TBAI Correction

I hope you're all planning to join us at the TOBY Awards and TBAI on July 21-23. The Awards event is the 23rd; tickets are free, but you need to register in advance at: info@TBAI.org or 518-562-4076.

Please note that the show is open to the public on Saturday, August 23, NOT Aug. 21!

TBF Business Blog

As a service to the artists, retailers, suppliers, and other business owners in the teddy bear market, we have begun a business blog. You'll find it at http://tbfbusinessblog.blogspot.com/. There's really nothing there at the moment, but we hope to add articles, tips, and references regularly to build a library of information that will help teddy bear businesspeople run their businesses more smoothly and successfully.

If you have a tip or article to share, please e-mail it to: mkinseymadavorcom with "TBF business tip" in the title.

Events Calendar

Want to find a bear show? Visit our events calendar at www.teddybearandfriends.com/forum. Look on the toolbar in the upper right corner for a link to the Calendar.

Want to post a show to the Calendar? Please send an e-mail with all of the show information (name, sponsor, date, time, location including address, admission fee, and contact name and number) to: mkinseymadavorcom.

To have your event published in the magazine, be sure to send the details at least five (5) months in advance.

Olympics Trivia

Vote for your favorite Olympics Bears from the Sept/Oct 2008 issue (mailing to subscribers on July 29) at: www.teddybearandfriends.com/forum.

In the meantime, here is some Olympics Trivia to dazzle your friends and family!

• The first modern Olympics Games were held in Athens in 1896. The first Winter Olympics Games were held in France in 1924.
  
  The Olympic Creed: "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well."
  
  The Olympic Flame was first introduced into the modern Olympics at the 1928 Amsterdam Games. The flame represents "the light of spirit, knowledge, and life." The Torch Relay began in ancient times and was revived at the 1936 Berlin Games.
  
  Women first participated in the Olympics in 1900.
  
  Tug-of-war was an Olympic event from 1900-1920.
  
  The 1936 Berlin Games were the first to be televised – 25 big TV screens were set up throughout the city so locals could follow the Games. The 1948 London Games were the first to be shown on home television.
  
  The 1904 Olympics were the first at which gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded for first, second, and third place.
  
  The Olympics have been cancelled three times in the past century: 1916, 1940, and 1944.
  The 1972 Munich Games were the first to have a named mascot: Waldi the dachshund.
  
  Los Angeles was the only city to bid for the right to host the 1984 Olympic Games.
  
  In Atlanta in 1996, for the first time in Olympic history, all 197 recognized National Olympic Committees were represented at the Games.
  
  In 1904, the American gymnast George Eyser won six medals even though his left leg was made of wood.
  
  At the 1972 Munich Games, the U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz won a medal count unique in the history of the Games: seven Olympic titles and seven world records.
  
  At the 1976 Montreal Games, 14-year-old gymnast Nadia Comaneci of Romania was awarded the first-ever perfect score of 10.0. She eventually earned seven 10.0s.
  
  At the 1980 Moscow Games, the Soviet gymnast Aleksandr Dityatin became the only athlete ever to win eight medals in one Olympics.
  
  At the 1996 Atlanta Games, the Austrian sailor Hubert Raudaschl became the first person ever to compete in nine Olympics.
  
  At the 2000 Sidney Games, Brit Steven Redgrave became the first athlete to win gold medals in five consecutive Olympics.

Teddybar Total

Imagine three huge halls packed with nearly 300 exhibitors and thousands of collectors – that’s what we found at Teddybär Total in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany. The world’s largest teddy bear show was a marvelous kaleidoscope of people and teddy bears. At right is Kellie with a Teddy Hermann studio-sized bear. Below is Diane with a Studio Steiff.





We met new artists, hugged century-old bears, visited with manufacturers, and reconnected with old friends. Here's Bettina Springweiler with one of her new bears, Knout (below right).






Helga Torfs (at left)

Eleonore Unkel-Schaufelin and

Heike Boam

Erika Knirsch of Crunchy Bears

Fabian Song

Martin Hermann with his company's show exclusive, Reiterbar.

Ursula Hermann with a new bear made with old heads she found in the attic!

We were honored to attend the banquet where the Golden George award winners were announced – congratulations to all of the winners. (See the list here.) One of the traditions of the banquet is the CAKE. It's huge, elaborately decorated, unique each year, and delicious. This year's cake was covered in 3-inch marzipan teddy bears. Really amazing!








Our hosts, Frank Wohlfarth, publisher; Jutta Nagels, ad sales; and Susanne Nagels, editor. They really went out of their way to make us and other foreign guests feel welcome at the show and banquet. They even projected Mr. Wohlfarth's speech in English so we non-German speakers could follow along.





As a bonus, the village of Wiedenbrück is charming and friendly. It's got timbered buildings, cobblestone streets, and outdoor cafes galore. The people seem to walk or ride bikes most places, which is good because the streets are reeeally narrow. This church was right behind our inn. The steeple has bells, which played concerts several times a day -- starting at 7:15 a.m. on Sunday!









We saw so much more and met so many wonderful people and bears! Look for more in upcoming issues of Teddy Bear and Friends!


Look here for information to plan next year’s visit. <http://www.teddybaertotal.de/CMS/O/1/s/e/>

TOBYs at TBAI

Teddy Bear and Friends magazine is proud to announce that we will be presenting the TOBY Public’s Choice Awards at the TBAI show in Binghamton, New York. Join us on Thursday, August 21, for hors d’ourves, wine tasting, and the TOBY Awards!

There is no charge to attend the presentation, but advance registration is required (e-mail info@TBAI.org). We'd appreciate your making a donation to the Ross Park Zoo at the event.

We hope you’ll stay for the weekend and enjoy one of America’s best collector shows. Get more information at www.TBAI.org.

Note to TOBY nominees: The show is full, but the show's organizer, Cindy Malchoff, will try to squeeze you in if you want to exhibit. Please contact her immediately at the above e-mail.

Can't find the magazine?

One of the most common comments I hear is that collectors can't find the magazine in bookstores.

We are approved to be on the shelves at Barnes & Noble, Borders, JoAnn Fabrics, and Hastings. If you can't find us at those stores, ask the store manager to stock the magazine.

A variety of local teddy bear and doll stores also carries Teddy Bear and Friends. Feel free to e-mail me with your city and state to ask the name of a store nearby.

I regret to say that we don't have any international newsstand contracts at the moment.

That said, ahem, subscribing is the cheapest and most reliable way to get the magazine. Visit our Web site, http://www.teddybearandfriends.com/, to subscribe. Selected back issues are also available; e-mail customer service to inquire about specific issues.