The Cheburashka Files

Well, we decided to keep the Cheburashka toy for ourselves and not sell it (which begs the question, are you a dealer or a collector? Make up your mind!), but the Cheburashka pin is still on sale! Hopefully we will find more Cheburashka-related items on our next trip to Russia.

In the meantime, here are a few Cheburashka stop-motion TV shows to keep you entertained. I have to admit that Cheburashka's personality was much different from what I'd imagined! I thought he would be really hyper and energetic, but he's very shy and sweet. Enjoy!

Cheburashka is a star!

You may have been wondering who that big-eared creature was in the beginning of the last post. My talk about the Olympic Bear Misha, I'm worried, may have misled you to believe he was Misha. No, instead, this big-eared creature is Cheburashka!

Cheburashka was the star of a cartoon series in the 1960s. An animal of unknown origin, he lived in the jungle until one day, when he crawled into a crate of oranges, ate all the oranges, fell asleep, and was shipped to a Russian city!  He made a friend there, Gena the crocodile, with whom he shared many adventures, many of which included outwitting the old woman who was always trying to do bad things to Cheburashka.

We made a lightbox last week and were testing it out on our Cheburashka rubber squeaky toy (this one is from the 1970s). I'm happy to report success! Cheburashka is a star!

Setting up

I've never thought of my business as my child, but when I started to tell people that I was planning to start a second business, I got a feeling that might be similar to how others feel when they announce that they're going to have a second child. (Having not had any children yet, I wouldn't know the feeling firsthand, but I can guess.)

My second business will focus on selling vintage items from Russia and the former USSR, with a focus on pins, paper (cards and postcards), and home decor. "Misha the Bear", also known as the Olympic Bear or Olympic Misha, was the mascot of the 1980 Summer Olympics Games, which were held in Moscow. I think he's adorable, so I decided to use his name for our new business!

We are in the process of getting set up on Etsy, but in the meanwhile, check out this video of the 1980 Olympics closing ceremony. Too cute for words.