Teddy Bear & Friends merges with Teddy Bear Review!!

WOW!  Just wow ... can’t say this is what i was expecting to be reading over my first cuppa of the day :o/  but it's official!  TBR's facebook page has updated with the news, including a link to the story on their website, but TB&F has made no comment/acknowledgement (yet) as far as I've seen.

Basically the story is that the two main (paper print) US bear magazines will now be combining to form the one magazine, publishing under the name of Teddy Bear & Friends (presumably) with a logo that combines the name and font of TB&F and the sweet little paw print from TBR ... please note that last bit is an guess on my part, based on the banner (above) that arrived on the email announcement from TBR.   

I’ve lived with the news for a bit now, and I still can’t define how I feel about this ... With out question, anything that makes the bear industry stronger is a good thing *nods*.  I suppose I’ll feel more comfortable when I know who will have the guiding hand on what gets published and the direction the new publication takes... no word on the TOBY's and/or Golden Teddy's for example.  My fingers are firmly crossed for a return to the themed issues of the golden days (no surprises that Junes Mini Issue of TB&F is/was a MAJOR fave lol, closely followed by the friends issue) ... and I am very curious as to who the editor will be.  If anyone does know, please leave the info in the comments :o)

One things for sure - my poor forgetful brain will be very happy it no longer has to remember which bear’s photo was sent to which magazine (because doubling up would never do, oh no no no *tsk tsk tsk* lol!) ...

Anyway, enough of my ramblings - here is the full text from the email that I received:

The two premiere publications serving teddy bear collectors,Teddy Bear & Friends and Teddy Bear Review,will merge into one title in 2012 published under the name Teddy Bear & Friends, published on a bimonthly schedule by Jones Publishing. The deal was announced Jan. 27 at the Debut of Dolls and DOTY Awards Banquet during IDEX trade show in Orlando, Fla. Jones Publishing also presented its Ambassador Award to Barrie and Danny Shapiro of The Toy Shoppe at the same event.

Teddy Bear & Friends (TB&F) and Teddy Bear Review's (TBR) sister publications, Doll Reader and DOLLS, will also merge this year. Jones Publishing will retain the title DOLLS and increase its frequency to monthly, including quarterly Dolls Presents: Haute Doll specials.

"By working collaboratively with our industry partners, we know that we can help make the industry stronger," said IDEX Vice President Susan Fitzgerald. "This new merger will allow us to reach more people and, in turn, grow the publications and their content. We believe this will also help to develop and expand IDEX, which remains the leading industry show."

Teddy Bear Review Publisher Carie Ferg agreed, saying "Uniting two great, long-standing teddy bear magazines into one dynamic title, as well as partnering with IDEX, presents us with a terrific opportunity to use the combined strengths of Jones Publishing and Madavor Media to grow the industry."

The April 2012 issue of TBR, which mails Feb. 1, will be sent to both TB&F and TBR subscribers. This issue features a sneak peek at bear artists' new designs for this year. Beginning with the June 2012 issue, the magazine will be released under the Teddy Bear & Friends banner. The new combined magazine will continue to publish fan-favorite columns and features from both TB&F and TBR, including Evelyn and Mort Wood's Antiques Almanac, Ken Yenke's Teddies Reviewed, and Dot Bird's Bear Hospital.

TBR subscribers will have the remaining issues of their subscription applied to TB&F; readers who subscribe to both magazines will have their TB&F subscription extended by the number of issues remaining on their TBRsubscription. An FAQ is posted on www.teddybearreview.com to answer questions about the merger, and Jones Publishing has issued an invitation to readers to send feedback, suggestions, and additional questions to the magazine's staff. Contact information and links are posted under the "About Us" link at the top left of the home page.

Jones Publishing and Teddy Bear & Friends have committed to have a strong presence at IDEX, which will continue to be owned and managed by Madavor Media. Look for some exciting events sponsored by Jones at the 2013 IDEX show, including the presentation of the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award!

Want a chance to win a Rosey Day ted? Sure you do!

This is Hardy.  Say “hello there” Hardy :o)

Teddy Bear and Friends are giving one lucky reader the chance to win Hardy!  All you need to do is fill in the following form - which you can find on page 41 of the Winter 2010 edition - and send it in to the address given on the form...

So, what are you waiting for :o)

Teddy Bear and Friends Winter 2010 issue: I’m in it!! YAH

Some things just never get old.. no matter how much they are repeated they remain full of WIN!  Hugs from friends, the smell of coffee brewing, the first camellia of the season... and seeing my little ted’s in print :o) :o)

...so you can imagine how thrilled I was when I saw the familiar A4 envelope slide under the gate and the realization of what it contained dawned on me lol!!  I think I had that baby ripped open, and my nose buried in the magazine in about 5.76 seconds flat <3

A few more seconds more and I was reading the article in question, aptly named “Good things come in small packages” and  written by the lovely Felicia Hymer (AKA The Bear Scout).  My little ted’s can be found a few pages into the story on pages 40 and 41

Coincidentally the ted of mine pictured - Ellory - has his head buried in a good read too :oP

I am also waiting on a hard copy of the current Teddy Bear Review, that has an article with me in it too *so excited* but never fear that all this attention will give me a big head... as you can see, our Louise made it quite clear that her beauty routine was of far more import, and interest for that matter, than my excited babble about magazines.  Nothing like a Siamese to bring a girl back down to earth hey ROFL!

2010 TOBY's Industry Choice winners

Last Saturday, the Crossroads Doll and Teddy Show in San Diego saw the announcement of the 2010 TOBY Industry Choice nominees. Here are the talented, and lucky, nominees:

Miniature Artist Bear

• JoJo – Michelle Lamb, One & Only Bears

• Cuddle – Byunghwa Ahn, ansbear

• Bonds of Love – Erika Knirsch, Crunchy Bears

• Sleepy Bear Cub "Tiramisu" – Kumiko & Masaru Nakano, Ma'Sal Creations

• Giddy Up – Katherine Hallam, Katie Rae Bears

Small Artist Bear, Dressed

• Little Coconut, Forgotten Angel Series – Tami Lahey, Dolls N Dreams

• Calin – Denise Purrington, Out of the Forest Bears

• Pfeifer The Patriot – Ron & Kristy Northman, Captain Ron’s Bears

• Lilly – Robert Formon, Bear Hearts

• Celestina – Jenny Johnson, Three O’Clock Bears

Small Artist Bear, Undressed

• Grizwald – Denise Purrington, Out of the Forest Bears

• Cassey – Linda Joan Chiasson, Bear in Mind Collectibles

• Snezhana -- Ina Smirnova

• Moses – Annei Leung, Merry Bears by Annei Leung

• Flurry –Cindy Cherry, CC Bears Australia

Large Artist Bear, Dressed

• Katarina – Michelle Lamb, One & Only Bears

• Peter – Lori Simon, Furbearsake

• Little Red Riding Hood – Harumi Kajihara

• Miss Emmaline – Karen Brady Hammontree, Brady Bears Studio

• Diago – Kim Russell, Russel Bears

Large Artist Bear, Undressed

• Mira – Britta Helberg

• Teddy – Linda Joan Chiasson, Bear in Mind Collectibles

• Knutely – Karin De Lorenzo

• Neopolitan – Helen Gleeson, Bare Cub Designs

• Radcliff – Lori Simon, Furbearsake

Artist Set or Vignette

• Thomas' Big Present – Karen Lyons, K.J. Lyons Design

• My Best Friend Stinky –Petra Schöpe, Heartbear

• Cuddles - Aiko Kawamoto, Aiko Bear

• Guardians of the Flock - Carol Thompson, Thymeless Treasures

• We Are Family – Britta Helberg

Small Artist “Friends”

• Belle – Jutta Michels, Mic Bären und Hasen

• Gina – Silvia Gilles, Gilles Baeren

• The Squire – Shelly Allison, The Rabbit Maker

• Diego – Krista Griffiths, Pawz Creations

• Gosling – Cindy Malchoff, My Apple Tree

Large Artist “Friends”

• Ferdinand – Michelle Lamb, One & Only Bears

• The White Warrior – Gordon & Peggy Hayes, Unicorn

• The Stray – Karen Lyons, K.J. Lyons Design

• Racker – Karin De Lorenzo

• Charlie – Krista Griffiths, Pawz Creations

Artist Creation, Nontraditional Materials

• Phinneus – Kelly Graham, Ted E. Graham Originals

• Bottles & Bugs – Glenda Rolle

• The Last Dragon – Gordon & Peggy Hayes, Unicorn

• Sugar – Sue Peterson

• James – Carol Thompson, Thymeless Treasures

Small Manufactured Bear

• Beefeater – Hermann-Spielwaren GmbH

• Tea House Keeper– Gloria Chan

• Alexandra The Butterfly Bear – Steiff North America

• Elf Bear – Ganz

• Holly N. Ivy – The Bearington Collection

Large Manufactured Bear

• Wiesenwirt "O'zapft is" Oktoberfest – Hermann-Spielwaren GmbH

• Sonneberg Museums Bear 2009 – Hermann-Spielwaren GmbH

• Prince, The Trademark Bear – Steiff North America

• Giant Nicholas Northpole – The Bearington Collection

• Lots of Love Ladybug – The Bearington Collection

Manufactured “Friends”

• The First Dog, White House Series – Hermann-Spielwaren GmbH

• Gloria The Springtime Bunny – Steiff North America

• Fifi – The Bearington Collection

• Piggywinkle Toeshoes – The Bearington Collection

Best of luck to all :o)

My critters are in Teddy Bear & Friends magazine...

A rather lovely parcel arrived for me a short while back.... and in amongst the goodies was the current issue of Teddy Bear and Friends magazine :o) This in itself is always cause for celebration - I love browsing my teddy mags - but this one is just a tiny bit more special (for me) than most!!

MmmHHmm :o) *nods* Yup, indeed it is!! Go grab your copies now and flip on over to page 40 :o) YAHHH!! Those are my little critters ...I was so excited to get my hands on this issue and see the pictures that were chosen and the words that were written. I’ve been around the bear world for quite a while now - and i’ve been in my fair share of magazines too - but I’m still like a kid in a candy shop when it comes to seeing my little guys featured between the pages of these magazines. Not to mention how flattering and awesome it feels to be included in the same publications as stories about, and pictures from, other bear artists I admire so much. Life can be So Cool sometimes! Enough babble from me, go check out my page :o) Thats page 40 by the way :oP

The bunny you see before you, by the way, is Godfrey, who spends his days hanging out with me and waiting for a new mum (or dad) to come along and adopt him... Maybe you like the look of him and would be interested in clicking HERE to go say “hi” to him over on the website?

2009 TOBY Pubic Choice winners announced...

The TOBY Public Choice Award winners for 2009 have been announced, and the list goes a litttle like this:

Miniature Artist Bear, Dressed

Samantha Potter, “Grace”

Miniature Artist Bear, Undressed

Donna Griffin, “Pansy and Rosebud, the Panda Sisters”

Small Artist Bear, Dressed

Silvia Gilles, “Marcula”

Small Artist Bear, Undressed

Yoko Nakayama, “Milk”

Large Artist Bear, Dressed

Melissa Zemeski, “Captain Zinfangar”

Large Artist Bear, Undressed

Karin De Lorenzo, “Bubbele”

Artist Vignette

Karin De Lorenzo, “Be Friends? Yes we can!!!”

Artist “Friends”

Karen Lyons, “Cat and the Fiddle”

Artist Creation, Nontraditional Materials

Berta Hesen-Minten, “Elf”

Small Manufactured Bear, Dressed

The Bearington Collection, Ltd., “Ms. Abracadabra”

Small Manufactured Bear, Undressed

Gund Inc., “Zhen Zhen”

Large Manufactured Bear, Dressed

Hermann-Spielwaren GmbH, “Old Bavarian Bear”

Large Manufactured Bear, Undressed

Steiff North America, Inc., “Alexander, the Trademark Bear”

Manufactured “Friends”

Steiff North America, Inc., “Snoopy and Woodstock, the Best Friends”

Best in Show

Karin De Lorenzo, “Be Friends? Yes we can!!!”

Congratulations to all who were nominated, and an extra big round of applause to those listed above - the bears who have been chosen by the public as their favourites :o) The lucky TOBY winners were presented with their awards at the Teddy Bear Artist Invitational in Binghamton, NY last Saturday.

TB&F is on Twitter ...AND Facebook

OK, so I know there isn’t a mass of bear makers out in the twittersphere right now - or if there are I’ve not found them yet lol...but I’m hoping the arrival of one of our favourite bear magazine will help to change that :o) YAH!!

Teddy Bear & Friends magazine have taken the plunge and opened up an account, and you can find them right HERE

I am thrilled that the magazine has chosen to open up the line of communication between themselves and their readers...it can only do us all the world of good to be able to twitter away about the things we love, and would like to see more of between the magazines pages, as well as the magazine reaching out to us for ideas and contributions that we can give to them :o) Anything like this that can revitalize our industry and bring more members into our community is a good thing in my book!

I also love that the list of people following Teddy Bear & Friends will be a wonderful place for anyone with a twitter account to start connecting with other teddy enthusiasts :o) At the time of writing they haven’t accumulated many followers - yet - though hopefully time will see that change and before long their account will be one big, happy hug of chattering bear artists and collectors. Now how cool would that be?!

***ADDED LATER***

Oh dear, I really do have a most dreadful memory lol! As Matilda Huggington Bear has so kindly pointed out (in the comments section) there is another social network that Teddy Bear & Friends magazine can be found on... Facebook :o)

Even better, not only can Teddy Bear and Friends fan page be found on Facebook HERE BUT the Teddy Bear Review magazine fan page can be found HERE Two of our favourite bear magazines in the one place...it just keeps getting better and better doesn’t it!

Let the TOBY voting begin...

It is a mere three weeks out from my first bear show of the year, so it is not unreasonable to expect much sewing, sculpting, snipping and stuffing to be going on here at Chateau Teddy.  Yet here I sit, putting my honors degree in Advanced Procrastination Techniques to good use lol....which, in this instance, translates to my sitting here stuffing about on the computer *insert sheepish grin here*

Yet, my friends,  there IS benefit in this!  I have made the happy discovery that voting for the 2009 Public Choice Winners has begun.....

It used to be that living in this corner of the world meant a girl would miss out on voting in the TOBY’s, but ahh, the joys of the interwebs now mean that anyone with access to an internet connection can join in.  Yippppeeeee I say!!!!!  I’m not entirely sure how long online voting will be open for, but the 2009 TOBY Public Choice winners will be announced on the 15th of August at TBAI.

As I write I am halfway through voting.....and oh the amazing creations!  My poor brain needed a break lol.  This years Industry Choice Winners are superb!!  I had the devil of a time trying to decide who to vote for in Category 7, the “Artists Friends”.....all I can say is that it is just as well it’s Easter, as I wouldn’t want to be making these choices with out the support of my friend the chocolate bunny  :oD

Ready to have your say too?  CLICK HERE to cast your votes.