Living the good life with Diane the Turtle

BRISTOL — It all comes down to Diane. She is a vital part of the Tonner brothers' business and the subject of their books, and when her birthday rolls around every year, she gets cards from fans all around the world.

Diane’s caretakers, Brad and Jim Tonner, laugh when they speak of the attention 54-year-old Diane the turtle receives from the public. At their store, TwinDesigns Gift Shop, Diane relaxes in her own special room where shoppers can stop by and say "hello."

Brad and Jim are twin brothers and business partners. Their work goes far beyond running the shop: Jim comes up with the ideas for the books they write and illustrate, geared to both children and adults, and writes the copy for each book. Brad is an artist and creates each book’s images in watercolor. With book titles such as “The Story of Diane the Turtle,” “The Lake is Calling and I Must Go,” and “Vacation with Harry and Grace,” the stories and illustrations are charming and upbeat.

“Upbeat” seems a perfect word to describe the Tonner brothers. They greet customers with enthusiastic welcomes and smiles. If a customer seems particularly stressed when entering the shop, they are told to relax and have fun browsing.

“If you think about it, there are enough negative things in the world,” Jim says. He says he and his brother grew up reading classic books and enjoying their childhood years. It set them up as adults to keep a positive attitude to everyday challenges, from impatient drivers to people who do not have time to stop and look around them and savor life.

“Our mother’s family vacationed in the Newfound Lake area for many years, owning property until World War II. Jim and I grew up in Braintree, Massachusetts, and as adults, we went into the wholesale business," Brad says. "We dreamed of owning and operating our own store and we wanted it to be in Bristol.”

The Tonner brothers opened the doors of their shop in 2011, naming it TwinDesigns Gift Shop. Immediately, customers embraced the shop's stock of diverse offerings, from the series of books to toys to unique items such as postcards and mugs with artwork of Diane the turtle.

Why put so much emphasis on a turtle? Diane came into Jim’s life when he was just 12 years old. He had an arthritic condition and had to spend six months in bed. Such confinement was difficult for an active child. To stave off Jim’s boredom, Brad began a practice that eventually brought Diane into their lives. A basket would be filled with toys and items for Jim, and he could pull it via a string into his room through a window. It caught on, and soon neighbors, as well as family members, were putting things in the basket to send to Jim. One of those things was a 1960s dime store turtle. At the time, kids everywhere could buy a small turtle and keep it as a novelty. The turtles were tiny, and most did not live long, but that was not the case with Diane. She miraculously survived more than 50 years, quite an accomplishment for a little dime store turtle who is now rather large.

Diane has lived with Jim through the years and goes where he goes, no matter where life has taken him. These days, she lives in a little side room in the store, where customers can visit her. She has taken on star status, and many things in the shop carry her image, from books by the Tonner brothers to mugs and magnets.

Her birthday is quite a celebration, with Diane fans around the world sending best wishes. One year, the Tonners decided to give Diane a birthday party to mark her longevity. They invited each customer who entered the shop to come back to the party that December. Some of those customers came from far away to enjoy a vacation in the Newfound Lake area. People from around the U.S., Canada and Europe were invited, and while most could not attend the party, they spread the word. Sure enough, the day of Diane’s birthday saw the downtown area lined with cars as visitors filled the store with birthday well-wishers.

The charming story of a long-living turtle in a small New Hampshire town gained attention and Diane’s fanbase grew. Each year, there is a party for the turtle and many customers want to see her when they visit, no matter what the season may be.

In the 1980s, Brad and Jim started creating a series of books. “Brad and I have always worked together,” Jim says. Thus, writing and illustrating the books was not much of a stretch. Diane is the subject of a few of the books, with others about the lakes, mountains, a possum and cats.

Brad’s art has spilled over throughout the store and the brothers’ creativity is everywhere, with one wall devoted to their parents. Each old photo is nostalgic, including images of their mother as a young woman, and their father in his WWII uniform. Elsewhere, there are old photos of the family at their summer place, and even some old family home movies of the clan on Newfound Lake.

The walls are also lined with photos of visitors, and many include Diane. In each photo, visitors are smiling, attesting to the philosophy of the Tonner brothers that there is a lot of fun in life if we let it in. “Our philosophy is to entertain people that stop by,” Brad says.

The back room of the shop is large, and it is here Brad has an area dedicated to his art creations. He has a large drafting table where he works on watercolor paintings for each book, and the room is also filled with orders from customers around the world.

“Our mom was creative and liked to paint,” Brad says as he nods at some hand-painted items by his mother on a shelf. “Our dad was in the textile business and worked into his 70s. They were fun-loving people."

“We plan to continue the shop until they drag us out of here,” Jim jokes. “We really believe we were meant to do this.”

From her residence in a cozy room at the shop, Diane blinks at Jim with her large, placid eyes and seems to confer.

To check in Diane the turtle through a livestream, visit twindesignsgiftshop.com.