Here's Di & Jim's story so far....

Di & I met on holiday in Italy, Di was born in Zambia from Scots parents and I was born in a small village in central Scotland, we have 2 grown up kids & have been married for 28 years.Our kids already live in Australia -one in Brisbane & the other in Perth.

Di who was living in London when we met in 1974 had always had a hankering to get back to Africa where she was born, and we ended up going on a holiday in what was then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), we had a great holiday and it lasted for 3 and a half years!

I have been in the furniture business all my working life. In 1981 I was appointed manager of a large factory operation in botswana with 140 employees, which was a big challenge for a 28 year old. I worked there for some 10 years and during that period I started a retail and decorative element of the business which still exists today. I eventualy decided that 10 years was enough and wanted to branch out on my own. With Di's help and support. we started up a new retail and decor business, doing the whole spectrum of furnishing from domestic, garden , office furn, fitted kitchens, curtaining / blinds, flooring etc, This operation had 65 employees at one stage and became "The Furniture Store " in Botswana. We finally ecided it was time to move on and get a bit closer to the kids, unable to find a citizen buyer (which was and still is government policy ) and unwilling to sell for a song we closed it down and sort of semi retired.

Now the challenge begins with something completely new, not that it is entirely new as Di has been a teddy bear collector (amongst many other collections) for many years, so when we saw Derek & Cindy's business for sale, we thought it was ideal for us from a number of points of view, not the least of which was that it was in Australia where we had decided to move to. Derek assures me it wont be anywhere near as stressful as having 60 odd employees and I am convinced he is right. It is a big move for us and we have every intention of getting stuck in as soon as we can and we can assure all of you " The Beary Cheap" faithful that we will continue to operate as both Derek & Cindy have and hopefully improve where we can, to this end we would be happy to hear your comments and suggestions at any time.

We will be taking over towards the end of November and hope that we can give you the excellent service and product range that you have had for all these years from them both. Part of the contract of sale includes an obligatory babysitting or perhaps I should say "Beary sitting " period and we are very comfortable with the systems in place and see no reason for there to be any hiccups at all , Derek & Cindy have assured us they will be available to assist us with queries after that time also.

In order to keep the momentum going (once we get started ) we believe it would be in our interests to keep the business running this year a bit longer than normal and we intend to keep open in order to service your needs until around the 21st December then re open somewhere around January 5th which we hope you will appreciate, this will help us to get into the swing of things and hopefully also help those of you who wish to take advantage of the extra shopping time.

We sincerely look forward to this new challenge and hope that we can keep you all contented and happy with the business and service from "Beary Cheap". In closing, we are sure you will join us in wishing Derek & Cindy all best wishes in their "retirement " and travelling plans and indeed their eventual move, which must be very exciting for them both. We struck up an immediate relationship when we first met and literally became immediate friends, and can understand how they have enjoyed success at Beary Cheap and will, without a doubt be keeping in regular contact with them.Thank you all for the time taken in reading this and once again we sincerely look forward to working with you all.

Beautiful traditional xmas bear. Kit includes pattern & instructins, Mohair fabric, foot pads, eyes, nose cotton, embossed velvet fabric,all ribbons, braid, bells & beads to decorate your bear .

Full Kit Price $59.00

A cheeky twosome! Kit includes pattern & instructions, Mohair, ultra suede, foot pads,
eyes,& nose cotton for Buddy. For Holly - White minibear fabric, foot pad & ear lining, nose cotton,
eyes & hand made baby carrot!
Full Kit Price $45.00

Kit includes Pattern & instructions, Filagree backing, brooch pin, velvet large leaf,
mohair, eyes, nose cotton neck trim,
silver bell, cap, mink trim & pompom!

Full Kit Price $17.50

This handyt pouch is the perfect home for this very handy pair of sharp, craft scissors. Embellished with lovely silk flowers & beads Very easy to make. Kit includes - Velvet, plastic template, silk flowers, beads, scissors with cover, full instructions.
*Note: fabric, flower & scissor colour
may vary from photo.
Full Kit Price $45.00

Sweet little Baby Alpaca with coat & bridle.
Kit includes Pattern & Instructions, Alpaca fabric, Eyes, Nose Cotton, Ear lining, Fabric & braid to trim his coat, bells for bridle!

Full Kit Price $49.50

Normal Price $8.95
For a limited time only... just $6.95

This dear little creature is needle felted!
She is Susanne's favourite needle felted bear & even won a Toby Industry Choice award in 2005

Well done Susanne, she's adorable!

This beautiful big boy stands over 17" tall!
He's made from our Stormy Blend mohair
& has beautifully sculpted eyes &
a wonderful open mouth!

Fabulous as always, Sue Ann!!!