KÖNIG

Arrival Date: 5/26/20

Size: 19"

Year: 2020

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $137.95

Thoughts: König was not on my original pre-order list, but when I redid it not long after submitting the first version, a few small bears came off and he went on. I was 5th in line to pick, so when one particular König jumped out at me, I decided not to get attached because he was too perfect. I actually got attached to a different one that I didn't think anyone would pick. Almost all of his black face striping was only on one side, but I liked his expression a lot. So time goes by and it's finally my turn to pick. And I think you can guess what happened. The second one with the stripes on one side got picked...yet my first choice...was still there and this is him. I am still completely shocked that no one chose him. His face is so nicely balanced! If you'd seen all the different ones, you'd know what I mean, but really, his only odd feature is that one thicker black stripe under his left eye. I generally prefer more unique animals when it comes to my non-bear CBs. Unusual species like Rea the binturong or unusual colors like Dandy and Clock. So König is a bit of an odd choice for me because he's just a tiger, but he's also one hell of a perfect tiger! And yes, I'm spelling his name correctly. They chose to leave the umlaut off (and then pronounce it wrong), but König is properly spelled with the umlaut. That's the word that means king. Konig without the umlaut is just a bastardization that's mostly used as a surname or place name.

DIANE

Arrival Date: 5/18/20

Size: 15.5"

Year: 2020

Edition Size: 1290

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $95.95

Thoughts: Diane was never on my want list. When I saw her on QVC, I was very slightly tempted, but then quickly resisted. I saw how sad a lot of people's looked when they posted pics and decided I was glad I didn't blindly order one from QVC. I like her design, because it's similar to Muffin and Bakewell and she's soft, too. I was perusing Valerie's Dropbox albums when looking up if she had something available to order. I think I wanted the info for one of my blog posts. And there was this Diane. I completely fell for that unusual face. She's got wider-set eyes than others and I just love her gentle look.

CHRISTIAN (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 5/12/20

Size: 23"

Year: 2020

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $160.95

Thoughts: What a big guy! Of all my bears, only Bertha is bigger than Christian. Gum Drop the bunny is actually the same height, but he's only a mere fraction of the mass Christian is. I wasn't sure on this adoption. I liked both Lachlan and Christian from the catalog, but only let myself pre-order one and with his burgundy bits, it had to be  Christian. I wasn't 100% sure until I saw his photos though, because not only is he big, he's also quite expensive. But I fell in love with this one and had to bring him home. For his size, he's not particularly heavy or too large to cuddle. (Like poor Bertha. She never gets attention because she's just too big, but she sure is gorgeous.) I'm not sure where I'm going to display him, but I'll find a space!

BLACKBEARY (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 5/4/20

Rehomed: 1/2/22 

Size: 18"

Year: 2014 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 600

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Plumo

Purchased From: Fellow collector

Cost: $165

Thoughts: I've wanted Blackbeary for years, but finding him in the US is basically impossible. I managed to get one from the same awesome collector I've bought many bears from. He went on quite the journey though! He was shipped on the 21st and just vanished into the system, last logged on the 25th. He didn't reappear scanned anywhere until he showed up in Virginia on Saturday. That's the 2nd. That's 12 days. He finally arrived safely this morning and the box isn't even beat up or anything. Priority, my ass. I'd make allowances for Covid, but I've gotten every other package in a timely fashion and many even early, so no, that's not the reason. He was worth waiting for though! He goes so perfectly with Demi on my purple bear shelf.