KEYS

 
  

Arrival Date: 9/28/20

Size: 21"

Year: 2020 

Edition Size: 600 (Mine is #86.)

Designer: Alison Mills

Features: Jointed horns

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $146.95

Thoughts: I love this guy. He looks like something out of an 80s fantasy movie. Keys is very tall at 21", but he's so thin that he doesn't take up a lot of space. His horns are actually poseable. They rotate! He's soft, too, so he is cuddly, although not as much as others. The oddest thing about him is that all those gold spots are raised bumps. It feels a little weird when you hold him!

SODA POP

 

Arrival Date: 9/28/20

Size: 19"

Year: 2020 

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $118.95

Thoughts: Cotton Candy finally gets her sister home. And their brother is not far behind. 

CARSON

Arrival Date: 9/17/20

Size: 18"

Year: 2020 Secret Collection

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: CB Direct

Cost: $133

Thoughts: I wasn't 100% smitten with Carson from the Sneaky Peeks catalog. Others got my attention more, but I did put him on my list. When he popped up on CB Direct, I went for it. He is quite the chonk! Definitely a heavier bear. His lighter parts are tyber for sure, but his purpley striped fur is also super silky soft. And he has a tail! I think my only other bears with tails are all smaller. So he's definitely far cuter than he looked in the promo pic. If you're into heavy, soft bears, you're going to need Carson. 

PEACH COBBLER (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 9/10/20

Size: 18"

Year: 2020 

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Razberry Threads

Cost: $110

Thoughts: Peach was not on my radar at first. Her partner Strudel is the one that immediately got pre-ordered. But Peach came out first and people's pictures and descriptions slowly won me over. Not enough to pre-order one though, because I knew I'd be bottom of the pile. Razberry Threads is a local stockist in downtown Asheville at the Grove Arcade, which is a moderately upscale mall in an elegant old building. I've been wanting to go for ages, but when they posted pictures of Peach, I finally made plans to do so. I don't like how they have the bears arranged. All of them are above your head unless you're super tall and some are behind the counter. So bonding with them is basically impossible. But I knew who I wanted and pulled her down from her spot beside Danuta. Peach doesn't have what I'd call long pile fur, but it's not short either. Medium pile? I guess? She's very soft and cuddly, and she's quite lightweight for her size. Mine's a little bit disgruntled-looking, probably because she was stuck on a high shelf away from potential adopters. Heh. 

BAMBINO

Arrival Date: 8/31/20

Size: 13"

Year: 2020 Secret Collection

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: QVC

Cost: $96

Thoughts: I fell for Bambino as soon as I saw his stock pic. I had him on pre-order, but the wait has been ridiculous. First, CB Direct got him and then more recently, QVC, but not stockists. After ordering Nick, I finally caved and gave in to my Bambino need. He's like Moppet (same size even) and Dimples. They're super soft and super cuddly. I hardly have any black bears, so he's a welcome addition to the hug. 

NICK

Arrival Date: 8/26/20

Size: 19"

Year: 2020 

Edition Size: 3000

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Plumo

Purchased From: QVC

Cost: $126

Thoughts: Rachel is very similar to Nick and she came out a bit ago. I thought she was interesting, but it was only when I started seeing people's Nicks that these two caught my attention more. I decided to try Nick first, because someone had just shared a picture of the cutest one. I'm still not sure I want Rachel. She's a maybe. I don't always need to have the matching bears, even if I really the one of the pair that I have. Nick though. I was hoping for a face like the one I fell for and boy, did I get it! I think mine might even be cuter than that one with his giant "love me" eyes. His feathery fur is softer than I expected. Definitely softer than past feathery bears I've had. He's so nice and squishy, too! He's much lighter than I expected a 19" bear to be and he's not so heavily stuffed, so he's squishy and cuddly.   

DILBERT (Rehomed)

 

Arrival Date: 8/20/20

Size: 18"

Year: 2020 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 900

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $100.95

Thoughts: Dilbert is one I wasn't completely convinced I wanted, but I put myself on the pre-order list anyway. A lot of the earlier ones were too light. Then I started seeing people in the US who supported QVC and CB Direct instead of stockists (stockists always get the shaft and get things last, which sucks) getting theirs with darker faces. So I had hope that when he finally made it to my stockist that there would be a good one for me. And there was. Dilbert is actually a slate blue. I was never sure if he was blue or gray. He's a bit skinnier. Kinda reminds me of the Magical Snugglies, but not quite that lanky. He's got a squishy tum so I think he'll be nice and cuddly. 

ANNIVERSARY KUMA

 

Arrival Date: 8/15/20

Size: 11"

Year: 2020 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 600

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: CB Direct

Cost: $90

Thoughts: Kuma is one of my favorite bears. He's sat on my bed ever since I got him years ago. So when I saw one of the 15th anniversary bears was him, I had to have him. He's been through quite a lot, since he was shipped on August 4th and only just arrived today. Poor little guy! He's adorable, although I honestly wish they'd stuck with the simple plain black eyes. That would have made him look more similar. But he's still adorable!

JANE (Rehomed)

 

Arrival Date: 8/10/20

Size: 15"

Year: 2016

Edition Size: 3200

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Fellow collector via Facebook

Cost: $120

Thoughts: Jane is an older bear that didn't catch my eye until she became unavailable from all the US stockists. Of course. I never got around to importing her, but considered it a couple times. Finally, I lucked into this one from a lovely US collector that offered her to me after seeing the bear's name on the group wishlist. For a rather plain and unassuming bear, Jane's arrival was sure loaded with chaos. She was marked as delivered in a parcel locker at 8:49am today. But I got no texts or email with a Hub number. So I tried calling the office repeatedly, only to get no answer. My mom was working with me and when she left, she called them. They couldn't see anything in the Hub for me. So Mom came home and checked our mail. No key. This is the FIFTH mishandled mail incident we've had within the past month. So she got on the phone with the post office and tore them several new ones. They promised to do something, but did nothing. Thankfully, whoever the package was misdelivered to was more honest than last time and they brought the box to our door. They just left it, so Mom had no idea who it was, but at least Jane is safely home. She's super soft. A bit less ostentatious than what I normally like, but she suits her name. Plain yet also elegant and classy. 

ANNIVERSARY BAMBOOZLE

Arrival Date: 7/23/20

Size: 13"ish

Year: 2020 Best Friends Club

Edition Size: 600 (Mine is #328.)

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: CB Direct

Cost: $88 ($98 retail)

Thoughts: It took forever for the US to get Baby Bam, as he's called, due to covid-related bullshit. We're still horrifically behind. But things from Q2 are finally starting to seep in. A list of collectors' names was sent to CB Direct after a lot of us (including many essential workers) missed out on him, because they put him on sale during a show that we worked during. (Not the best idea. And they're doing it again in August.) However, in even more bullshit, they did a random draw instead of addressing the list of names they ASKED to be sent. Which pretty much completely sucks. I was however lucky enough to get chosen so I was able to purchase Bam and he arrived today, three days later than he should have, because the mail also sucks right now. Ugh. Let's just say everything sucks right now. Except little Bam. He's adorable.