Friday, May 20, 2011

oNLy jUst ArriVEd...
I don't know about you,  but I LOVE sewing baskets and have quite a collection at home.  Whenever I see a new one I find it very hard to resist...  I alternate between them, taking them with me to the doctors surgery, the office, in the car and any place where I can slip in a little bit of handsewing... 

Today I was REALLY REALLY tempted as I unpacked a delivery containing four of the most gorgeous sewing baskets -- one had a blue crystal handle and two of the others were in my most favourite colour -- PINK!!!   I quenched my temptation by telling myself that it was not fair to snap them up before the customers had had a chance to look at them...  Don't you agree!!!




Wednesday, May 18, 2011

wE'Re BacK...
It has been a little while since our last blog post and so much has been happening -- where do we begin???  Quite often I am told by customers and friends that religiously before they go to bed each night, they check our blog for the latest update...  It's something they LOVE to do...  So if you are one of those people all I can say is "SORRY" and "WE'RE BACK!!!!!!"
The days leading up to the show were hectic hectic hectic packing everything that we needed to take with us to Berwick...  The actual show has now become a bit of a blur, as we were so busy that we were operating on "auto pilot"  We would have loved to spend more time chatting with all our loyal customers, but there just wasn't enough time... Everytime we looked up we could see a sea of faces waiting patiently to be served...  The show itself was such a huge success and the date for next year has been set - 6th May 2012.  We have 12 months to work on making it bigger and better than the inaugural show of 2011... AND WE CAN'T WAIT!!!

The La De Da bears had a fantastic time at the show -- in fact three of them didn't want to come home with us to Tooradin and found loving homes with collectors who just couldn't resist the way these little bears tug at the heart-strings...  There are still a couple left waiting patiently for a new mummy at the BEAR ESSENCE ADOPTION CENTRE!!

We had Linda Benson out just before the show running two one day workshops for her little stunner - Nanou.  Unfortunately I had to pull out of this workshop because of time constraints, but we are looking to repeat this workshop again this year.  There are many others like myself that missed out on the Nanou workshop, so due to popular demand we will be repeating this workshop.  Keep checking our website for details to be posted...
The days following the show saw Helen Gleeson, of Bare Cub Designs, at Bear Essence running her Aquila workshop.  Now this class I did manage to get to and was simply delighted with the result.  A class with Helen is always so much fun and very rewarding. 
It was so sad at the end of the two beautiful days to say goodbye to Helen and Lucy... but lucky for us we did manage to persuade Helen to come back in twelve months to run another of her amazing workshops...
Due to their huge popularity, we had another hug of Little Bittie Bears arrive...  Unfortunately they did not arrive in time to come with us to the Berwick Show, and although half have already found homes, there are still a few left, and they are SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE...

One of our much loved students, Carol Galea, recently celebrated two wonderful years of bearmaking...  Carol has turned into a very passionate bearmaker in a very short span of time...  She lives and breathes bears - 24hours, 7 days a week and has brought much fun and laughter into the Bear Essence classroom!!!
Below is Carol and her first born, Tim Tam, blowing out the birthday candles...  with all their beary companions...   Congratulations to you both xxx

After all the hard work of the past two weeks, Kim and I have spent a very relaxing morning choosing mohair and making up some very delicious mohair bundles...  These are just perfect to give to a beary companion or just to keep for yourself...
 And last but not least...  Just as I was ready to post this blog I heard the door of the shop open and in came the postie with another long awaited delivery -- Helen Gleeson's new book "Bear Basics and Beyond" a must for anyone serious about their bears...  This beautiful book is an inspirational guide covering the teddy bear making basics through to creating and promoting your own unique collection.  Get your copy whilst they are still in stock...

VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO VIEW THE COMPLETE ALBUM OF THE ABOVE PHOTOS... 

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Our New signs.....



We are so grateful to Karen Alderson for kindly allowing us to use her gorgeous designs on all of our signage. Karen's bears are so pretty and feminine.... they really reflect the feel of our shop.  I am sure Jack (our big bear) is enjoying the new view above....

Monday, May 2, 2011

Aquila class... Day 1


We are very happy to welcome Helen Gleeson back to Tooradin for her 2 day workshop... "Aquila"
Keep watching for the photos of the finished little bears tomorrow. They are looking amazing!