bears

Comtessine Coccinella De Lafontaine

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By Miki de Goodaboom

 

Stage 5 of  “The Tour of Teddies”.

As my Mom saw Comtessine Tivolie, she fell in love with her at once, and wanted to know if Tivolie has got sisters and brothers. She said:

“She is an aristocrat, you know, she needs some aristocratic company!”

And there she was, my 92 year old Mom, searching the net for Tivolie’s relatives! She found a lot, and eventually she ordered for me 4 Sisters for Comtessine!

I am not sure I will have time to paint them all, so many other bears have been waiting for their turn to be immortalised for a much longer time.

But here is “Comtessine Coccinella”, wearing a Lady Bug costume. All my Comtessines are in disguise  by the way… I wonder if they are a bit embarrassed to be aristocrats… Coccinella is at our home in good company with some others from her kind… I am not sure they are Ladybugs too, or some extraordinary mutation, but my Comtessine feels very well among them all!

 

Comtessine Coccinella S

Comtessine Tivolie De Lafontaine

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 1 Comment

By Miki de Goodaboom

 

Stage 4 of  “The Tour Of  Teddies” leads me to teddy “Comtessine Tivolie De Lafontaine”, originally called “Happy Ziggy Chicky”.

I adopted her during my painting trip to Copenhagen in May 2017, while I was visiting the famous attraction park ‘Tivoli Gardens”. I was immensely happy to meet her there, as I had not seen many teddies in Copenhagen.

She was born in Sweden, at Barbara Bukowski’s house.

She is a birthday present from my Mom.

She looks like an aristocratic Teddy,  hence the name “Comtessine”. The family name “De Lafontaine” is the name which have all the Teddies given to me by My Mom. Her own family name (my too) is “Fonvielle”, which means something like “Old Source”. A “fontaine” is a source… So, ‘De Lafontaine” is the “aristocratisation” of Fonvielle, somehow…  and a wink  to our famous fabulist and poet “Jean De La Fontaine”, who wrote these wonderful animal fables.

Comtessine Tivolie wears a chicken costume. She wanted to take a “chicken bath”, to know how it is to be a real chicken, so she asked me to bring her to a poultry yard. It was not the best idea ever, I felt that poor Contessine was a bit scared there by all the noisy clucking and weird looks she got. Chicken are not silly, you know, and despite her disguise, they did get that she was not really one of theirs!

Comtessine was glad then to be back home among all her brothers and sisters!

Comtessine Tivolie S

Elise And Eloise

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By Miki de Goodaboom

 

On my 2 week Tour of my Teddy Bears Art, I have arrived to the end of stage 3 . After Shakesbear and Napoleon Bearnaparte, the Tour took me to Elise and her grand-Ma Eloise, my two wonderful Settler Bears from Australia.

As I saw that collection on the net, I feel in love with them at once. They look so cute and mental at the same time!  I love their fur, so wild, and so soft. Somehow I recognised myself in them, with my hair always wild, hardly ever able to get combed in the right place, like a real lady should wear her hair,  but following all wind directions at the same time. I just wished it was as soft as theirs!

My Mom call them the “Espeluadas”, a word from her South French dialect. It means something like “with hair all over the place”. She says, there exists no word in French to describe them so accurately. I agree with her.

These two really don’t need hair gel to get their hair all punky!

As Ann La Mar -our  Go Teddy star reporter- saw the painting of Elise and her Grand-Ma Eloise, she wrote:

“… Wow they are beautiful…they look so well together…it is like they are reminiscing and sharing memories…”

They do indeed… and surely they are very exciting memories from their life in Australia!

Elise And Eloise S

 

 

 

 

Napoleon Bearnaparte

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 1 Comment

By Miki de Goodaboom

Our bear family has grown a lot in the last months. I was very busy with some painting projects, and still am, but now I have decided to take 2 weeks to catch up with painting some of our new bears. A portrait is a portrait, be it of a person or of a Teddy bear. Painting them if for me the best way to get really close to them, to look into their soul. Because in case you don’t know it: Teddy Bears have got a soul, a wonderful one!

I started the two weeks painting Shakesbear giving writing lessons to my Teddy Truffle McFurry.

My mother, who is a very nice 92 old lady, always loved dolls (not like me) and did not really know Teddies. But with me, she got to know them, as I always bring some of her grand-children with me to her. She has caught the bug now, and always get me some new. This is how, partly, my bear family increased so much!

She recently saw Napoleon Bearnaparte on the net (yes, she is a profi with the internet, needed a tablet and just a bit more than one year to learn it all) and wanted me to have him. In memory of my brother, who recently passed away and loved Napoleon. She too likes Napoleon. I am a bit embarrassed about that, as I am not sure Napoleon was a good person… but one can admire him for his military skills, I suppose.

Anyway, my Napoleon Bearnaparte is a good person, and certainly looks infinitely cuter than the original one!

 

Napoleon Bearnaparte S

 

Shakesbear

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 2 Comments

By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

Hallo everybody!

I told you millions of times, I am writing books right now. And I need them to be best-sellers, because I want to buy a castle where all abandoned Teddy Bears of the world could live.

Buy my Mom Miki de Goodaboom says, it is difficult to write a best-seller. So, she has decided to invite the Great Shakesbear at our home in Spain, to give me lessons about how to write a best-seller.

I had 2 lessons already. When I have my lessons, I am wearing my school boy uniform. Well, I never was at a real school, so I don’t have a school uniform, but we looked in my wardrobe and put something smart together.

The first lesson was while my parents were swimming. When they came back home my Mom asked me  how the lesson was, and I told her it was great and exciting. But she looked at me with her big brown eyes. She did not understand one word! My Dad told her that I was speaking all Shakesbearean suddenly!

Love you all, take care, xx

Truffle

 

Shakesbear And Truffle McFurry S

 

I Am A Real Writer Now

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 1 Comment

By Truffle McFurry

(Illustrations by Miki de Goodaboom)

Hi everybody!

I told you I am writing books, but my Mom told me that as long as they are not published, i am not a real writer yet.
But now I am really a real writer: my story of visiting the Bear House from my friend Gyles Brandreth in England has been published in an international Teddy Bear magazine. Part 1. Next month is part 2. I am so happy, and my Mom and my Dad are so proud of me!
And I hope, so are YOU!

Love you all xx

Truffle

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The Stonegates Teddy Bear Shop In York

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By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

Hallo everybody!

We are very busy here writing many books!

One of the books will be about York, that big city we visited last year. There was a wonderful teddy bear shop there. I was the first time I was in a shop where they only sell Teddy Bears, I was very impressed.

 

Here is what I write in the book:

“…We arrived then at the Teddy bear shop. In front of it there was a very big bear, much bigger than me, much bigger than my Mom and Auntie Ann, much bigger than everyone around. And he was kind of scary. From inside my bag I gave with my paw three little shots in my Mom’s back. Her and me, we have a secrete code. When I want something I should give her some little shots. Three means that I am scared and that I want to go away. One means that I want to rescue a bear. And so on…

… there was a little cute girl with the scary giant bear. She was having a photo with him. I thought, if a little girl can do that, I can do it too. I am a tough boy, me! So, I asked my Mom to take a photo of me sitting on the big bear! She was so proud of me, again I was stronger than my fears. She always ask me to. She says, nobody and nothing will be able to hurt me then in my life…”

If you want to know more, you will have to buy the book when it is out!

Take care, love you all, xxx

Truffle McFurry

Stonegates Teddy Bear Shop S

 

 

 

Teddy Bear Ince

/ Miki de Goodaboom

By Teddy “Ince” and Miki de Goodaboom

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom, based on a photograph of The Pirate by Jo Du Nor)

Hello ! I am Teddy “Ince” Bear.
I play football and as you can guess, my hero is Tom Ince, the best midfielder in the world !
He belongs to a very, very good team : the Derby County FC.
You know what ? If I keep to be a good son (and a good pupil…) my father promised to get a complete supporter kit, just for me !
I love you, dad ! And Up the Rams !

PS: Miki de Goodaboom and her Teddy bear Truffle McFurry want to dedicate that post to their favourite football team, Derby County FC. Today is the last game of  the season 2016/2017, The Rams have not performed as well as we would have wished, but our love is unconditional, we will always support them! UP THE RAMS indeed, Teddy Ince and Jo Du Nor!

 

Ince Bear S

The Pirate

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 1 Comment

By Teddy “The Pirate”

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom, based on a photograph of The Pirate by Jo Du Nor)

Hello ! I am Teddy Bear “The Pirate” !
Jo du Nor, my adoptive father is native from Calais and when I was young, he used to tell me the story of Levasseur, a famous pirate from Calais…
I was so scared because this pirate was a very bad guy.
Please, do not be afraid ! I only wear a disguise because I am a very, very kind teddy bear and I love all of you !

Pirate Bear S

 

The Champ Skier

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By Teddy “The Champ Skier”

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom, based on a photograph of The Champ by Jo Du Nor)

Hello ! I am Jo “The Champ’ Skier” Teddy.
You know it has snow a lot in French Alps, so yesterday I decided to go to ski.
It was cold but I made a descent of so fast ski as I lost my woollen cap !
If you found it, give it back to me and I will invite you to share a friendly cup of hot chocolate.
See you !

Hallo Champ, here is Miki. I have found your cap, but it is too high up for me to get it, I am too small. Can you spot it on the painting? I hope Jo can get it for you, h is tall!

But even if I can’t get it, I have found it. So, I think I still have earned a friendly cup of hot chocolate, haven’t I?

Ski Champ S