YEAR BEAR 2018

Arrival Date: 4/30/18

Size: 18"

Year: 2018

Edition Size: 4000

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Plumo

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $94.95 after coupon (Retail $104.95)

Thoughts: People went nuts over an early ad featuring the Year Bear. I thought she was very cute and looked soft, but wasn't as smitten as others seemed. Now I finally have her in my hands and she's lovely. The lighter fur on her head and body is super soft and the rest isn't bad either. Even her mohair isn't as rough as other plumos I've had. She's a very feminine, elegant bear.

TANGO

Arrival Date: 4/9/18

Size: 18"

Year: 2015

Edition Size: 2400

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $79.95 on Today's Special (Retail $114.95)

Thoughts: Despite my love of orange bears (my favorite bear color group along with red and green), I somehow didn't notice Tango for ages. Then I fell in love with this particular one. I was planning on buying him two months ago, but then Agnes went on Today's Special and I got her instead. I kept thinking of Tango, but my money went to QVC bears, older finds and 2018 pre-orders. Then he was Today's Special a few days ago and I managed to have enough to get the one I wanted, although it took all my fun money for the week. This particular Tango is amazing though. He has the most judgmental expression on his face, like he knows I really shouldn't have spent on him when I should have been saving. His fur is mostly beige, but it's got rust tipping, so he looks orange more than anything else. Some places have just plain rust and others are this wonderful striping. He's not the softest, but he's still plenty cuddly. He's a heavy boy and at 18", I've had to do some rearranging to get him a place, but he's going on the orange shelf with Autumn, Pumpkin Pie, Biddles and Kaycee Bears Tango.

BRADY

Arrival Date: 4/2/18

Size: 20"

Year: 2018

Edition Size: 1870

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Beacon's Glow

Cost: $104.95

Thoughts: Brady was an unplanned purchase. He didn't catch my eye in the catalog, but when Valerie (from BAMS) got him in, I fell in love with a particular one. Unfortunately, Brady is very, very popular and the one I loved was the first to get picked. Then went the other one I was interested in. And all the others. So I waited for Beacon's Glow to get their shipment in and Brenda helped me find the right Brady for me. Using Valerie's pics, we both felt this one was closest to the original one I'd fallen for. He's a little more mature-looking and serious than several of the others I've seen, which is what I liked about that original bear. Brady made me break my vow of no more bigger (over 17") bears other than what I'd pre-ordered, because I'm running out of space for such large ones. I spent last Thursday reorganizing and freeing up a shelf for Brady and the Year Bear, who hopefully will be coming in soon. But at 21", he's one of my four biggest bears! The others are Shades and Graeme, also at 21", and Ozzie at 21.5".

KARL

Arrival Date: 3/30/18

Size: 17"

Year: 2018

Edition Size: 2000

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: QVC

Cost: $99.94

Thoughts: I decided to give Karl a test drive (test hug?), because while I liked people's owner pics of him, I wasn't 100% sure on him. Then I got home from work and hugged him and he was fabulous. His brown fur is very thick and dense for a softness unlike any of my other bears. And at 17", he's tall, but not that tall. Mine also has freckles I haven't seen on other Karls, so I love that. He's atypical for my collection, because he's a plain, unpatterned panda in natural colors, but he was worth taking a chance on.