MILES

Arrival Date: 3/28/22

Size: 13.5"

Year: 2018

Edition Size: 1600

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Keillor's Teddy Bear Shoppe 

Cost: $73.50

Thoughts: Miles is another one I had originally pre-ordered and then cancelled. I think I didn't like any of the faces left on the ones to choose from when it was my turn and I ended up never tracking one down. Well, better late than never, I guess! Unlike Olien, Miles kinda disappeared from my radar. I think I saw him for sale from the UK recently and remembered that he was pretty cute. So as bear fate would have it, he was in the same shop as Olien and now they're both home after all. Miles is soft, sweet and very cuddly. He's adorable!

OLIEN

Arrival Date: 3/28/22

Size: 18.5"

Year: 2017 

Edition Size: 1550

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Keillor's Teddy Bear Shoppe 

Cost: $96

Thoughts: I believe I had Olien on my pre-order list way back in 2017 and cancelled him. I don't remember why. Maybe because he turned out lighter than his promo pic? I'm not sure. But he's always hovered around the back of my low-key want list as a maybe someday. I've seen a couple of him posted recently on the FB collector pages and ended up wanting him more, so when this bear shop posted their stock and I saw him, I asked for pics. He doesn't photograph very well, but he's very cute in person. He's the same sort of rough, antique-looking fur as Alison. So they're a bit scratchy and not the most cuddly, but they're also unique and I love that. 

CLIVE

Arrival Date: 3/24/22

Size: 11.5"

Year: 2017 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 630

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: About $120

Note: No paper tags

Thoughts: Little Clive goes along with Callie, his light pink sister. Callie was available in the US but Clive never made it over here. I had him on my low-key wishlist but only recently started looking more for him. I found this little guy on ebay and bought him, since he looked cuter than a couple others I'd seen and the shipping was more reasonable. He's missing his paper tags but I never cared about stuff like that if the bear is cute and one I want. Clive is way more wobble-jointed than Callie, so I reinforced his neck with a ribbon. I love how little and fluffy he is. 

FRANK (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 3/23/22

Size: 19.5"

Year: 2016

Edition Size: 2500

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $140 (Retail $129.95)

Thoughts: I can't remember when Frank first jumped on my radar. He came out the year I began collecting CBs so I was more overwhelmed with trying to get my favorites than paying attention to that year's collection. Frank is a fairly simple bear compared to what I usually like. Maybe that's why I wanted him. I was delighted to see the mottling of colors in his fur in the photo above, because what he typically photographs like and what he looks like in regular light is this:

He's very dark in photos and gives the impression that he's black, but his fur is a mottling of browns. 

He's a sturdy, thick fellow. Limbs are looser than a lot of the newer bears, but he's still more stiffly-jointed than a wobble-jointed bear. 

PONCHO

Arrival Date: 3/20/22

Size: 15"

Year: 2021 Secret Collection

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: QVC

Cost: $105

Thoughts: Poncho was pretty low on my radar. I wasn't planning on ordering him but I do tend to be weak when it comes to bears being on QVC. I had added a bunch to my QCard to cover Scorch before I knew I was getting him from CB Direct. So when Poncho became available, I decided to order him. I'd asked in my main FB collector group for owner pics and someone posted a nice one of Pashmina, so I opted to give her a try as well. They both arrived today. I was surprised that I liked Pashmina better. Part of it is her better quality fur but mostly it's her face. Poncho is really cute, too, but he also reminds me a lot of Kingsley. Very similar expression. So Pashmina is the more unique of the two when you look at my hug as a whole. 

I don't often do pics of multiple bears in my collection log here, but I feel like this might help anyone who stumbles across this and wants to see the pair together. Pashmina has a much better quality of fur used on her limbs and most of her body. Poncho's is more cottony and less sleek. 

Pashmina also has very dark brown eyes that almost appear solid black. Poncho's are a lighter brown.  

PASHMINA

Arrival Date: 3/20/22

Size: 15"

Year: 2021 Secret Collection

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: QVC

Cost: $105

Thoughts: Pashmina was not on my radar at all. The darker Poncho was a maybe but not one I was seriously considering. I've tried to be better about this but I do tend to be weak when it comes to bears being on QVC. I had added a bunch to my QCard to cover Scorch before I knew I was getting him from CB Direct. So when Poncho became available, I decided to order him. I'd asked in my main FB collector group for owner pics and someone posted a nice one of Pashmina, so I opted to give her a try as well. They both arrived today and I'm glad I added Pash because she's actually the one I like better. 

I don't often do pics of multiple bears in my collection log here, but I feel like this might help anyone who stumbles across this and wants to see the pair together. Pashmina has a much better quality of fur used on her limbs and most of her body. Poncho's is more cottony and less sleek. 

Pashmina also has very dark brown eyes that almost appear solid black. Poncho's are a lighter brown.  

TURRET

Arrival Date: 3/12/22

Size: 15.5"

Year: 2021 Best Friends Club Exclusive

Edition Size: 600

Designer: Alison Mills

Purchased From: CB Direct

Cost: $119.70

Thoughts: I initially thought Turret was more brown with purple accents. Nope. She's entirely gray. Her body color is a little brown-tinted but there's not a hint of purple or blue, which sometimes it also appears in photographs, on the accents. I was a bit disappointed by this, because I liked the brown and purple a lot. Lockmaster is also gray so this is two gray gargoyles. But I think he's a lot lighter. Regardless of my disappointment in the colors, I was still thrilled to be selected for Turret and very happy to open her when I got home tonight. My default gender for my plushies is always male. If they're female, either they represent a female character or they tell me they're female. Turret just did. I was talking to my mom about her and I said "she" twice without thinking. She's a darling and I love her. Can't wait for Lockmaster to arrive, too!

BUMBLEBERRY PIE

Arrival Date: 3/9/22

Size: 15"

Year: 2022

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Lovely Bears Australia

Cost: About $117 

Thoughts: Augh! This bear! Bumbleberry was not firmly on my pre-order list until Charlie's video showing each of the bears coming out this first quarter. I added her with my stockist, but then when Lovely Bears in Australia got a bunch of 2022s in, I absolutely crashed for this face. She was totally unlike both other Bumbleberrys they had and I was afraid this type of face would be an outlier, so I adopted her while I had the chance. I could not pass up that face. She only took two weeks to arrive, which is really good. She's got thick, soft fur (though not tyber level) and she's a bit chunky, so good for a cuddle. The cream and black fur is actually that raspberry pink at the bottom, so if you run your fingers through it, you'll see flashes of pink. Her limbs and ears are a dusty pink. All of the fur is tipped in black. She's simply gorgeous and I'm happy to have her as my first 2022 collection bear.

ETON

Arrival Date: 3/7/22

Size: 15"

Year: 2013 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 1200

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Fellow collector via Facebook

Cost: $100

Thoughts: My first ever CB was Howie, who looks like Eton only in shades of brown. I had trouble bonding with Howie, because this design for some reason looks to me like it should be a lot smaller and these two are pretty tall and very chunky bears. I ended up selling Howie and I've regretted it for a couple years now, though I haven't tracked him down yet. Eton, being Howie's sister, was on my casual wishlist, too. I came across her from a US seller and was able to buy her. She arrived today and oh, she's so cuddly! I promised Scorch today would be his turn but Eton was really hard to put down after I found her a spot on the shelf. She's got a sweet little face, too. I wish they'd bring back this design. I'd love to see more bears use this pattern.

SCORCH

Arrival Date: 3/7/22

Size: 18" (?)

Year: 2021 Secret Collection

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: CB Direct

Cost: $175

Thoughts: FINALLY! This guy has a birthday of last July. Ridiculous that it's taken this long to get him over to the US. I'm super glad I went on wishlist with CB Direct because I was contacted and able to place my order. He arrived today. Scorch is gorgeously detailed and incredibly soft. Like all three dragons in this style, he's easy to love. 

RALPH

Arrival Date: 3/4/22

Size: 14.5"

Year: 2021

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Plumo

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $103.95

Thoughts: Aww, little Ralph. I was third to pick but still got my first choice. The two people ahead of me backed out. He's the cutest little fluff. Surprisingly, I don't have that many mostly black bears in my collection. I feel like he's pretty balanced between black and white, so Ralph joined the other black and white bears on their shelf. He's right next to Bambino, who uses the same black tyber as Ralph's limbs. 

GATEKEEPER

Arrival Date: 3/4/22

Size: 18"

Year: 2021

Designer: Alison Mills

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $146.95

Thoughts: FINALLY. I cannot express to you how relieved I am to finally be holding one of the gargoyles. I instantly loved Gatekeeper and Lockmaster when I first saw the catalog. I'd suggested gargoyles once when Charlie was looking for more fantasy creature options, so to see them created was amazing to me. But the wait the US has had to endure was horrid. He is spectacular in person though. Being all black except for his nose and eyes, he's really hard to photograph, but trust me he's gorgeous.