Birmingham Spring Fair, UK

I leave for the UK this week to attend the Birmingham Spring Fair.  This year they have moved the teddy bears to Hall 3 and you will find me at Stand N15.  I always find this trip fun because I get to see store owners and other manufacturing friends as well as my Mum and friends.   The main challenge for me is renting a manual car, when I normally drive an automatic: driving on the left side of the road along windy roads up and down hill and all that mostly in the dark!  Yikes!!!!!    I am hoping for fair weather.  Regardless to it all......it will be fun to see everyone.

I had so much fun at the San Diego Bear Show this weekend.  I was thrilled to see some club members, collectors and my artist friends.  I had forgotten how much fun these shows are.  I would like to thank all the collectors who attended and supported the event.  On the Saturday evening we had a banquet and remembered past shows.  I think I first did that show as an artist about 20 years ago.  Many of the artists I first met there are still attending and the same can be said of some of the collectors.  Linda Mullins received a well deserved Industry award and Jon Port gave a great talk detailing Linda`s outstanding contributions to the bear world.  The Toby Industry Choice awards were announced and many of my artist friends won.  I am thrilled to say that I picked up two Toby awards in the Manufacturing section for the two pieces pictured, `Rocking Red Dragon` and my Valentine Jester `Vesta`. 

I am excited to be attending the San Diego Doll and Bear Show this weekend.  My aim was to have a few one of a kind ORIGINAL artist pieces.  

Pictured left to right are  `Henry & Boo` he is 5 inches and made of mohair, his litte friend Boo is a velvet piece and measures 2 inches.

`Ju Ju` a 2.5 inch dragon made of ultrasuede.  She is decorated with crystals, silk ribbons and lace and has feather hair.

`Tuti` is the second in my `Newborn Dragon` series, `Harmony` being the first.  He measures 3.75 inches and is made of ultrasuede and brocade and decorated with beads.  His shell is a decorated goose egg. His fingers and ears are all wired.

`Sophie` is a 3.5 inch white mohair bear.  She has her pink ballet shoes and a bouquet of soft pink flowers and silk ribbon bow on her head.

Please note these are not limited editions.....just one of a kinds made by me.

Deb Canham's photostream

Deb Canham's photostream on Flickr.

Please check out the new `Valentine`s Collection launching today.

Dollhouse Collection New Releases for January 2012

Pictured above are some of my new Dollhouse releases.  The `Mouse Ballerina` measures 1 and 1/8 inches or 3cms.  She has fully jointed head, arms and legs and has a little tutu skirt and a tiny pink ribbon adorning her head.  I love all the dollhouse pieces but the mice are always my favorite because they are so small and delicate. 

Each dollhouse piece comes in a tiny calico bag with a tag stating edition number and size.  

Also pictured are `Little Violet bear` who is also fully jointed and sports a little pink ribbon.  He measures 1.25 inches or 3.5cms.

Announcing `Spring Training Camp` for Binkers

I have decided that there is to be a `Spring Training Camp` for Binker`s.  I will be releasing all the information in the `Doodle Club Newsletter` going out in January.  If you need further information or would like to put your `Binker`s` name down for the event.  Please email me.  Places are limited.

A letter from Camp Binker to home

Please ignore Binker`s spelling mistakes and lack of sentence construction - he was very excited when he wrote it.

6^th October 2005

Dear Home,

Sorry I haven’t written sooner but Deb has been waiting for all the Binker`s to arrive.  We are almost all here now so, since it is raining this morning, we are all sitting down to write letters home.  Deb is helping with the spelling.

Everyone is very friendly here. 

Over the weekend we all settled in.  Deb said we were probably all a bit tired from our journey and all the excitement of coming on such a long trip.   None of us got lost and one little bear came all the way from Australia.  His Mum told him `not to get so excited that he missed his stop`.  He talks with a different accent to the rest of us, but he`s cool and has great jokes.  He will keep calling everyone `Tucker`. 

I am in a dorm with six other Binkers.  A couple of them snore really loudly and Deb says that we would not find it a problem `if` we didn’t chat till all hours.  The secret is to be the first one asleep.  She says, she learned that at boarding school.

We had to learn a few drills for safety reasons.  We have a `beach drill` for when we go swimming, a `boat drill` for when we go boating and a `fire drill` for when we go firing!!  

Lynne, Angela and Deb are very nice.  They aren`t really strict at all but they do seem to suffer from stress when it comes to worrying about us `Binkers`.  Lynne said we were giving her a headache the other day.  It has rained a bit this week and when that happens we go into the office to `help` them.   Angela has been packing up the new bears for the autumn and we have had a look and met them all.  The `Halloween` collection is `cool` and we have all had a go at riding `Santa in Florida`s flamingo`.  We have also been pulling each other round on `Plum`s` sleigh but we got told off for that because we were going so fast and turning such tight circles that `Binkers`
were flying off in all directions.  Deb said it was becoming a real challenge to get all us Binkers home without injury. 

We have gone to Venice Beach a couple of days.  It is a nice time to visit since it isn’t really busy yet and we had plenty of room to run and play.  Deb had lots of beach games and we played beach `cricket`, which is a variation of an English game.   The ball was a little bit too hard for most the Binker`s so we got Deb`s dogs to retrieve the balls after we had hit it.  `Sweepy` is very good at bringing the ball back for the bowler to throw again BUT `Daisy` and `Chopper` kept running off with it.  So in the end we abandoned the game of cricket for `Chase the Dog`.  The dogs won.

Last night we were going to have  a big Camp Fire but it got rained out so we are hoping to have it tonight.  The entertainment is being provided by all the `Halloween `Bears.  `Spells` says she is going to make sure that she `frightens the living daylights out of us!`.  Deb says, it’s a silly expression and she always wondered what the `living daylights` were when she was young.  Anyway, Charlie and Sam (Deb`s sons) said they have some great ghost stories and Richard, Deb`s husband is bound to find some way to get involved.  I think Deb was just planning on us singing some camp fire songs.

The weather has been quite wet this week.  So for the last couple of days we have indoor activities.  This morning Deb made sure we all had a rain cape and insisted that we were all going out for a `Treasure Hunt` since she couldn’t stand any more squabbles in the house and we all needed some exercise.  We have been playing, `Snakes and Ladders`, cards and Bingo.  We have also been polishing up our individual poetry readings ready for a special show next week.  Some of the Binker`s are planning on singing as well and one Binker is doing a piano recital except his stool has broken but Deb says she can find him another one.

We did discuss doing a play but Deb says that last camp she had so much trouble trying to organize a Camp play.  Being as there is a shortage of girls at camp we have to call on all the girls in Deb`s line.  Apparently, the Dappled Dragons get hugely out of control being such Prima Donna`s, so much so that Deb cancelled the  last  event to avoid hurt feelings, not to mention a fight.

Anyway, the sun has come out so we are all going out on a boat.  Charlie has a large tire and he can tow it behind the boat at great speed with us clinging on.  Have to hurry before Deb finds out.

Much love Binker