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. 

PATIENCE

Arrival Date: 2/28/22

Size: 19"

Year: 2015

Edition Size: 1800 

Designer: Heather Lyell

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $60

Thoughts: Patience is a bear I've always liked but been really picky on. They're all cute but with the random plush, they're all different. It's taken me years to find just the right one for me. I saw this cute one on ebay and made an offer for her, so the price was as good as the bear. I like her big eyes and her facial markings are nice. Patience is one of the Magical Snugglies, so she's tall and very thin. They're not the best at cuddling as the skinniness and the coarseness of their fur don't contribute to great cuddles, but they're very cute and look great on the shelf. USPS definitely tried my patience with Patience, because she sat around in Greenville from Thursday until last night. For no reason. But she finally made it and I'm glad to own one of these at last.

SPROUT

Arrival Date: 12/17/21

Size: 11"

Year: 2010

Edition Size: 1500 

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Fellow collector via Facebook

Cost: $100

Thoughts: Oh, poor Sprout. He never got a photo until now. I've had him since mid-December but he needed some help. He was washed and then wrapped in dryer sheets for over a month. Not nearly as bad as the Alison incident, but he smelled like cat. I'm really sick of people not telling me they own cats. Oddly, it was only his back side that smelled and there was no sign of staining. It was like litter box odor just stuck to him on one side. But he's finally cleaned up nicely and can join my green bears on their shelf. 

DONALD (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 1/13/22 (Rehomed 2023)

Size: 20"

Year: 2021

Edition Size: 3000

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Plumo

Purchased From: QVC 

Cost: $140

Thoughts: I have been casually eyeing Donalda since she came out, but never ordered her. Then Donald turned up on QVC and I decided to give him a try. His darker coloring is more my usual tastes than Donalda's browns. Plus, I have an uncle named Donald, so he's my first name bear. (I have others I could get, but either they're mohair and expensive or I don't care for the characters.) I wasn't sure I'd like him, since I've seen a few that look kind of skinny-muzzled, but when I lifted this guy out of the box, I was happy. He's got a fuller muzzle than others I've seen. He's also quite the stocky boy. Very handsome!