How the Christmas Bears were made - using the final Two!

Greetings everyone, and as this is my first post for the 2013 and it's still only January 12, a Very Happy New Year to you all.  As you may by now realise, this is Cy Bear posting today!

In the last post, mention was made that the production line for the Christmas Bears had to be halted because we ran out of limb joints for the final two.  Once we had got them into the right places in our very disorganised storage system (sorting them out is one of Isobel's "To Do" Things for this month!),  production could once again commence.

Isobel began by getting the replacement for Silvery Brown Bear sewn together and almost all the pieces turned inside out.  You can see just how furry the limbs are, because the one leg is standing upright, without any polyester fibre inside to keep it firm!  Believe me, they are very soft and silky to handle (or so I'm told - us Bears don't tend to relate to each other in that way!) so like the other four, Silvery Brown Bear II will make a very soft and cuddly Forever Friend when he is listed in the shop at www.Etsy.com/shop/coldhamcuddlies.

Once all the pieces are collected together, then the next stage is for the ears to be turned right side out and the raw edges button-hole stitched together.  It's apparently easier to fix the ears to the head with a firm edge to work with.  Isobel has recently started with the ears, then done the head, and then sewn the body and limbs as they appear in the "to-do" pile for each Bear.  Then the head, having had the eyes fixed as soon as the seams have been completed, is stuffed and the ears attached in place.

 Now there have been problems in the past at this point (the latest Hairy Bear version - as mentioned in our last post - being a prime example).  Isobel's fingers can fail her sometimes when intricate stitching is required and sometimes the ears don't stay in the places they are pinned to!  It has involved quite a lot of unpicking before our highest standards were achieved - but while doing this last batch of Bears, some of them actually looked rather cute (according to Isobel) and different characteristics were highlighted, so it may mean in future some of  the Cuddlies may end up with ears and other facial features that are not quite aligned or spot-on perfect.

 (A comment was received after the last post was published that in the case of Hairy Bear's ears, they should remain where they were! So,  I've decided to leave well alone pro tem, but if his eventual Forever Friend - or their family - wish to have them corrected, of course,  that will be done prior to his departure for his Forever Home! - Isobel)

Once Silvery Bear's pieces were all stuffed, they were then attached to his body (which had already got the ColdhamCuddlies label attached in the usual place - just where Bears normally sit down!) - beginning with the head.  It's easier to do first, because when all the limbs are in place it can be harder to squeeze the plastic joints together as the arms and legs flap around in different directions!  Then Isobel usually does the arms first and then the legs.  Once all four limbs and head are firmly in position, the final stuffing is applied to the body (though a gap left at the bottom of the body) and then the gap is sewed up - and the Bear is completed.

Here are a couple of photographs of the second Light Brown Bear sewn up over Christmas.  We've decided he looks a Happy Light Brown Bear for the purposes of labelling for the eventual Etsy Listing process (later today or early next week).

Happy Bear has actually got his arms and one leg attached here, as well as his head and in the second photograph is sitting on a pair of pliers that come in useful for Isobel when the needle she is using gets stuck in the pile while she is sewing bits together,.  Her fingers sometimes don't have sufficient strength to do the job properly or as quickly as she wants. The pliers are normally used for getting old-fashioned cotter pins out of the Patients in the Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic (Etsy Listing # 79124185).  The final limb was then attached, the body stuffed firmly, and Eureka!  Happy Bear was ready.

Here are both Silvery and Happy Bears - ready to be listed in the Etsy shop -

Silvery Brown Bear II

Happy Light Brown Bear

All six Bears are now in two storage bags waiting for a space in one of the cupboards here, but meanwhile, before they were put away, here is a picture of all six of them together.   I shall, of course, have picture taken before they are separated in order to go to their Forever Homes - as is the normal procedure.

The Christmas Bears in toto

Isobel has continued to be busy on the Etsy shop publicity programme mentioned in our last post - she has now added more than 150 new Etsy Shops to our own shop Circles, and almost all of the folks approached have added our shop to their Circles. They have all been thanked for their support - as we feel is only correct!  That should, hopefully, at least result in a lot more folks learning about the existence of us Cuddlies - as well as Isobel  discovering some more nice friends with whom to correspond (when she is isn't attending to us, that is) and new products to admire!  The variety and quality of the crafts on display, are I am told, amazing!

Another development - Isobel has been invited to join the Puppetsy Team - where every member has something to with puppets.  The invitation was only received this afternoon, and we have joined the team, but really haven't explored the potential yet! We will be reporting in due course - never fear!

Right - time for me to depart to my place on the bed - watching what goes on around me!  Until the next post from me - Good Bye!  Cy Bear.

First Post for 2013 - A Catching Up Report

First of all, a week into the New Year:  let me wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

Next, my apologies for absence from this blog - especially after the run of 4 posts in quick succession over Christmas and the week after the Festivity.  It's not because of idleness, but merely the lack of time.  Let me clarify:

Over Christmas, I managed to sew up six new Big Bears - three being replacements for Bears who have found their Forever Homes during 2012, two new Golden Bears, and a duplicate of Light Brown Bear , who in turn replaces Determined Bear, whom some of you will recall now resides in Anaheim, Ca. USA.  They will be listed in the next few days, but in the mean time,here are photographs of the four who are now ready to be placed in our shop at www.Etsy.com/shop/coldhamcuddlies - just as a taster and also to not let the gap between posts get any bigger. 

Introducing Solemn Golden Bear, Hairy Bear, Smiling Golden Bear and Grinning Light Brown Bear:

This picture was taken of the four new Cuddlies sitting on one of the benches in the garden here at the Hospital of St. John, where my apartment is located.  I had intended to have a proper outdoor session this afternoon, because the sun had appeared for the first time since the middle of last week!  If it hasn't been raining cats and dogs hereabouts since the New Year, it's been dour, clouds overhead - even though it has also been unseasonably mild as well.  However, just as I appeared and arranged the models, the sun went in, and it didn't look as though it would appear again today.  So, the rest of the session had to take place indoors.

Now my newly-found mentor - the subject of Cy Bear's last post in 2012,  Joel Barnett - has mentioned that some of the photographs in our shop could bear with replacement at worst or touching up at best.  I do agree with him, but haven't yet had the time to do anything about it - given the tasks he's set for me to undertake (very willingly I hasten to add) in re-tagging the Cuddlies already on offer (DONE!) and then concentrating on adding more shops to my Etsy Circle.

I realised early on that I wasn't making as good use of this marketing tool as I could do - and Joel has pointed me in the right direction.  Under his guidance, I've added 50 more shops and, amazingly, have heard back from nearly 40 of them - either adding our Shop to their Circles, or even following me on Etsy.  (Have yet to discover exactly how that differs, but guess there has to be some difference - I really am ignorant, you see!)   I've responded to almost all of them - and obviously, this all takes time! Hence the gap in posts:

Whatever:  I've discovered several potential lovely new friends - two of whom live in Alberta, Canada where, as you know Peter and I - together with the girls - lived for 12 years.  Neither actually live in the same City as we did, but so what?  Then there's another lovely lady living in California, who has a sister living in Oxford - just up the road from Philippa, and the same age as Clare, and a shared background (a short time in my case) of living in South Africa!  This new friend loves dogs - especially collies and labradors (I do too!), loves making Bears, although she's presently doing brisk business in making decorative headgear in the shape of crowns - and so it goes on!  Links to these - and others as I get to know them better - will be provided in another post. 

But I digress - to return to the subject of my Christmas Bears - here is another shot of the 4 new chaps this time taken on my chest-of-drawers.  However, the more I look at Hairy Bear, the more I'm not sure his ears are in the right place.  He has a look of permanent astonishment on his face, which must be awfully tiring!  So, tomorrow, before I get going on the Etsy upgrade business, the ears will be re-located  in a better position.  Thus, when he gets listed, he will not be looking like he is in this - and the other pictures.

Some of you may remember that  production of Hairy Bear was suspended ( he was withdrawn from the Shop)  because he took a lot of fabric, which could be better used for the Hedgehogs.  This version will be Hairy Bear VI, or maybe even VII.  However, when I picked up my penultimate supply of stuffing from my usual supplier in Frome, Somerset (Fine Quality Feather Company), there was a big bag of fur fabric awaiting my selection - including a huge re-supply of Hairy's particular fabric.  There is therefore a good chance of several more Hairys, as well as plenty over for the Hedgehogs - of any size (Dad, Mom or Baby - Etsy Listings 956521, #95653310 and #95653745 respectively).  Hairy Bear's original Etsy Listing is now defunct, so he will be appearing as a completely new listing - once his ears have been relocated!

Here are the four of them, standing on my bed - they can stand fairly well unaided - but I've stationed them near pillows to make sure they don't fall over.  Duvets don't make ideal level standing surfaces after all!

Finally, here they are looking out at you all!

As has become the custom, when these guys are listed, they will each receive their own post on the blog, so look out for a flow of posts shortly.  The remaining two Christmas Bears have yet to be completed - but  production had to be stopped for a day or two whilst my supply of plastic joints was replenished.  Bears with their 4 limbs and 1 neck joint make heavy inroads into such supplies.  Fortunately, I have found a great internet-based supplier of such items - e-crafts.co.uk - who really do offer a turnaround service.  I only ordered these joints (100 sets of three different sizes) on Sunday afternoon:  they arrived by First Class Post this morning!!  I can get my Cuddlies' eyes from them as well, which it comforting to know.

The other two Bears - replacing Silvery Brown Bear and a duplicate of Light Brown Bear (on the left of the last picture) are forming the basis of a step-by-step production post for the blog.  The Bears are all made in the same way, so it doesn't really matter what colour they are!

So, back to work as they say.  Great to be back posting once more, and I'll try to keep posting regularly, as I learn the marketing and promotional ropes.  Meanwhile, thanks to you all for continuing to view this blog - the count the last time I looked (just before I began this post) was 10,449 views since we began in March 2011.  

Goodnight and God Bless!  Isobel