ELSIE (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 3/12/18 (Rehomed 3/12/21)

Size: 13.5"

Year: 2018 Secret Collection

Designer: Heather Lyell

Purchased From: Charlie Bears Direct

Cost: $54

Thoughts: Elsie was not originally on my want list for 2018, because while she looked cute, she was supposed to be a "shopping telly" exclusive. I figured maybe US QVC would get her, too, but I didn't plan on it so I put her out of my mind, although people's photos of her on Facebook were very cute. So I was surprised when she appeared on CB Direct. Unfortunately. it was while I was at work and she sold out, but thankfully, she turned up again the next day and became a present from my mom. She arrived today after a milder bit of FedEx annoyance than I had with Together, and she's adorable. Very soft and I like the pale pink and cream colors. She is VERY wobble-jointed though. She's supposed to be, but these ones always make me nervous and a bit annoyed, because she was so wobbly, she couldn't even be held and look at me properly. I don't want to hold a bear with a head that keeps flopping about, so I wrapped a pink ribbon around her neck a few times and now she's far more secure.

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.

SERAPHINA

Arrival Date: 1/22/18

Size: 14"

Year: 2017

Edition Size: 1730 (Mine is #646.)

Designer: Alison Mills

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $103.95

Thoughts: She's finally here! Seraphina was one of the early releases overseas, but of course took forever to come out in the US. I got first pick of the ones at BAMS and this one's adorable face won me over the first time I saw her photo. She's gorgeous and highly-detailed in person. I adore dragons, so she's an easy favorite.

TOGETHER

Arrival Date: 1/19/18

Size: 19"

Year: 2017

Edition Size: 750

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Charlie Bears Direct

Cost: $74.24

Thoughts: I have loved Together for months. He initially was only on QVC UK, but finally got to Charlie Bears Direct around the same time as all my pre-orders started coming in. I was determined to order him soon, because his brother Evermore disappeared off the site, and he's such an unpopular bear that I would never have found him on the secondary market. He's got to be one of the most unique in my collection. His black fur is tipped in NEON RED. It's brighter than it looks in the photo. I love the red tips on his paws and his red face and red-lined ears. Black and red is one of my favorite color combos and I adore neon, so that was an interesting surprise. Unfortunately, both the Bearhouse and FedEx combined delayed his delivery THREE times, so I'm not pleased with either at the moment. That's not good service on either end and it makes me wary of future orders. Which sucks, because next month's club exclusive that I was going to join specifically to get is only available through their site. But I do love Together, no matter what the poor guy had to go through to get here!

BAMPA (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 12/29/17

Size: 19.5"

Year: 2017

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $103.95

Thoughts: Bampa was not part of my original pre-orders, but I added him on after falling for all the curly-furred bears. He arrived quite awhile ago, as you can see, but came in when I was sick, so the poor thing didn't get much attention. I try not to handle my more expensive toys when I don't feel well. Bampa's a lovely color. I don't have a favorite from this curly trio, as each one has their positives and they all end up equal.