Thank you!

What better way to spend your birthday than at the place you love with people you adore! Thank you for a wonderful birthday to all the girls in Monics's faces class.

A huge thank you to my very special friend Josey who came to visit on her day off with a yummy fruit flan and gorgeous bunch of balloons (pink of course!!!!)

HaPPy BiRthDaY tO yOu...

HaPPy BiRthDaY tO yOu...

HaPPy BiRthDaY dEAr KIMMY...

HaPPy BiRthDaY tO yOU !!!

Wishing you all the very best and much much more...

(cupcakes courtesy of oohlalacupcakes.blogspot.com)

Monica's first class in the new shop

Monica Spicer's first class at our gorgeous new shop in Tooradin. Another lovely bunch of ladies learning lots of wonderful tips and techniques to make Monica's amazing faces.

New Christopher Vine cards

Look what has just come in! Our gorgeous new range of Christopher Vine cards and stationary. Did you notice a theme.....? So pretty.

Making a night of it

What better way to spend a Tuesday night than a night out with the girls. First dinner at the Tooradin Hotel and then followed by a fun night of stitching in our gorgeous new classroom.

In the Pink...

You know how we at Bear Essence l o v e PINK -- and our new shop at Tooradin is all pink, white and SHABBY...

Well today Sandy (my hubby) surprized us by planting a beautiful PINK weeping cherry just in front of our shop -- and that for us was just the icing on the cake!!!

Between the houses of friends, the road is never long...

Mary-Anne from The Quilter's Nest, in Bunbury W.A. has been a huge fan of Josey's and Heather's work for many years. Today Mary-Anne took some "time out" from her trip across the Nullarbor to come to Tooradin and meet with Heather and Josey personally.

What a wonderful morning it was... Thanks Mary-Anne, it was such a delight to finally meet you and thanks to Duane for being the chauffeur -- can't wait til next time.

Karen's Magnolia...

The classroom was busy busy busy today as the first of the Magnolia Classes took place. As usual there was plenty of laughter and chit chatting amongst friends who had gathered together with one common interest -- the love of bears.

By the end of the day, under the expert guidance of Karen Alderson, six Magnolia's were born and everyone went home HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY. It certainly was a fun day -- Thank you Vicki for bringing the MARS BAR SLICE!!! (very naughty but nice)

There's A Bear out There...

If you're driving through Tooradin, along the South Gippsland Highway, don't be surprized to see a huge bear strapped to a power pole. That's our JACK and he's on a mission...

His job is to give every passer-by a dose of the "bear-bug" Not a lethal dose of course, but just enough to tug at their heart-strings and make them feel "warm and fuzzy" inside. A job that only a bear can do!!!

So far, so good -- MISSION ACCOMPLISHED...

Craftfest in Melbourne

Xanthe and Melissa Kemp painting on the mural at Craftfest in Melbourne.

One guess what they are painting.....A teddy bears picnic of course!

A small selection of our display at Craftfest. Patches, the Chapeaux Sisters and Miss Daisy have been very popular this week.

Craftfest in Melbourne

Day 3 of the show.....1 more to go. Lots of wonderful things to see and do. Here's Carol painting her little piece of the the mural at the Folk Art Association stand to raise funds for the Clown Doctors.

Our Classroom in Tooradin has now been christened!!!

Break out the champagne... Today our bear circle ladies made the trek to their new meeting place in TOORADIN. Thankfully nobody got lost on the way and as usual the day was spent full of fun, laughter and of course stitching... One of the highlights was strolling down to the Tooradin Bakery for lunch... Soooo many yummy choices -- Ladies this could be dangerous!

Packing again! Just as we get all unpacked and relaxed...its time to pack again. We are off to Craftfest in Melbourne for 4 days. Here's the link if you want to come check it out. http://www.craftfest.com.au/

Dont forget to come and see us at our gorgeous new shop in Tooradin....Josey will be here to welcome you with a big warm smile as always. We are open 6 days now....10-4 Saturday & Sunday.....9.30 - 5.00 Tuesday to Friday. See you there!

We had some great help from some lovely friends.....the bear world really brings out the best people. A big thank you to Natasha, who worked really hard in awful weather packing up at Boronia and loading and unloading the truck at the other end. I was too scared to drive the truck and she kindly did it for us.

Jonathan, (Josey's son) has worked tirelessly preparing the new shop, painting, building...doing anything we asked....thank you so much!

Sandy, Danni, Dave, Josh, Kirsty....thank you...thank you....

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the amazing people who have helped me get Bear Essence ready to open in time. Josey has worked so hard for 5 solid days getting the old shop packed up and making the new shop look gorgeous. The whole time with a smile on her face....she is a very special person.

Our first post

Hi everyone,

Well....we have finally made it to Tooradin! After 5 very long days, we have packed up at Boronia, shifted 2 truck loads to Tooradin, and spent 3 days putting our brand new shop together. What a feat! It looks amazing and we couldn't be happier.