Schaumburg ABC OctoBear Faire was Wonderful
I know you haven't "seen" much of me lately. That is because I was doing very last minute prep and bear work for my last show of the year - the Schaumburg ABC OctoBear Faire.
This show is practically in my town... OK... so it is 40 minutes away. But it still means I get to sleep in my own bed :)
This year I had the wonderful pleasure to share our home with 2 other bear artist friends: Daphne Blau and Lisa Thoms My husband was the greatest :)
We three "girls" had a blast!! Friday morning we went to the Hobby Lobby near my house - it's only 2 miles away! Neither Daphne nor Lisa have one near their homes so it was a "must do"!
Friday afternoon we all attended Michelle Lamb's class at the show. I am always hungry to learn new things. If I only take away one item from a class - I consider it worthwhile. I took a lot more than just one new technique from Michelle's class ;)
For dinner, we were on our own - the Three Bearsketeers. Daphne and Lisa learned that we also have a Panera Bread nearby - and believe it or not, I've never eaten there! I'm glad they insisted - now I have a new favorite eatery!
Friday night was the 25th Birthday Party Gala for the magazine Teddy Bear & Friends. This was the only time I took pictures and I promise to get them up soon! Mindy (editor of TB&F and ABC did a wonderful job! Everyone had a great time and there were awesome prizes to boot!
The only problem with NOT staying at the hotel is Saturday morning. Show set up starts at 7am - early bird admission starts at 9. So you really need to get your table set up early - especially if you want a chance to walk around the showroom before the doors open! Needless to say, Daphne, Lisa and myself got a VERY early start on Saturday!
The show was wonderful!!!! There was a fantastic selection of artists and bears to choose from. Yes, I got my bear for the weekend too! Collector traffic was steady all the way up to 1:30... then seemed to be just a 1/2 hour lull for lunch and it started back up again. Sunday traffic was noticeably less, but those who came were there to adopt new friends!
Although finding new homes for my bears via the internet is "easier" - I just LOVE bear shows and can admit, I am addicted to them. There's just nothing like being together in a room full of other people who have the same love of collecting teddy bears. And you don't have to explain it to them LOL!!
Saturday night, Daphne, Lisa & myself dined at The Cheesecake Factory. It's located inside the Woodfield Mall which is just minutes away from the hotel where the show is held. The food was wonderful and the portions were amazing! Believe it or not, this was also my first time eating here.
Daphne and I almost fell asleep at dinner -- I LOVE shows but they are so exhausting! But we had a party to go to! At 7[m there was an informal get together of artists and collectors who happen to visit the discussion board Teddy Talk
It was a wonderful time of food (yep, more food!) and chat with bear people - and awesome time! Tami Eveslage organized the whole thing and did an awesome job! You can see some of the photos from that night here.
Although I am sad that the show is over, I am excited to finally start doing some regular website updates soon!
This show is practically in my town... OK... so it is 40 minutes away. But it still means I get to sleep in my own bed :)
This year I had the wonderful pleasure to share our home with 2 other bear artist friends: Daphne Blau and Lisa Thoms My husband was the greatest :)
We three "girls" had a blast!! Friday morning we went to the Hobby Lobby near my house - it's only 2 miles away! Neither Daphne nor Lisa have one near their homes so it was a "must do"!
Friday afternoon we all attended Michelle Lamb's class at the show. I am always hungry to learn new things. If I only take away one item from a class - I consider it worthwhile. I took a lot more than just one new technique from Michelle's class ;)
For dinner, we were on our own - the Three Bearsketeers. Daphne and Lisa learned that we also have a Panera Bread nearby - and believe it or not, I've never eaten there! I'm glad they insisted - now I have a new favorite eatery!
Friday night was the 25th Birthday Party Gala for the magazine Teddy Bear & Friends. This was the only time I took pictures and I promise to get them up soon! Mindy (editor of TB&F and ABC did a wonderful job! Everyone had a great time and there were awesome prizes to boot!
The only problem with NOT staying at the hotel is Saturday morning. Show set up starts at 7am - early bird admission starts at 9. So you really need to get your table set up early - especially if you want a chance to walk around the showroom before the doors open! Needless to say, Daphne, Lisa and myself got a VERY early start on Saturday!
The show was wonderful!!!! There was a fantastic selection of artists and bears to choose from. Yes, I got my bear for the weekend too! Collector traffic was steady all the way up to 1:30... then seemed to be just a 1/2 hour lull for lunch and it started back up again. Sunday traffic was noticeably less, but those who came were there to adopt new friends!
Although finding new homes for my bears via the internet is "easier" - I just LOVE bear shows and can admit, I am addicted to them. There's just nothing like being together in a room full of other people who have the same love of collecting teddy bears. And you don't have to explain it to them LOL!!
Saturday night, Daphne, Lisa & myself dined at The Cheesecake Factory. It's located inside the Woodfield Mall which is just minutes away from the hotel where the show is held. The food was wonderful and the portions were amazing! Believe it or not, this was also my first time eating here.
Daphne and I almost fell asleep at dinner -- I LOVE shows but they are so exhausting! But we had a party to go to! At 7[m there was an informal get together of artists and collectors who happen to visit the discussion board Teddy Talk
It was a wonderful time of food (yep, more food!) and chat with bear people - and awesome time! Tami Eveslage organized the whole thing and did an awesome job! You can see some of the photos from that night here.
Although I am sad that the show is over, I am excited to finally start doing some regular website updates soon!
Labels: Bear Shows
posted by Laura Lynn @ 9:29 AM
2 Comments:
At November 02, 2007 ,
Daphne Towle said...
Yup... the eats were yummy, the company lots of fun and Hobby Lobby was HEAVEN! LOL! Can't wait for next time! Oh, the Container Store! Don't forget that! I'm bringing an empty suitcase next time I visit you!
At November 03, 2007 ,
Laura Lynn said...
I don't know HOW I forgot the Container Store!!! I gotta get myself back over there.... ;)
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