Thursday 21 April 2022

Meet the Coldfoots

Today I would like to introduce you to a new family.  This family came to me in an unusual way.  Some time ago, there was a competition on the Sylvanian Families Collectors Forum.  I didn't win, but a few days later I received a message from one of the people who did.  Tenchibaka (who is a fantastic miniature-food maker by the way, in addition to being one of the most active forum members) said that instead of ordering something with the prize (a Sylvanian Storekeepers voucher), they had decided to give it to me.  What a lovely thing to do!  I was very surprised, and grateful.

Once I had established that Tenchibaka was really, really sure about this, I ordered myself a lovely little family of huskies - and here they are!


I decided to rename everyone in this family, starting with the surname - the offical surname for this family is just "Husky", which I thought a bit odd.  Kind of like a person's last name being "Human".  Then I happened to discover that there is a tiny town in Alaska named Coldfoot.  Well that sounded perfect for these little fuzzies!

The Coldfoot family live in a comfortable log cabin in the foothills of the mountains, a little way out of Macadamia Grove.  Whilst their home is not technically in the village, the Coldfoots are considered by everyone to be very much part of the community.  

Together, Wolfgang and Juneau Coldfoot run a business supplying ice to the local villagers - both in edible form for drinks etc, and in large blocks for food storage (most homes in Macadamia Grove do not have electricity, so iceboxes are much in use, rather than the more modern refrigerators commonly seen in Town).  

Wolfgang is the one who cuts and collects the ice from higher up the mountain, and he enjoys his job immensely.  The ice is stored in a special coldroom until it is needed, at which point it is transported down to the village by sled.  Juneau's job is to take the orders, and make sure the correct products are delivered to the customers.

The most important things in their lives though, are not cold at all - they are very warm and furry and wriggly!  The baby triplets - Katya, Luka, and Echo - were very excited today to be taken for a ride in their very own brand new sled!

"Over the hill we go!" shouted Wolfgang happily, and Juneau laughed as the babies yipped excitedly.

The babies had not seen such thick snow before, as they had never travelled this far up the mountain.  It was only early Autumn in Macadamia Grove, and also at their home, so there was no snow there.  Further around the mountain, outside the strange seasonal anomaly that existed in this part of Sylvania, Spring was beginning.  Soon it would be time for one final delivery from the Summer coldstore there, and to begin storing ice at the main coldstore closer to home.  Juneau was glad, as it meant Wolfgang would be able to spend more time with the baby puppies.

After she took a turn pulling the puppies around in their sled, Juneau heard a sneaking sort of noise behind her...


"Snowball fight!" cried Wolfgang.  Juneau let out a little shriek, and immediately returned fire with a snowball of her own.  The babies watched, wide-eyed and giggling.

"Won't it be fun when they're old enough to join in?" Juneau laughed.  
"Yes - but it's pretty fun now, too," said Wolfgang with a smile, and gathered them all in a big family hug.


Thank you again Tenchibaka for enabling the Coldfoots to move to Macadamia Grove!  They can also be found on our Meet The Families page now.  :)

10 comments:

  1. Very kind of Tenchi to give you the opportunity to buy this lovely family. They are very expressive and it's good to see that the company can still create brand new Sylvanians that are cute but don't go the plasticky route. The soft jackets are a nice feature, and the tiny tots are delightful. Okay - effusive critter fan-ness out of the way. Onto your story.

    Lovely. The family interaction you've created is great, and their loving/playful characters are clear both in the storytelling and the posing of your photos. I like the occupations/worldbuilding - you know that appeals to me! - and I like your choice of names.

    I stuck with Husky for mine, even though I'm not over keen, and as I've already used the names in a story it goes against the grain to be inconsistent. I could alter the blog, I suppose, or do the same thing as I did with my Marguerite rabbits when I gave them a culture that allowed them to use traditional or social names. Maybe alternative spellings... haha! At least you've had the presence of mind to think before writing!

    A big welcome to the Coldfoots! (Or Coldfeet...)

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    1. Hmm... Do I detect a Lord of the Rings reference...? :D
      They are lovely, aren't they? And yes, I love their clothes too!
      Oh, please don't take my remarks on their official surname as a criticism - after all, what appeals to one person mightn't at all to another. I know there are some collectors who much prefer to keep the original names, and probably think it's weird that I change so many of them! Perhaps your Husky family's ancestors were sled dogs of some kind (a cold-climate bus driver equivalent perhaps)? Then their surname could be seen as an occupation-based one, such as Cooper or Weaver?
      Anyway, thank you for your lovely comments. I am glad the Coldfoots' playful personalities showed through in this little tale.

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  2. How do you access the Collector's Forum? I haven't been let in yet :,(

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    1. Hi there Unknown, thanks for stopping by! When you say you "haven't been let in yet", I am assuming this means you have attempted to create an account on the Forum? If so, they do sometimes take a few days to be approved. If it has been longer than that, I do know that the moderators have been having a lot of "fake" spam accounts attempting to be set up, so it is possible some legitimate ones have been caught up in this issue. I would advise you to try again first. If that doesn't work, you could leave another comment here with as much of the following information from your forum account application as you are comfortable with: User name; Email address; Location (eg country). I won't publish that comment here for all to see, but I will pass it on to the moderators for you. Where they take it from there is up to them; I can't really do anything else without knowing who you are, but I can do that much if you would like me to. Thanks.

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  3. Nice to meet the Coldfoots. Lovely family photos (my favourite being the 'family hug' ;) ) How generous of Tenchi to give you his gift voucher allowing you to invite such a sweet family to Macademia Grove <3 <3 <3

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    1. Thanks Florence! I know, wasn't it lovely of him?!

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  4. Congratulations on your Coldfoots, GreyRabbit! How lovely they are, and refreshing to see a brand new family! I also love your mountain scene, it certainly looks very life-like and mountainous. I wish it would snow like that where I live... haha!
    You always come up with the best names for your families! Thanks for giving us an introduction to this one!

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    1. Thanks Kelsie! I find it fun naming the critters. :)
      We don't get snow here either, I'm afraid. This scene was actually made on my daughter's bed, as her wall was a good colour for the sky! :)

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  5. Hi GreyRabbit!
    It was wonderful meeting the Coldfoots. Such a thoughtful gesture from Tenchibaka! You must have been over the moon. Love their names and really enjoyed reading about their occupation and seeing them being such a happy family. A wonderful story, as always! I am quite fond of the huskies and they will probably join my collection at some point. And I will probably change their names too, haha!

    Have a great Sunday!

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    1. Thanks Ayrell! I look forward to meeting the Arcfield huskies one day!

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