BASSETT

Arrival Date: 1/26/21

Size: 13"

Year: 2016 Sweetie Shop Collection

Edition Size: 972

Designer: Heather Lyell

Purchased From: ebay 

Cost: About $68 (Retail $62.95)

Thoughts: I only bought Mix when the Sweetie Shop collection debuted in 2016, but I grabbed Pick a few months ago, then went on the hunt for Bassett. Shipping made his price a little high, but I haven't seen one for sale for a while, so I went for it. I am a sucker for orange. Why in the world did I not buy him when he came out? Ugh. Stupid. 

COUSIN JACK (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 1/25/21

Size: 16.5"

Year: 2020

Edition Size: 3000 (Mine is #742.)

Designer: Alison Mills

Purchased From: QVC 

Cost: About $77

Thoughts: While I liked this guy, I wasn't interested in buying him until I saw people's pics of him without the hat. Then I thought he was cute. I still didn't really plan on him anytime soon, but then QVC had free shipping and I figured why not. He arrived today and he's tall and skinny with his wild hair and I like him a lot. He sits nicely with my Halloween and fairy bears. 

LOGAN (Australia)

Arrival Date: 1/20/21

Size: 14"

Year: 2020

Designer: Charlie

Purchased From: Lovely Bears 

Cost: About $99 shipped from Australia (Retail $62.95)

Thoughts: Oh, Logan. What a year it's been. Logan was one of my three big faves from the 2020 catalog. It was Rea, Logan and Carousel. Logan was supposed to be out in the 2nd quarter, which means April, May, June. It's been too long to talk exact time frames, but I saw him release in the UK. And waited. And waited. And waited. Almost all of the releases have been good. The UK gets something, then not too much later, we get it. But there were a handful of Q2 bears that did not make it out in the US. We were not told. I'm not the only one who waited to see their names on arrival lists. I believe I have watched Logan release in the UK three separate times now. Not once here in the US. I asked about him on Facebook repeatedly and it took months before I finally got an answer, which was something about having to close a manufacturer. (I think.) But that doesn't explain why the UK got him three times to our zero. During his second UK release, I asked a pretty big name UK retailer for info on shipping to the US. I know they do it. I've seen them do it for others on my FB groups. And they sell to the US on ebay. So what did they do? Ignored me. Completely. I forced myself to be patient and keep trying to get answers. Then finally I heard about the manufacturer being closed and decided it was time to commit to importing. I still planned on getting him from my stockist, since I was fine with having two, but I needed this bear in my life and the delays were just unacceptable at this point. So I went with Lovely Bears in Australia, because they have photos of all their different bears right on their website. Everything went very smoothly. He disappeared in tracking from the 8th until a few days ago, but he got her safely today. As for Logan himself, I adore him. His dark purple parts are nice and soft and I love the gray, too. He's not very tightly stuffed, so he's wonderfully squishy and cuddly. I'm always a fan of the oversized feet, too. If you like Wren, you'll like Logan. So now he's here and I'm just awaiting my stockist getting her shipment in so I can pick out his twin. Worth waiting for? Absolutely. Definitely one of my favorites from the year. But was the wait utterly ridiculous and likely unnecessary? Also absolutely.

INKSPOT

Arrival Date: 1/8/21

Size: 16.5"

Year: 2012

Edition Size: 2700

Designer: Heather Lyell

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $50 (Retail $73.95)

Thoughts: Inkspot is one of those bears that's in random patterns so every one looks different. I figured I'd have to import one, so I was very picky about his face. Then this one turned up from the same US seller as Molino. I'd prefer more gray on the face, but all the ones I'd seen were white on the face. This one is very black and I'm okay with that. I prefer it to the white. You can see his eyes better in person.  

FUDDY

Arrival Date: 1/8/21

Size: 12.5"

Year: 2010

Edition Size: 3000

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $40 (Retail $42.95)

Thoughts: Fuddy is a tiny little bear that my mom fell for, so he's her first official bear. He really is adorable. We got him from the same seller as Molino and Inkspot and couldn't believe the low prices we got on all three. He's really cute so I'm happy to have him here, too.

MOLINO

Arrival Date: 1/8/21

Size: 13"

Year: 2014 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 1000

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $40

Thoughts: I've wanted Molino for a few years now, but never got around to importing him. I was thrilled to see him for sale from a US seller and even more thrilled no one else bid! He's a little squishy cuddly bear made from fur that's somehow both soft and bristly at the same time. I love his unusual colors, too. 

BLACK FOREST GATEAUX

Arrival Date: 1/7/21

Size: 19"

Year: 2020

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $125.95

Thoughts: I would say this was the most popular plush bear of the year. Everyone wants this one! And for good reason because he uses the same deep, lush, tyber plush as Rum Baba, who's a huge fan favorite. Black Forest also has a giant chubby tummy, which is great. Very cuddly!

FRITZ

Arrival Date: 1/7/21

Size: 18.5"

Year: 2020

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $117.95

Thoughts: Ah, Fritz! Gotta love a bear with a good German name. I love Jason, so Fritz was a must have, because he's pretty much Jason but darker. I was drawn to this one with his big, wide-set eyes. I call him my porcupine bear, because that's what he reminds me of. 

ROGER

Arrival Date: 12/24/20

Size: 19"

Year: 2020

Edition Size: 3000

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Plumo

Purchased From: QVC

Cost: Gift (Retail $168)

Thoughts: Roger was pretty high on my "can't wait for this one to come out" list when I first saw the 2020 collection, so of course he and actually almost all of my most wanteds fell during Q4. I was super lucky to get this adorable one! He's SO CUTE! Unfortunately, his mohair is patchy on one side of his muzzle, but he's so cute that I don't even care. This is really one reason I dislike plumo bears though. It's a nice idea, but when the rest of the bear is all plush and decent quality, having really spotty mohair, which is indeed natural, just looks funny. Thankfully most of mine have been okay, but even with his damage, there was no way this face was leaving the house. He's big and tyber and he's oh, so soft and cuddly!