by: Valerie Rogers                                                                                                                      July 1, 2022

 

The 700th show did not have the fanfare nor any cake with green frosting, no fancy badge ribbons printed in gold, no 'champagne', no pre-show dinners with the artists and collectors; it was just a quiet achievement that few have reached in their careers, and for that I am ever grateful and I celebrate. Not alone, but with all the memories of the past, and with eyes set on the future.

 

Grateful to all the miniatures artists, the teddy bear artists and all the collectors who visited our shows and helped the industries stay alive, with in-person shows. Now we are welcoming even more collectors and artists online.

 

My love for dollhouse miniatures was the beginning of my interest to introduce collectors to the imaginative mini makers. As we started producing dollhouse and miniatures shows, they just bloomed and grew. Only so many weekends in the year to sponsor the shows, we discovered the teddy bear industry ready to blossom. For many years we'd produce a dollhouse miniatures show on Saturday, clear the showroom and produced a teddy bear show on Sunday. Then the miniature market slumped drastically, so we carried on with teddy bear shows exclusively.

 

As the world changes so have we.  Market indicators and sales declines from producing live, in-person shows, waned. Our creative spark, along with all the participating artists, we opened the door for online teddy bear shows.  Now in our 8th year we have produced over 60 successful and profitable shows. 

 

There are no restrictions selling online, no travel, no hotel expenses, and no limits on who can attend because they don't live close to the venue. Our online shows attract a worldwide audience of enthusiastic collectors.

 

Our show accomplishments.

1st Show - Louisville, KY - KY International Convention Center.

                 dollhouse miniatures show - April 18, 1981

100th Show - Fort Mitchell, KY (Greater Cincinnati area) Drawbridge Inn - Miniatures 1990

200th Show - Evansville, IN - Miniatures show at the Marriott Airport 1993

300th Show - Atlanta, GA - Ramada Perimeter Hotel - Miniatures and Bears 1995

400th Show - Ft Mitchell, KY (Cincinnati area) Drawbridge Inn - Minis & Bears 1999

500th Show - Ann Arbor, MI - Weber's Inn - Teddy Bears 2002

600th Show - Tampa, FL - Crowne Plaza Westshore - Teddy Bears 2011

700th Show - At My Office Computer - Teddy Bears June 2022

 

30 years at Weber's Inn in Ann Arbor, MI - I sure do miss the show and all its grandeur.

Our last live in-person show was in Tampa, FL, February 16, 2020. A bittersweet ending.

Our first online teddy bear show - The Fall Stars September 5 - 8, 2013 and off we went!

The day of the 700th show was filled with excitement as I monitored the Furry Frenzy Online Teddy Bear Show. Watching so many bears being adopted and soon finding their way to new homes. Some bears traveling half way around the world.

People from 38 countries popped in to see the show! Attendance was 2,547 people!

By comparison our biggest attendance, for a live in-person show, was 1,300 - oh those were the 'good ole days' when collectors crushed around tables anxious to buy.

 

We hope that you had a chance to visit our in-person shows when we opened in these 41 cities. Returning numerous of times to many of the same locations over the years.

 

Hosting Cities	Columbus, OH	Kissimmee, FL	South Bend, IN
Anchorage, AK	Dallas, TX	Louisville, KY	Springfield, OH
Anderson, IN	Evansville, IN	Milwaukee, WI	St Louis, MO
Ann Arbor, MI	Fort Myers, FL	Nashville, TN	Tampa, FL
Atlanta, GA	Fort Wayne, IN	Owensboro, KY	Terre Haute, IN
Austin, TX	Grand Rapids, MI	Parsipany, NJ	Toledo, OH
Charotte, NC	Greenbelt, MD	Philadelphia, PA	Virginia Beach, VA
Chatanooga, TN	Harrisburg, PA	Phoenix, AZ	West Palm Beach, FL
Chicago, IL	Houston, TX	Pittsburgh, PA	Wichita, KS
Cincinnati. OH	Indianapolis. IN	Pontiac, MI
Cleveland, OH	Kalamazoo, MI	Schaumburg, IL

 

Many locations, listed above, now have been torn down and new office buildings have been built. The saddest, is when we drive past the Drawbridge Inn (Cincinnati area), just a vacant lot with no building to be seen. Columbus, Ohio was always tearing down the hotels we were in... planning was always an adventure in logistics!

 

Nowadays, I wake up early to 'chat online' with artists and collectors living in other time zones. Fun to enjoy a cup of coffee and hear what is going on in their part of the world.

Of course we miss seeing the smiling faces of the artists face-to-face; now it's by video chatting. We miss the collectors showing us their newly purchased treasures, we miss the bear hugs, the joy of seeing the artists families, greeting everyone with a smile.

 

Change; it's one thing we must accept in our lives. If we keep up with the change, or even ahead of it, we are always filled with joy and the past memories remain sweet.

 

Who would have thought, that so many years ago, when the children had a snow day off from school, a day to be creative and play with craft supplies, making dollhouse  miniatures, that a whole career direction would be launched?

 

What a milestone of achievement and you've been one of the intricate facets that has made it all possible! Together we 'sparkle and shine!'

Smiles and Hugs,

Fun photos - Sweet Memories!
	Tampa, Florida February 20, 2011 A huge, delicious cake was rolled out to celebrate. "Eat Your Green Stuff" Valerie's favorite saying.
	Weber's Inn - November 2002 You made all the shows happen! Valerie at the 500th Show in Ann Arbor, Michigan P.S. 'Champagne' is only orange juice and Sprite!
Ramada Perimeter Hotel November 12, 1995 The 300th show both dollhouse miniature and teddy bear artists joined to celebrate the occasion with smiles and hugs! Standing next to Valerie, in the hot pink sweater, is her mother, Dodie Claypool - Mini petite rug designer and maker.
	July 2000, Celia Roberts baked a green and chocolate marbled cake to celebrate the 500th show. Keeping the saying alive: "Eat Your Green Stuff", and this time it was THE best 'green stuff'!
	April 2020 - A lot of collectors live in Kalamazoo, MI. Several big billboard placed around the city helped spread the word. Collectors flocked to the show.
	Often Starzie Tiebearious Bearight would visit the shows. He loved hugs!   The big bear is our show mascot.   <<< Starzie loved helping Good Bears of The World and their charitable endeavours. Terrie Stong (L) and Valerie (R)
Artists, how many of these ribbons do you have?
100th No Ribbon for the 200th Show 300th 400th 500th 600th
Dale Shepard (Shepard's Musical Bears) assembled and designed a NASCAR race car for the show: "The Bright Star 500" One of the cherished memories of the day, when we celebrated our accomplishment, with fun and great camaraderie! Thank you Dale!
'Good friends are like stars. . . You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.
Artists and collectors if you'd like to share a memory of an in-person Bright Star show(s) you attended, or an online experience, click on this button. Be sure to include your name and city in the eMail. Photos welcomed as attachments too.