Another Teddy Bear Trade

A few months ago, I wrote about a wonderful trade I did with Canadian teddy bear artist, Michelle Mutschler. We just completed trade number two: my 1918 American teddy bear and a vintage Fisher Price Goldilocks and the Three Bears playset for four of Michelle's tiny handmade bears (along with an old German dollhouse doll and a bunch of vintage holiday decorations and cards.)

Here's the group of Michelle's quirky miniature bears, ranging in size from just 3 1/2 inches tall to 6 1/2 inches, made of aged velvets and assorted trims:

 
The clown bear has to be seen in profile to have his wonderful oddness fully appreciated:

The looooooong skinny panda is my favorite out of the bunch:

Poor "Rose" suffers from an enlarged cranium which she unsuccessfully tries to disguise with a festive bow:

As does her sister, little "Pinky":

Thanks Michelle, for another fun trade!

Toy Trading Teds

Like many collectors, I'm finding that today's economic challenges are making it more difficult to do all the buying I would like. That's why I'm so happy to discover more and more collectors, dealers, and toymakers are exploring the possibilities of toy trading.

A couple of weeks ago, Michelle Mutschler, a wonderful teddy bear artist from Canada, discovered my blog as she was searching for information on antique British teddy bears. I offered her a couple of my vintage bears, she offered me some of her handmade teds, and quick as a flash, two packages full of bears (and surprises!) were making their way through the international postal system.

My box of bliss arrived last night, with the contents beautifully wrapped.

 And look what was under all that enticing pink paper: five fantastic little bears!

 The tiniest two, in the lower left corner, are only three and a half inches tall, while the largest, in the upper right, is nine. Michelle's bears are made of vintage and aged mohair, velvet, and velveteen, and comprise a wide range of characters, from comical, carnival inspired clowns to primitives and antique-look bruins.

Here are the tiniest teds, "My Old Bear" and "Flora," unjointed itty bitty pocket bears.

 "Martha" is a dotty looking, primitive style bear made of two-tone velveteen wearing a lace doily collar.

 Martha has rather a prodigious schnoz. The other bears try not to stare, as she's rather sensitive about it.

"Grizelda", made of vintage white mohair and red velvet, reminds me of antique clown and harlequin bears.

 Such a sweet face on this one...don't you just want to kiss that nose?!

And last but not least, "Ted E."  has one of the  craziest heads I've ever seen on a bear. Just look at that profile!

 Thanks sooooooo much, Michelle, for your fab teds!