Live From The 2015 Steiff Sommer Festival - A Firsthand Report!

You know how travel and airplane magazines feature articles on "the perfect day in..." or "how to spend a few hours at..."?  And it always seems that the recommended plans and itineraries sound too good to be true!  Well, in this case, Steiffgal did indeed spend an "ideal" day at the Steiff Sommer Festival in Giengen, Germany - the birthplace of Steiff and the Teddy bear - on July 4th, 2015.  Check out this travel diary entry and hopefully it might tempt you too to join in the fun next year!

A cosy, clean, and convenient place to stay in Giengen is the Lobinger Hotel in Giengen, which is just about a 20 minute walk or a 3 minute car ride from the Steiff campus.  Here is the "first thing in the morning view" from the fourth floor, where Steiffgal's room was located.  This was taken out of an interesting skylight style window with a mechanical shade.  Steiffgal found both a little confusing to open and close, but got the hang of it after a few minutes of trial and error.

Of course, the perfect day must start with a perfect meal, and the Lobinger's expansive breakfast buffet offered something for everyone.  There were many universal selections, like eggs, toast, juice, and fruit, but also some more distinctly European ones too, like savory cheeses, vegetable salads, and sausages.  Steiffgal particularly got a kick out of the yogurt selections, including some multi-flavored ones that were spotted like cows - these are pictured here on the left.

After breakfast, Steiffgal and pals headed "down the hill" to Steiff to start enjoying all that the festival had to offer.  The entire town seemed to welcomed visitors with "teddy hugs!" There was no charge to enter or enjoy the festival, and it was clear that despite the temperatures (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit!) that collectors and enthusiasts from around the world took advantage of this once a year opportunity to gather and "Live the Steiff Life" in Giengen.  There were many interesting event related attractions set up on the outer skirts of the campus.  Among others, these included: 

1.  Vendor pavilions which were made from white tents.  These sold all sorts of locally produced foods (like honey and jams) and decorative items (like clothing, carved wood accessories, marvelously designed felt items, and jewelry.)  These really added to the authenticity of the event, giving it a delightful community feeling. 

2.  An animal petting zoo, which featured families of rabbits, guinea pigs, and a variety of different birds - including this extremely precious family of little yellow ducks! These sweet friends were well cared for, and well watered, but seemed to feel the heat like everyone that day.  This area, which is set up each year at festival, is always one of Steiffgal's favorite destinations. 

3.  A BMW/Steiff racing team area.  Steiff sponsors several exciting things in Japan, one of them being the BMW racing team.  As such, the Steiff logo is prominently displayed on the driver's uniforms and cars.  This year, Steiff and BMW brought a real racing car to Giengen, and set up a driving simulator that all the attendees could try.  Several members of the Japanese driving team and their supporters made appearances and gave presentations throughout the day.  As part of this delightful "cultural exchange," there was a special tent set up with rare Steiff Japanese exclusives available for purchase.  Steiffgal loved finally seeing the long awaited Godzilla limited edition in person!

Of course, its critical to keep your energy levels high at a special event such as this one.  As such, there were lots of ways to keep your belly full and happy!  This year's festival featured:  

1.  Food, glorious food!  From dawn till dusk, several tents worth of local caterers prepared local delicacies for festival attendees.  Selections included a variety of sausages; salads, flat white pizzas; and of course, several varieties of French fries.  One stand made a very interesting pasta dish... hot buttered noodles that were finished by stirring them around in a bowled out area of a large wheel of Gruyere cheese.  This all but guaranteed that every strand was covered in pure deliciousness. 

2.  Beverages of all sorts.  It is essential to keep hydrated at such a celebration, and beer is the best way to do so by far.  To keep up with demand, this festival featured several outdoor beer vendors and a central "biergarten" area.  When you purchased a beer, you were given a little paper receipt for the glass.  Once you finished the drink, you would drop off the glass at a return center, hand the attendant the paper, and then get your beverage glass deposit back.  Here on the left you can see a photo of Steiffgal's Steiffpal and long time traveling companion Carolyn enjoying a cold one in the best way possible in the Steiff Sommer biergarten.

If you were in search of the perfect souvenir, there were basically three options for both new and vintage enthusiasts.   

1.  For the collectors of all things new, Steiff's festival tent was a great place to be.  Here visitors were treated to countless new Steiff goodies, many at extremely good prices.  Some were seconds, others samples, and others overproduced items.  But all featured their buttons, and of course, Steiff's legendary quality.  The tent itself was huge, fully covered, and featured rolling carts and stations loaded with merchandise.  These areas were replenished throughout the day, so many people literally "camped out" in the tent waiting for the newest items to be presented.  You can see one of these sale carts here on the left. The sales tent also had areas featuring studio animals for sale, as well as very sweet baby items.   Steiffgal purchased several things in the tent, including a few alpaca cats, some key rings, a mohair rabbit, and a mohair ox. 

2.  Adjacent to the sales tent was another smaller tent that sold accessories, clothing, collars, and other materials that could be used for Teddy bear and animal manufacturing and decoration.  These items were for the most part overstocks or excess inventory, and were relatively inexpensive.  There were always alot of people in line to shop here.  These tended to be folks who made their own bears who purchased supplies like embroidery floss, or those who liked to dress their Steiff items who tended buy things like tiny sweaters, boots, or neckerchiefs.  Steiffgal got a number of tiny denim dresses and brown studded leather collars which were made for past Steiff editions at this booth. Here on the left you can see a photo of Steiffgal's fully jointed Dutch Rabbit named Sarah who is wearing one of these Steiff "overstock" frocks.

3.  This festival usually attracts some of the world's finest vintage dealers, and this year was no different.  Dealers were set up in a large dedicated sales tent.  This was a first, as dealers traditionally have been located in areas within Steiff's buildings for past events.  This particular sales tent seemed to be the location where many happy Steiff reunions happened, as old friends - and new - bumped into each other in their quest to find their perfect vintage treasures. 

There were so many breathtaking rarities to see in the 2015 vintage sales area.  A large cinnamon colored Steiff Treff bloodhound, a dressed rabbit doll, and several early Teddy baby bears really caught Steiffgal's eye - but were all far beyond her budget.  Steiffgal purchased several "wish list" items in the vintage area for friends and family, as well as a 1930's era Sealyham on wheels and a 1920's era "swing duck" rattle toy for her own collection.  Above on the left is a photo of Steiffgal in the vintage sales tent holding an absolutely remarkable and extremely unusual Steiff ram in pristine condition that now belongs to a dear colleague of hers. 

A trip through the Steiff Museum is cornerstone to any visit to Giengen - festival related or not.  This wonderful destination was recently remodeled and updated.  There are things for families as well as serious collectors to enjoy.  There is also an enormous snake shaped mohair slide that goes from one floor to another featured in the center of the complex.  Despite her claustrophobia, Steiffgal could not pass up the chance to give the slide a try.  Happily, she survived the 10 second ride!  One highlight of the museum is an enormous glassed in wall display that shows representative products and designs per decade, starting in the late 1800's through today.  It is awe inspiring to see treasures such as the first Steiff doll, a Dolly bear, felt pincushions, and one of a kind samples from the turn of last century. Pictured above on the left is a wonderful presentation of many of our favorite vintage friends from this museum display, including Molliette, Molly, Bully, and Fluffiette.

The "crown jewel" of Steiff's annual Sommer Festival just might be the annual auction, hosted each year with great skill by our friends at the Teddy Dorado auction house.  This auction is traditionally held the Saturday evening of the festival.  This year, bidders could review all the lots on offer and place pre-bids in a special room right next door to the Steiff museum; this preview is pictured here on the left. This room also housed a remarkable Steiff moving display.  It was great fun to see these spectacular auction lot treasures in person.  Did you know that only about 1% of all items presented to Teddy Dorado actually made it into this auction?  And, based on the quality and rarity of the items, it is clear why!

The Teddy Dorado auction started at 6pm at a local community center in Giengen.  The room quickly filled up with bidders from all over the world - and three television cameras to film the event end to end.  Steiffgal was responsible for reading the lot descriptions to the audience in English - a responsibility she takes quite seriously!  Before coming to Germany, she wrote and prepared a script for these announcements, a task that took over 5 hours to do!  But it was time very well spent, as the bidding for many items, including an early and original Mickey Mouse, a pair of felt egg cosies, an uncatalogued baby penguin, and a silk plush Teddy Baby was fierce and competitive!  About three hours later the auction finally came to a close - with only one lot passing!  This is an amazing accomplishment, given that industry auction pass rate close to 20%, at least in America. Steiffgal bid on two lots, losing one by 50 euros and one by 300 euros.  Oh well... the experience was priceless!

Right after the auction, Steiffgal met up with her friends at a local Greek restaurant in Giengen and enjoyed a post event feast of lamb chops, salad, and vegetables. And of course, a cold beer! Mercifully, the temperature had dropped to a "more moderate" 85 degrees by almost sundown.  Here she is pictured to the left with her dear friend Jena Pang, who came to Giengen from London to view the auction and catch up with Teddy friends!  

After refueling, Steiffgal and three other collectors decided to walk back to the Lobinger Hotel to stretch their legs and burn a few calories.  The journey was about 20 minutes, all uphill, and quite refreshing.  Steiff celebrates its annual Sommer event each year by presenting a grand display of fireworks.  It seems the entire town - Steiff lovers and others - gather in the town square to view this marvelous late evening spectacle.  Steiffgal and her exercise companions had the once in a lifetime experience of seeing this show from their walking venue.  This sight and sound extravaganza was one that Steiffgal will never forget.

Steiffgal hopes this little travel diary has convinced you that Steiff's annual Sommer Festival is truly the best day of the year for collectors and enthusiasts for all things "button-in-ear."

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.

Welcome To The SteiffLife Oktoberfest Celebration!

It's the most wonderful time of the year... Oktoberfest!  And even though this fantastic two-plus week long celebration originated in Germany, it has become a global reason for observation around the world.  This weekend, nearly 4,000 miles from Munich, Steiffgal and Steiffguy, (and of course the Steiffpugs!) are hosting 25 friends for an authentic German late afternoon of home brew, a traditional German supper, and good times all around.  And to make the party even more fun, Steiffgal has invited a few Steiff friends to serve as good time ambassadors.  Take a look at these "party animals" and see how they help make any table the best table in the house!

 

Hat's off, or on in this case, to this great looking Steiff couple! Here we have Steiff's Larifari and Alpa dolls. Larifari is 32 cm and is based on a German book and movie character created by Ferdinand Diehl, the same creative genius who designed the beloved Micki and Mecki hedgehog characters. Larifari is five ways jointed.  His head and arms are made from rubber while his body and legs are made from felt. Larifari only appeared in the line from 1955 through 1957. Alpa is 10 cm and wears a green hat and skirt, white blouse, calico apron, and a black belt. Alpa (and her brother Alpo, who also makes an Oktoberfest appearance in the next photo,) are "cousins" of Steiff's famous Mecki and Micki hedgehog dolls. Alpo and Alpa were produced in this size and in 1964 only, and as a result, are exceptionally hard to find.

Are you in suspense to learn about this next pair of table ambassadors?  Here we have an adorable 25 cm blond, early post war Teddy Baby with felt paws.  He wears a pair of traditionally styled green felt trousers which have brown leather suspenders.  These pants were purchased at the Steiff factory.  This Teddy Baby pattern was produced post war overall in blonde or brown mohair in 9, 22, 28, 30, and 40 cm from 1949 to 1957.  His dinner companion is Alpo, the brother of Alpa mentioned above.  He wears a little felt hat, grey pants, a white shirt, green suspenders, and black shoes and carries a little backpack on his back.  Alpo was manufactured in 10 cm only in 1964.

Here are some sweets for you, my sweet readers!  Here we have Steiff's golden yellow plush 25 cm unjointed Haribo Gummi Bear.  She is unjointed and has a black plush nose and black and white plastic eyes.   Haribo wears a red silk bow. This logo Ted made a short, but clearly sweet, appearance in the Steiff line in 2002 and 2003.  She stands guard upon a vintage silver server filed with - what else - but Haribo Gummi Bears!

It's easy to make small talk with these table friends! Here we have a 30 cm five ways jointed light blond “Münchner Bär” from 1999. He was produced exclusively for Germany in 2001, but not specifically for Oktoberfest. He is wearing very detailed dark grey lederhosen and a grey felt Tyrolean hat. This Teddy also has a wind up music box and plays "In München steht ein Hofbrähaus", a traditional drinking song that roughly translates to "There's A Beer Hall In Munich." And to make sure he's ready for the next round at the Hofbrähaus, he carries his very own miniature glass beer stein featuring the coat of arms of Bavaria. Of course, his faithful companion is a little Steiff Hexie Dachshund, this one is 9 cm but he was produced overall in in 9, 13, 20, and 25 cm between 1954 and 1974.  

Also gracing the main dining room table centerpiece area are two other very special Steiff Dachshunds.  The first is  Bazili the Dachshund Hunter, who appeared in the line from 1950 through 1954.  Bazili is standing and 25 cm tall.  He is head jointed, standing, and wears a little green felt suit and hat.  His jacket is decorated with three leather buttons.  His head and the tops of his hands and feet are mohair, and his body and limbs are made from peach colored felt-like material.  The second, Bazili's date, is Musik-Bazi or Music Bazi.  She is 25 cm tall, unjointed, and standing.   Her body is a simple cylinder and her arms are floppy.  Bazi wears a blue cotton blouse, red cotton skirt, and had a sweet floral corsage when she left the factory in Giengen more than 60 years ago.  She has an internal Swiss music box which plays when her torso is pressed and released.  Bazi was made in 1950 and 1951 only.

Take it to the bar!  Nothing could be more appropriate in the case of Oktoberfest.  And these sweet bier monks are here to welcome party goers to the beer taps, as well as make sure their steins are always full!  These fun loving, trevira velvet “bier monks” are dressed in traditional garb including cotton drawers, long red hooded tunics, and work aprons which are cinched at the waist with a thin rope. The large monk, a whopping 100 cm, has black felt feet, while the smaller 35 cm monk wears tiny leather sandals. These two monks are characters from the Alpirsbacher Klosterbraeu, a 130+ year old brewery located in Germany’s Black Forest. Steiff created these white tag, limited edition drinking buddies in 1999. Just a handful of the 100cm monks were produced, primarily for display and advertising purposes. The smaller version was produced in an edition size of 1,500.

And finally, no need to hunt for a bier coaster at this party!  Here we have a fun collection of every one's favorite beer accessories!  This fun focal point is under the close watch of 20 cm Hubert the Hunter, who was produced in 1978 only as part of Steiff's collection of "dolls in business clothes."  Hubert leans against an authentic 1 liter stein from the Hofbräuhaus - or is it the other way around?  Hubert's sporting friends are Xorry the fox, who was manufactured in 11, 18, and 28 cm from 1960 through 1969, and a tiny 7 cm brown velvet wild boar, who was made only in this size from 1952 through 1973.

Steiffgal hopes this remote Oktoberfest celebration has brought a festive and seasonal spirit to your day!

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures, found on an adventure or otherwise? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.

The 2012 Steiff European Super Fan Tour

Better have your passport in hand to enjoy this exciting Steiff travelogue!  Steiffgal just recently had the wonderful experience of accompanying 38 Steiff super fans on a nine day tour of Switzerland and Germany.  Our destinations?  All things Steiff, and Steiff related!  Here is a not so brief diary of some of our many trip highlights.

And we're off!  After a long day and night of travel, the super fans all gathered in Basel, Switzerland.  Our first activity was a fun group dinner, where we all finally met in person and talked about our collections and interests.  The next day, we were off in the pouring rain for a full morning at the Spielzeug Welten Museum Basel, which used to be called the Puppenhaus, or Dollhouse Museum.  This amazing Steiff mecca has perhaps the best and most comprehensive Steiff collection on the planet!  Above is just one photo of an amazing grouping of tiny Steiff Teds - it would be impossible to capture the scope of this museum in even 1,000 photos.  This is a MUST SEE destination for all Steiff fans who find themselves in this part of the world. While in Basel, Steiffgal had the awesome pleasure of spending time with a long-time friend she met online - but never in person. A delightful reunion all around - and made far sweeter by the fact that she provided everyone in the tour group with a giant Swiss chocolate bar as a welcoming gesture to her country!

After our museum adventure, we boarded our coach for a long journey towards Bonn, our second destination.  This leg took us through Switzerland, Germany, France, and then again Germany - all within a few hours.  Very cool from a geography perspective!  Our driver basically followed the Rhine River as it wove around the countryside.  Our hotel in Bonn was lovely and historical, and right on the Rhine.  Many famous, and some infamous, people had visited our hotel, and you could just tell the walls had many stories to tell.  Most super fans truly enjoyed the hotel's authentic after hours biergarten.  Here above on the left you can see a shot of the view from our hotel window, showing the Rhine River and the biergarten with its retractable all seasons roof!  Interestingly, the sun did not set until about 10:30 or 11pm in the evening, so we could enjoy eachother's company over beers in the daylight even though it was clearly evening!  

Our first night in Bonn included a preview of the upcoming Steiff Sommer 2012 auction, hosted by Teddy Dorado.  Everyone loved seeing and holding the precious and rare auction items firsthand, and Carsten Esser, Teddy Dorodo's owner and auctioneer, was there to present the goodies and answer questions.  A few lucky super fans also had their photos taken with Othello, the historically important Steiff Titantic Mourning bear who was one of the highlights of the auction.  

As there is no rest for the weary, our next day truly was off to the races.  Our coach took us to Steiff Shulte, the fabric company that has been making Steiff's outstanding and high quality fabrics since the turn of last century.  It was remarkable to see how simple materials, like cotton and wool, are transformed into glorious textured and colored mohair.  After our tour, we headed towards Koln, known for its famous cathedral which is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the largest facade of any church in the world.    In Koln, many super fans enjoyed an hour long boat cruise on the Rhine, a self-tour through the Lindt chocolate museum (yes, samples were included!), a visit through the awesome cathedral, and a stroll through the city center.  One of the trip highlights for Steiffgal and Steiffguy was enjoying a few rounds of ice cold pils beer with new and old friends in an urban biergarten right in the shadows of the city's most famous landmark.    

Our next day was primarily dedicated to travel, where we headed off from Bonn to Heidenheim.  The five hour journey was bisected with a stop at Rothenburg, an ancient walled city that really had the look and feel of times past - way past. This wonderful destination featured cobble stoned streets, century-old buildings, majestic gardens, and spectacular views of the surrounding areas.  Here on the left you can see a "typical" Rothenburg house with its interesting, aged, and historical facade. When the super fans finally arrived in Heidenheim at our final hotel destination, the group had the pleasure of enjoying dinner with Inge Zinnecker, who runs the Steiff club, and Ralf Fahrig, who is in charge of events for Steiff. 

The next two days of the adventure were truly dedicated to Steiff fun 24/7.  The group arrived early Friday morning in Giengen and was given first access to the Steiff sales tent area at the 2012 Steiff Sommer Festival.  It goes without saying that the super fans had a wonderful - and successful - time scooping up bargains and favorites by the armful.  Other festival highlights included a dealer's area which featured new and vintage treasures from around the world; a "flea market", which sold Steiff accessories, parts, and pieces; a community area which highlighted local craftspeople and their high quality wares; a food pavilion; and a stage area for singing and dancing performances.  (The photo above on the left shows one vintage dealer's incredible collection of Steiff treasures for sale!) The group was also given private guided tours of the Steiff Museum and Margarete Steiff's birth house.  Some super fans participated in a Teddy bear making workshop while others took side trips to the city of Ulm and the fairy tale village of Braighausen, a remarkably detailed miniature medieval village created by one of Steiff's legendary designers.  

The second evening of the Steiff Festival featured the 2012 Steiff Sommer Auction produced by Teddy Dorado.  This standing room only event was held in a town-hall style building just a few hundred yards from the Steiff campus in Giengen.  For many of the super fans, it was their very first live Steiff auction, and you could feel the energy and excitement in the room.  The auction featured almost 90 museum quality new and vintage items, including Othello, the 1912 black Steiff Titanic Mourning bear.  Steiffgal had the once in a lifetime experience of presenting many items for sale, including Othello, to the audience from the stage.  Other interesting items included a very large, mechanical Steiff rabbit from the 1920's; a sweet 1920's large eyed, tipped mohair bear; a lovely white Dicky bear in wonderful condition, and a velvet Steiff Peter Rabbit from around 1909.  You can see the online catalog for this July, 2012 auction event here by clicking here.  100% of the item sold at or significantly above the opening price - a wonderful sign in terms of the state of the marketplace for lovely Steiff collectibles.   And yes, Steiffgal did win an auction treasure... a set of 1960's-era "Jumbo" elephants in 35 and 15 cm... a delightful souvenir from one of the best days of her life!

Our last day abroad found the super fans on the road again, this time to Stuttgart.  There we all toured the remarkable and contemporary Mercedes Benz museum, which tells the story of the creation of the modern automobile as we know it today, as well as features pristine examples of cars from the turn of last century onward.  The museum itself is located on the Mercedes Benz headquarters campus.  It is eight stories high; its interior is constructed somewhat like the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.  Visitors take an elevator to the top floor and simply follow a gently sloping downward walkway to each lower floor.  Displays feature hands on exhibits, videos, newsreels, and accessories, and follow a timeline tied to well known global historical events.  It was so exciting to see Princess Diana's maroon Mercedes, the "Pope Mobile," and other famous Mercedes cars that were featured in well known TV shows and movies.  

Our final evening was spent enjoying a tour and dinner at Castle Katzenstein, a castle whose history dates back 900 years.  The super fans enjoyed an authentic medieval style meal, complete with tunics, a singing and storytelling mistrial, snuff, and honey mead.  Here on the left, you see the mistrial "demonstrating" a wooden period disciplinary device, which Steiffgal was forced to wear as well after declining some after-dinner snuff.  Luckily, Steiffguy was there to rescue her!  After this late night, we all boarded the coach back to our hotel in preparation for a 6am departure to the Stuttgart airport for our voyage home the next day. 

Overall, the trip was a magical, once in a lifetime experience.  The super fans came together as strangers and left as friends.  Many of us also met other colleagues and "Facebook friends" - sometimes for the first time - at the Festival as well, adding to the fun and universality of the event.  Everyone contributed towards the success of the trip in their own way, and all efforts were sincerely appreciated.  And given that each person on the trip "adopted" at least 10 new or vintage Steiff treasures over the course of the 9 day journey, Steiffgal guesstimates that the adventure netted close to 400 new Steiff items "crossing the pond" and entering America on July 9, 2012 - the day we all returned home from our fairytale adventure.

Steiffgal hopes this Steiff travelogue has been just the ticket you needed to consider seeing these remarkable sights and attending next year's 2013 Steiff Sommer Festival in person!

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.