told to "self-isolate" so she didn't catch the virus.  That has meant she's been under my feet ALL DAY, every day since the middle of March.  But while she's been very busy finding all sorts of other things to do on the computer,she hasn't had the time to properly sit down and write here either.  Self isolation for her has meant that she's not been allowed out of our flat - not even to visit Clare and her grandson, who live just 3 doors away since the "lock down" (which is how it is referred to everywhere) started. She even has a stranger (who is not allowed to come into the flat) to do her weekly shopping for her.  She can go out once a day - for exercise, and get "essential supplies" like milk (which is done at the local corner store at the end of the driveway to Old Chapel Close).

Our Poor Clare Nun is also not included in the picture of the Clerical Bears either.

The way it works is:  Isobel writes out a shopping list for the week (as she does every week anyway) and posts it (via the computer)  to the Volunteer (as the helper is called) the evening before the shopping is needed.  The Volunteer - a lovely lady called MrsCN - does it (or as much as she can if it's on the shop shelves), and when she's finished packing the items in her car, she rings  to tell Isobel  how much she owes the organisation (Age UK - a really terrific charity!) she works for.  By the time MrsCN arrives at our flat front door, Isobel has a cheque written out to pay Age UK, and hands it over while having a quick word - with at least a 2 metre (6 ft plus) distance between the two ladies, as well as Isobel handing over the previous weeks' empty shopping bags.  Then MrsCN goes off to deal with her next "isolated customer",  Isobel picks up the shopping bags, unpacks the goods and puts everything away.  This has been going on for 11 weeks now - and looks like it will be repeated for several weeks, if not months, to come.

Until a week ago, it also meant that I was perched on the window ledge of the living room window in our flat - bit of a change from my usual perch:

If Isobel had the time, this is the view she gets while she sews the Cuddlies

Shortly after lock down began, all around Kirkby in Ashfield, lots of Teddy Bears and Rainbows popped up in people's windows - in an effort to cheer everyone up as they were walking around the Town.  Even though not many people can see me (as we live on the first floor) and the complex is not directly on a road, some of the Carers who come to look after the other ladies and gentleman who live in Old Chapel Close can see me.  So Isobel thought she would give me a change of view - from sitting on her bed all day, looking at a wall.  It's been fun, but then I've also been needed a lot for farewell photos, as each Arm Puppet (be it a Tiger, Rabbit, Blue Teddy or Teddy Bear Dog - which you'll hear about in upcoming posts) is got ready to be dispatched to their new homes, almost without exception to somewhere in the United States.  Sitting in the window has meant that she hasn't had to carry me from the bedroom to the sitting room every time such a ceremony takes place.  Now the orders have slowed down, I am hoping I can remain sitting in a comfortable armchair in the living room, as there's so much more happens for me to observe - than my usual spot in the bedroom!

Sister Breda, our "Blue Nun" whose community was started, and is still based, in Nottingham is missing too

Meanwhile, Isobel is exploring how to get help from the UK Department of International Trade (DIT) in publicising the Coldham Cuddlies Shop, using a new website (whatever that is) that is being "built" for the Coldham Shop by an outfit called Yell.com - which is known as https://www.coldhamcuddlies.co.uk.  That has actually been in existence for some time, and initially was meant to publicise just the Animal Toy Hospital and the Patients being treated there.  The website is being changed now so that not only the Hospital is highlighted, but also the Shop and this Blog too.  At least I think that's what Isobel is working towards.   I don't know about these things, and suspect Isobel is busy finding out!

Newest addition to the Clerical Bear Collection:  Fr Dunstan Bear, OP (a special order)

It will be easier for the Department of International Trade) when they become involved  to help Isobel in her task of getting us all better known globally.  Which is why Isobel has been so busy on the computer of late. They do the sort of thing she and Peter tried to do when they lived in Canada until 1987 when assisting small companies in Alberta to export overseas - especially, the Middle and Far East.  Both areas Peter knew when he was a International Business Journalist, before he and Isobel got marred, and the family moved to Alberta in 1975.  Obviously exporting stuff from the United Kingdom is very different from Alberta the concept of knowing about the other countries etc is not, so Isobel is keen to get "up to snuff" with what happens nowadays.  After all most of the internet was still being invented when that was going in in the early 1980's!! Isobel used a teleprinter to message Peter and people overseas!   They left Canada to return to the UK in 1987 - and a lot has happened and changed everywhere in the intervening years.

Apparently she's been watching/attending Webinars all about exporting.  Agreed,  that's what we've been doing all along via the  Etsy website, but this way, Isobel and Coldham Cuddlies will be helped to do it with the the DIT's  international resources behind her.  These are world-based via the UK's embassies, high commissions etc, and likely to be helpful in a different way from what is currently available to us via Etsy.com.  The latter have enabled Isobel to hone her selling skills to a mainly United States audience, with some customers coming from European and UK since 2010 -the ten years that ColdhamCuddlies has been in existence.  Now, hopefully, with the help of people who do nothing else but try to help UK businesses - even those as little as ColdhamCuddlies - to sell their goods overseas, Isobel can fulfill her "gypsy tendencies", and  hopefully find more Cuddlies homes in more overseas countries.  Exciting prospect isn't it?

The "new Look" 2020 version of our Tiger Who Lost His Stripes - a story all it's own!

You'll have to wait till next week to find out what more has gone on.  It's so lovely to be back again chatting to you all.

Your Friend
Cy Bear