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 

Last Post for 2012 - Looking Ahead to 2013

Hello everyone!  Hope you've all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to 2013!  Isobel has recently returned from her holiday with Philippa (having seen Clare and Alan too) and we both thought we'd include a so far unpublished photograph of me - since some of you may not actually know who I am, and what I do here!

My name is Coldham Yogi - Cy Bear to my friends and I'm Mascot and Co-Author to the ColdhamCuddlies

 Isobel has asked me to write this post - as she’s been blown away by what happened just before she left for High Wycombe and the Christmas celebrations, while she was making one of her daily visits to our Etsy Shop  (www.Etsy.com/shop/coldhamcuddlies).   

It all started with a notification on the Etsy Activity Site, that she’d been added to  a certain Joel Barnett’s  Etsy Circle, when she was checking out her emails.  When that happens, Isobel ALWAYS returns the favour, and makes sure the person(s) know it’s happened by dropping them a short line - or two… or three!  So this particular encounter  began with Isobel responding to Joel in a convo, saying :

“Just dropping by to tell you that I've returned the favour you paid me by adding ColdhamCuddlies, via me, to your Circle! Good to know you, and I look forward to getting to know you and your daughters even better as time goes by!

Now you've discovered us, perhaps you'd be interested in visiting my blog at www.ColdhamCuddliescalling.blogspot.com where I post about the toys I make, mend and otherwise create (some folks might say "play with"!) We'd love to see you there, and if you'd like to follow us and comment too, that would be tremendous.

Hope preparations for the upcoming Holidays are going well! All the best to you all.”

(Isobel was brought up to always say “thank you” if anyone helps her - and she continues to do so whether she’s on Etsy or this blog).  I try to do the same as well, so am taking this opportunity to thank Joel (and everyone else who has done so during 2012) for being prepared to help Isobel navigate her way around Etsy, Blogger and everything else she does on the internet;   as well as being there for her after her husband, Peter, died in May.

Now this all took place on a Friday afternoon, about two weeks ago.  So judging by Joel’s location (his Etsy Profile says he lives in Boisie, Idaho), we estimate that he must have just switched on his computer (actually, he's probably got a tablet or some such technical device!) and was having a look-see at what had happened over night/during the day.  Being only a Beaver Lamb Bear, my geographical knowledge of anywhere is sketchy, but Isobel believes that Idaho is in the middle of the American Continent.  She admits that her geographical memory of the United States of America has always been hazy - but she  thinks that mid afternoon in the UK would make it early-ish morning in Idaho - right?

(Isobel here!  At one time, I could draw the great Mississippi river from source to basin, and similarly the Missouri too.  My Geography mistress, who had many years’ experience of questions set in UK national exams, always made sure her pupils knew these two.  Her other “dead cert” were  the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.  While, I might still make a good stab at this one, alas, the two rivers would not fare so well with my current map-sketching skills.)

To return to the subject of this blog:  while Isobel was still checking her Etsy Activity list (she had finished her e-mails by then), she got a notification of a new Conversation, so went to see from whom it emanated:  this is what awaited her.  It was  from Joel, himself - as opposed to via Etsy!

“Isobel

I had to look at your shop from your nice letter and when I did I was absolutely amazed, you have some absolutely amazing stuffed animal Cuddlies. I went ahead and favorited all of your items to my over 1000 followers here on Etsy. Your store deserves way more sales. They are truly adorable.

Here is my piece of advice that I know will really help your store, if you can get a photographer to take some shots of your Cuddlies and get some really good shots in lighting and with scenes and such you can definitely become a hit, I truly believe that. I think there is some photographers on Etsy that you send your products to and they take stunning photos, email you them, and send your products back to you. I would do a search for Product Photography and look for the best ones.

That stuffed animal clinic is great, I would change the title to Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic just to really grab peoples attention. The story about the bear from the raffle is great, I love seeing sellers that share personal stories and I know buyers do too.

I want you to succeed, your story is great, with you having arthritis and still making these beautiful creations I truly applaud you. I am inspired.

If there is any way I can help you just say the word, I can do a full shop evaluation for you and help you with SEO, Search Engine Optimization (How People Find You).

I hope your holidays are filled with joy and happiness and I wish you the best in all of your future sales and travels.

To which Isobel immediately responded:

Hello again Joel!

Wow, what an offer! Yes, I will take you up on your helpful suggestions, but may we leave it until after Christmas, which this year is being spent away from base by me.

Think you just might be the Christmas present I’ve been looking for: a saviour to guide me around this mystery called social media/internet selling/ SEO's etc. et al. Hope you don't regret your offer to assist - my family (and friends - I’ve just added this bit:  Cy Bear)  tend to regard me as a dangerous silver surfer: one who clicks on things, without realising the consequences, and then spends time trying to put things right!

Have a great Christmas, and I'll be back in the New Year (sometime after Jan.3).

Thanks again.

Isobel Morrell

The almost immediate response was:  (Isn’t technology wonderful - when it works?)

“Isobel,

I meant every word I said and I stand behind my word to help you in any way that I can. I regret nothing that I said and I look forward to your return in January.

See you then.”

The conversation ended with this response from Isobel:

Fair enough! You look and sound a Big Boy! On your head be it!

As I said, I'm deeply grateful - and look forward to learning a great deal!

Facetiousness aside, we’re both very moved by, and happy to accept, this wonderful offer of help.  Isobel will definitely be considering all his suggestions (some may just not be viable at this point in time) but I’m sure they will be able work together to great effect.

 Incidentally, we’ve already acted on one of his first suggestions - the Soft Toy Clinic title has been changed already to the Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic (Etsy Listing #79124185).

Just wish us (and the ColdhamCuddlies family) luck!  We’re just so excited!  Happy New Year everyone!  Cy Bear

PS:  Isobel here:  have joined another Craft site, having received an invitation from Alison Woods of Art of Crafts and today, there's been a purchase via Amazon - which, hopefully, will enable me to take better photographs to illustrate existing and future Cuddlies!  I'm not comfortable with posting my Cuddlies away from home to be photographed, as has been suggested. 

 Meanwhile, I'll be getting back to Joel, as promised (or threatened?) on January 3.  WATCH THIS SPACE!

PPS:  As of today, our viewing figures here at www.ColdhamCuddliescalling.blogspot.com have reached 10,210!!  Thanks so very much for all this support!  

Happy 2013 to you all - and may you receive all you wish for yourselves (and some nice ones you didn't)!  Isobel

Treating the Waggstaff Bears: Part Three - Mohair Bear

Mohair Bear, as well as being the oldest of the three Waggstaff Bears, has also really been the most interesting project.  He arrived with his head dropping off, his face looking as though he'd been in a street fight in which he'd definitely come off worst, and was definitely so tightly stuffed as to not be a cuddly armful at all.  Indeed, until I began to de-stuff him, I thought his innards were comprised entirely of wood chippings.  In the end, I found it was a mixture of varying coloured cotton-wool, packed very tightly together.  The hardness had occurred, I later discovered, because the attic in which he'd been stored for many years was located by the coast, so damp had probably been absorbed which added to the hardness.  Here is a shot of what he looked like upon arrival.

Overall, Mohair Bear is not in bad condition at all.  His paw pads were incredibly hard - perhaps being leather which had hardened in the damp conditions he'd been kept in, but they needed to be replaced as they looked chipped, as though they had indeed been walking a long way!  By removing them and putting in some soft, glove quality leather instead, I was able to remove all his existing stuffing from his limbs without the need to take out the cotter-pin discs with which he had been created originally.

While he needed to have his head re-attached to his body, and new eyes put in - he had two leather buttons in place when he arrived - it was his mouth area that fascinated me.  You can see that he obviously had a red tongue originally, and that he had a red roof to his mouth area as well.  When I took his head to pieces,

 this is what I discovered.  The jaws had literally covered a disc contraption which looks like this.  No wonder his head was so hard, because while it, too, had the compacted cotton-wool stuffing, it also accommodated this piece of engineering - as well as the cotter-pin disc for attaching the head to the body!

A close-up picture of the mouthpiece contraption, showing how it is damaged - and therefore not to be recommended for re-use - is provided below

As the head was detached, I'm not quite sure exactly how it worked in practice, but presume the cotter-pin was somehow attached through that big hole in the top of the contraption.  Though when in place, I still cannot figure out how it actually worked!

Anyway, NickiW  came in for a further consultation before going any further - and we both agreed that this would no longer feature inside Mohair Bear's head and that I would endeavour to remake his mouth and jaw (which had several holes in the fabric where the jaws had rubbed during use).  To do this, I took about a 1-1/2 inch wide piece of fabric from the neck area of the body which by then had lost any stuffing that may have been there originally.  Using this, I patched some of the biggest holes and darned those that were easily treated in that manner and managed to create a nice new face for Mohair Bear - which I hope will serve him well for many years to come.  He also had two nice new Bear Eyes fitted, which are a whole lot better than his former leather buttons.

The rest of Mohair Bear, given his age, required no further treatment - although there was a bad hole at the top of one of his arms.  Once I'd de-stuffed that limb, I was able to use the remaining piece of cut away fabric as a patch.  The paw pads were all cut away and, once each limb had got its replacement stuffing, the new leather pads were stitched in place.

The newly-made head was fitted in place with a modern replacement plastic disc (cotter pins are still used, but I find them difficult to handle with my arthritic fingers, so prefer the plastic variety - they are less cumbersome, too!) and Mohair Bear was then ready to take his place in the banana box with his two younger friends.  With head and all limbs re-stuffed, all that remained was for his body to get it's quota of polyester stuffing and for the remaining seam to be sewn up.  Before doing that, however, I was asked to replace a tiny sea shell which had appeared on the scene from out of the huge pile of the previous cotton wool stuffing.   NickiW felt it would be a nice reminder to Mohair Bear of his previous, long term home!  It was indeed replaced, but carefully in the middle of his tummy, well away from any of the mohair fabric!

Mohair Bear now looks like this and Cy Bear was pleased to approve his new appearance!  Here is a final picture of the Waggstaff Threesome, together with their newly made friend Cy Bear.  He could not be left out of it, could he?

Now that the Saga of the Treatment of the Waggstaff Bears is complete, I have just one more post to complete drafting.  This may get done before I leave for High Wycombe to celebrate Christmas, but it may well have to wait until my return.  I hope to be able to post these three while I am away, but access to a computer for the time required for me to do my usual activities associated with these posts may not be possible.  So, in case I do not get the chance, I'll end my posting activities for 2012, by sending all of you, our wonderful Followers (270 in all, and getting ever near 10,000 views since we began in March 2011) my very best wishes for a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!  Isobel

Treating the Waggstaff Bears: Part Two - Ted Bear

This is Cy Bear taking over the description process this time, so here goes!

When he arrived, Ted looked like this. Because of his light colouring, he looked dustier than Bum Bear whose treatment was described in our last post, so we decided that once he had been de-stuffed, he would have an overnight soaking in cold water, and then have a luke-warm soapy bath and continue drying on the clothes airer in the work room.  He seemed to be made from similar fabric as that used for Bum Bear, and in the end,  he had not re-acted badly to being washed.  So Isobel was more confident about applying this treatment to Ted.

When he was inspected, we found he did not need to be taken apart at the head - he had this gaping wound in his side:

He also needed completely new facial features, although both his eyes were intact.  One of his ears needed to be rescued, as it had been badly treated - probably used as the means by which to carry him during his playtime days.  So, Isobel got to work by removing all his foam stuffing and putting him  to soak overnight in the bath.

The water was not that colour when he came out of the bath, I can tell you.  He had a hand wash, and then several rinses in cool water to remove the soap suds, and then, once dried, he was turned inside out and Isobel began to inspect his seams.  He was a very different colour on the inside -

However, his seams were showing signs of fraying, or were very thick - because his fur had not disappeared as much as Bum Bear's had.  So, the seams were thinned out and over-sewn, and those on his upper torso are what all the seams eventually looked like.

This picture shows one of the legs, before Isobel got round to over-sewing the seams.  In the end, to preserve Ted's seams entirely, Isobel did all the seams with button-hole stitching, and he should now be a good long term prospect for his new surroundings.

 (As we understand it, all three bears have, for decades,  been in an attic belonging to NickiW's mother, who has recently down-sized and moved into a smaller home.  The daughters were helping their mother to move and discovered the three bears.  Isobel had treated AdamW's Teddy Bear, who needed more stuffing, earlier this year, so she brought the three Bears round to be assessed.)

Once all the seams were done, Isobel discovered a bad slit in his back which actually made it much easier for Ted to be re-stuffed.  As many Bears have a seam up their back, Ted's slit did not look out of place.  Accordingly,  the slit was treated as a big buttonhole and once Ted had been turned inside out, Isobel used the resulting opening to re-stuff Ted completely.  He then had a new nose and mouth created, (using Brown Double Knitting yarn, rather than the usual Black yarn we used for facial features) and his old ear sewn back into place.  Then he, too, was returned to the banana box in which all three Bears had arrived - but not before we had this picture taken of the two of us together.

Now, I'll close this post, so that we can prepare the final post of this series on the Waggstaff Bears - describing how Mohair Bear was transformed.  I think that Isobel will be taking over from here on in.

So, I'll end, by wishing everyone - again - a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!  (Not that I really understand what that all means - but then I'm just a Bear made from Beaver Lamb Fur! - but that's what I keep hearing Isobel being wished at the moment).