EDITH

Arrival Date: 2/26/18

Size: 12"

Year: 2015

Edition Size: 4800

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $89

Thoughts: Edith is the most popular bear I own. She's one of the most purchased repeatedly (some people have triplets!) and most often pictured bears I've seen during my couple years of collecting. I think the only one that rivals her is Chatterbox, who's at the point where I don't think I even want one, because I see him too much. Edith is the same incredibly soft, thick fur as Befuddle, who's my go to bear for comfort cuddling. But Edith is teeny tiny. I will always favor Befuddle, because she's multicolored and prettier and I feel she gets overshadowed by Edith and therefore not as appreciated as she should be. But I couldn't resist an opportunity to get this girl from an American seller and check her out. She is darling and I have no regrets.

BIDDLES

Arrival Date: 2/22/18

Size: 18"

Year: 2008

Edition Size: 300

Designer: Lisa Rosenbaum

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $91

Thoughts: I never thought I was going to own a Biddles. When I got the first Charlie Bears book, there was only one bear that really jumped out at me and it was him with his adorable smiling face. But being a 2008 edition with only 300 made, I felt sure I'd never find one, but I did and from an American seller at that! I was up against two other bidders and I was sure I wasn't going to win, so I put my high bid in and took a nap. When I woke up, I'd won! Then I got surprised yesterday when he was shipped FedEx instead of USPS for arrival TODAY, which I wasn't thrilled about because it meant staying home and not doing my much-needed errands, but he arrived early enough that I was still able to accomplish the main thing I wanted to do. Biddles isn't super soft, but he's plenty soft enough. He's got a thicker build than most of my other bears, and his array of colors is surprising. He's got a bit of rust color around his eyes, peach-stitched nose and pink mouth, and a lighter shade on his ears and chest, plus the obvious orange paws. And I always thought he was white, but he's a very, very pale gray! He's darling and I'm so happy to have him.

HINCKLEY

Arrival Date: 2/20/18

Size: 15.5"

Year: 2016

Edition Size: 1900

Designer: Heather Lyell

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $64.95 on Today's Special (Regular $86.95)

Thoughts: Hinckley's been on my low-key want list for probably over a year. He was there along with Stuie, but Stuie got purchased first, even though I often leaned toward Hinckley more. Well, now the two cousins and their bunny friend Bryony are reunited and displayed on the same shelf with Blog and Chequers, my other two black and white bears. Hinckley looks to have a little more girth than Stuie, so he should be a nice cuddle. Stuie's adorable, but like Bryony, he's a bit skinny.

TATUM

Arrival Date: 2/12/18

Size: 14"

Year: 2017

Edition Size: 1890

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Beacon's Glow

Cost: $76.95

Thoughts: I always thought Tatum and Tegan from the 2017 collection were cute, but I had other priorities and none of them from BAMS's photos really jumped out at me. Well, more recently, I've found myself wanting Tatum, so I asked Beacon's Glow for photos of their two. This one grumped at me from the screen of my laptop and I knew she was the one. I opened her when I got home today and was shocked. This bear's photos do not do her justice one bit. What looks in photos like a light gray on her face and the roots of her brown fur is more of a blue-gray. In natural light, it's less blue, but under the lights of my kitchen, where I first looked at her, she was decidedly blue-toned. Her arms, legs and ears are super soft and she's just the right pudge for a good hug. I love sassy little bears like this and the markings around this one's eyes are particularly perfect. In last year's collection, there were 2 sleeper bears that I liked in the catalog, but didn't pre-order. I picked both up eventually and they became favorites. Those two for 2016 were Chuck and Scrummy. I think Tatum is 2017's sleeper hit.

AGNES

Arrival Date: 2/6/18

Size: 15.5"

Year: 2016

Edition Size: 2700

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $69.95 on Today's Special (Regular $100.95)

Thoughts: Agnes is a bear I completely overlooked, as I think many others also have, until I saw a couple cute pics of her on Facebook. Then I checked out BAMS's stock and fell for this particular one. She would not be for the picky, as her mouth is not cut evenly, but that's why I wanted her. She looks like she's doing this expression I've seen in Garfield so many times, and I have a huge childhood love for Garfield. It's kind of the McKayla Maroney face, but Garfield's looks more like Agnes's, so I think of it as her making a Garfield face. Agnes has really neat fur on her limbs and ears and all of her is an interesting blend of colors that I'm looking forward to taking a better look at later.

ALAN

Arrival Date: 2/6/18

Size: 14.5"

Year: 2015 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 2200

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $60.95

Thoughts: This particular Alan has been on my wishlist for awhile, climbing to the top not that long ago. With his reasonable price, he's easy to budget for and I was planning on getting him one week, until I learned Seraphina was coming in stock. She took priority, obviously, so Alan got put on hold. But I picked him up at the end of last week, along with not the bear I planned but another from my wishlist. Alan is incredibly soft and his fur is really neat and unique. I haven't spent much time with him yet, but I love him already.