Sunday, February 27, 2011

The Hugglets Show – A Report

I think if you are a bear person who has never been to Hugglets and wanted to get an idea of what it is like, I can tell you from my point of view it seemed massive. If I was a collector, I would not know where to start to look. And how does one take photos of a huge show and also set up a table, mind the table, meet people, go shopping and do it all in 5 and a half hours?

What you do is be glad that your neighbor is Jane Martin of Doodlebears.

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Jane has a stellar reputation for going around the entire show and taking photos of almost all of the tables. She is going to edit them and post them in several locations around the Internet. When she does, I am going to give you the link so you can go to the Hugglets bear show virtually. Therefore, I don’t have a photo of each artist and table, but . . .

I am happy to share what few photos I remembered to take. I will intersperse them with comments and an assessment of the show.

First we have the set up in the big room –

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what a transformation from bare walls to bear walls.

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I am soooo glad that I couldn’t linger in here for more than a brief trip around – too much temptation!

This is a photo of the room I was in at set up – I loved it! Everyone I met there was super nice. Check out the bear on the move on the left hand side of the photo.

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This is me getting started on setting up my table. The day was young!  (In bearbits lingo, that means early.)

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The photo below was taken before the doors opened I believe. In the upper right hand corner you can see Sebastian supervising the placement of every single thing on the table. I told him if he wasn’t careful, someone was going to come along and make him an immigrant. He cleared out and after that it all became a blur. It went by so fast after people came in the door.

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I sold a few bears which seemed to make them, the collector, and me all very happy. Let’s have a party! As with all shows, it really depends on who you ask and how honest they are about the show. A few artists sold very well, others not at all. My sales sort of fell somewhere in between. And by between I mean, between meeting the adorable and witty Katy Cameron of The Littlest Thistle. What an immense pleasure that was! Hi Katy!

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Then after wondering how I could connect with the lovely Lynda of The Friendly Company of Bears, she showed up at my table to say hello and to meet Sebastian.

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He was truly puffed up by the attention. It was shortly after this meeting that he ‘sent’ me over to the snack bar to get him a bite to eat – “and hurry up about it too,” he said.

What Sebastian doesn’t know is that while I was gone, I took a quick turn around the floor we were on and found Ruth Bowman of Flutter-by Bears. I have two photos of Ruth because after I took one of this charming lady and her amazing tiny bears,

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her sweet husband Ashley stepped in and offered to take one of the two of us. Well, I had to post them both.

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Now if I had just remembered to ask Ruth about her chihuahua. There never is enough time!

I know you have seen more than enough of me. I have! But a dear friend took this photo of me and my husband and I wanted to post it here as my way of thanking both of them for their help and support throughout the show. Thanks guys!!!!

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Lastly - one of my very favorite photos taken after the show.

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Left to right, Elanor’s mum Lyn, Elanor and Lex. All very brilliant and talented people. Lyn knits exquisitely. You know Elanor’s wonderful bears. And Lex – dear Lex – sorry about your team!

Now as Hugglets starts becoming a memory, I wonder what kind of mischief we can get into next?  Sebastian surely has a plan.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

In spite of the rain . . .

in London (really? rain? in London?), we had an absolutely extraordinary day. We ventured out

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down the street

isor_2 to the Underground

isor_3 saw a few of the legendary double decker buses and met up with our friends Elanor and Lex. Elanor is a teddy bear artist too (imagine that!) so you might have seen her mentioned here before. You can check out her work here or here.

They took us to a Turkish Opera House for lunch called . . . uh . . . I’m not exactly sure how to pronounce it so it’s best if you just look at the photo of the sign below.

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The interior was magical and intriguing. Here are a couple or three photos.

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The food was delicious, but the company was better.

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Afterwards, we walked to several places including this one, Liberty of London.

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It’s been ages since I was last there and did not remember half of it.

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We weren’t the only ones walking around in the rain – not by a long shot.

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Lastly, I would be remiss in my duties if I did not include this photo of Elanor and me getting ready to walk down Bear Street.

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Tomorrow is Hugglets where it will seem more like a bear street than Bear Street. I suppose I should get my act together and give the bears my “be on your best behavior” speech. When they all fall over laughing, I’ll know I’ve done my job.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Snapshots on the Way to Procure Dinner

Upon finding Sebastian in my coat pocket, I decided if he was going to go along with us to the UK, he should travel in better style. So we decided the view from this spot would be a better option for him.  Call it an upgrade if you like.

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We had no solid plans for today except to arrive and find a bit of dinner – or lunch – or breakfast. The time is still a little iffy from our point of view so basically we were in search of food. On the way, I snapped some photos. Maybe not your typical touristy photos but these are the kinds of things we saw that we thought were interesting.

swpd_2Life through a garden gate.

swpd_3The fact that this sewing machine caught my eye as part of a window display is not really all that surprising but . . .

swpd_4there was actually more than one.  Some of them were very old and very ornate, but the impressive thing was . . .

swpd_5this huge window full of them.  I don’t think I have ever seen this many old sewing machines in one place.

swpd_6These sewing themed accent pieces were kind of cute. 

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It seemed that the stores had some unique lighting solutions.  These were canning jars made into a chandelier.

swpd_8This was one of many window designs that caught our eyes.  It sort of looks like paper cuttings but I think they were actually cut from thin plastic.

swpd_19And finally, Sebastian sits for his photo in an upscale department store in an extremely large (for him) chair in the shape of a purse. 

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Determined – sh-h-h-h. (Part 2)

I am back with a plan since my last post. First though, I would like to thank those of you who offered advice and suggestions. All of them quite good but I’ve come up with my own plan. It’s so simple; I don’t know why I didn’t think of it in the first place.

I know without a shred of doubt that she’ll be taking her warm jacket.

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That jacket has a lot of pockets so all I have to do is climb into one.  I found this small ladder and if I can climb to the top of it . . .

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I will be able to work my way into a pocket near the bottom of the jacket.

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It seems like a long way up for a little bear like me.

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Whew! I made it – without being seen!

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Now into the pocket I go – I’ve got a really good view from here.

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Yep – I’ll be hanging around here for a while but when the time comes, I’ll be on my way . . .

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and no one will be the wiser – except you and me of course.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Determined – sh-h-h-h. (Part 1)

Okay, y’all be very, very quiet and I’ll tell you my plan. But first, let me say, I had to take these photos myself or else you-know-who might figure out what I am up to. There’s quite a few pictures where it looks like my right ear is missing. Don’t worry – it’s there; it’s just that when you have to set the timer and guess where the focus will be, sometimes it doesn’t turn out exactly right.

Anyways, I overheard their conversation and let me tell you it involved tickets and luggage. That means they are going somewhere and I am determined that this time I will be going along – one way or another.

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To prepare, I’ve found my suitcase.

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And I’ve got it packed so I can go at a moment’s notice because I’m not sure exactly when the leaving time is.

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It seems like they are going to a place that has a Queen and a Prince so I packed a rose as a gift. After all, what royalty wouldn’t want to meet me?

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There was some mention of it being cold there, thus my scarf – hand made let me tell you and oh, so very warm.

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I’ve got my camera – who knows? If I get a chance maybe I’ll take a few pictures.

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Of course I am taking some books. I heard it takes a while to get there so I’ll have something to do.

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You know I love to read!

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Maybe you think race cars aren’t all that necessary but well, they’re race cars. They must come along!

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I expect you-know-who will get lost a few times so she’ll be glad when she sees I’ve got a compass.

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I couldn’t leave without something to nibble on. These chocolate chip cookies will be just the thing.

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I think that’s the lot and it all fits nicely in my case.

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The last thing is my passport and I’m good to go.

If I get a chance, I’ll be back to tell you how I intend to avoid being left behind – again.  Just remember – sh-h-h-h.

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