SPARKS (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 7/10/19

Rehomed: 10/6/21

Size: 15" (not including top feathers)

Year: 2019 Best Friends Club Exclusive

Edition Size: 130 (Mine is #91.)

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Mohair

Purchased From: CB Direct US

Cost: $360

Thoughts: I wasn't sure if I could manage this guy or not. CB announced their Best Friends Club exclusives this year and two caught my eye. Sparks the phoenix was one and Snapdragon the...yes, dragon was the second. She doesn't come 'til the end of the year, but Sparks was going to be the first. We didn't know exactly when he was coming, but then CB Direct started doing Afterpay, which splits your payment up into 4 installments and I knew that would work for me. Sparks is mohair, which makes him quite pricey. He's only my second full-size mohair. The other cost about the same, too. I think Snapdragon will be a bit more, so she'll be my most expensive one. We US CB collectors knew Sparks had come out in Australia quite late and then the UK followed along. He became available in the US at around 5am. I happened to still be awake and bought mine. The email alert we were supposed to get ahead of time didn't come until half an hour later. Being such a small number, he sold out quickly. Some US people had to import theirs from the UK, which meant they actually got them earlier and slightly cheaper than we did, but oh, well. I'd never want to risk importing something this expensive! Sparks is pretty glorious though and definitely an unusual addition to my collection.

PARSNIP

Arrival Date: 7/8/19

Size: 11.5"

Year: 2011 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 1300

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $70

Thoughts: Little Parsnip was always one of my wants that I kept in the back of my mind. He and Sprout, who looks similar but is green instead of orange. But being older Secret Collection bears, they tend to be import only. So when I saw this Parsnip from a US seller, I showed him to my mom and we both decided he was well worth making an offer. She loves him. Amusingly, his seller lives rather near my old hometown outside Buffalo, NY. Parsnip is a sweet bit of wobbly-jointed fluff. He's just so fluffy! The colors are gorgeous. I love how the pale yellow complements the bright orange tipping. And his face is perfect. I could not have asked for a better example of this bear.

WINDYPOPS

Arrival Date: 7/2/19

Size: 13" by official info, but he's more like 15"-16".

Year: 2019

Edition Size: 1000

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Amazon UK

Cost: $88

Thoughts: I had Windypops on pre-order, but the US has been getting screwed. We're missing several characters from both first and second quarter, while the UK just plows on, doing third quarter early. I did not want to miss out on this guy, because he was one of my big faves from the 2019 collection, so as much as I hate to cancel a pre-order, I got the last one on Amazon UK. He's majestic and gorgeous. I love him. He may not be super cute like Dringle, who's going to be his best buddy, or the regular bears, but I think he's just darling.

GRIFFIN

Arrival Date: 6/28/19

Size: 19"

Year: 2010

Edition Size: 1680

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $63

Thoughts: Griffin is a bear that was on my very early CB wishlist. His brother Brooklyn, who looks just like this only with a silver nose and no rusty orange bits, was my fifth Charlie Bear ever. I always meant to get him Griffin, but he kind of fell by the wayside. I've seen him turn up a few times, but this was finally the right time and I picked him up for only $63 plus shipping. Griffin's a chunky but not too chunky big guy and seems awfully cuddly just like his brother.

SIMONE

Arrival Date: 6/19/19

Size: 20"

Year: 2018 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 600

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: CB Direct US

Cost: $120

Thoughts: Simone isn't my typical type of bear, but I kept seeing people's photos of her and ended up wanting her. Naturally, when I had the money, she was sold out. CB Direct US recently added Afterpay, which is fantastic. It splits your payment into 4 installments, one charged automatically every 2 weeks. I mentioned when that was unveiled that it was the perfect time to restock Simone. Lo and behold, not long after, there she was! So for $31.87, I got to bring her home and I'll just pay her off every two weeks. Or if I want, I can do it earlier than each due date. Simone is a tall girl at 20", but she's sleeker and not as robust as some of the taller bears. Her limb fur is a beautiful dark honey color and she's kind of patchwork in places. The one side of her muzzle is darker than the other. She has an unusually-shaped neck, which has a hump in the back so her head hangs lower. Oodles has this, too. She's also got a wobbly head, which I secured with her peach ribbon to make it more stable. Simone is like Christine, same size even, but different colors and I find Simone's much more pleasing. 

BOSSY BOOTS (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 6/13/19 (Rehomed 7/1/22)

Size: 19"

Year: 2018 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 600

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $125

Thoughts: Bossy was a bit of an unexpected purchase. I had him, Lani and Zadie on pre-order, but the stockist I was buying from only got one Bossy in and he had uneven eye whites and crooked eyes, so he was definitely not for me. I had seen this Bossy on ebay earlier in the day and thought he was stunning, so I made an offer and it was accepted. He comes from the same lovely seller as my Bindi! Bossy is a big guy, but he's so soft. He's from the same family as Molly Coddle, Jan, Hakatan and Chillblaine. (And Pamper, who I don't have.) I daresay he's the prettiest one. His gray fur is tipped in black and his softer fur is a grayish lavender.

COLE

Arrival Date: 6/10/19

Size: 14"

Year: 2018 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 500

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $81.95

Thoughts: Cole is brother to Gary, a quite unusual and not very popular little bear. Cole was part of last year's Secret Collection and I've been meaning to order him from CB Direct US ever since I received Gary and loved him. When I heard our US stockists were getting a bunch of Secret Collection, I jumped on pre-ordering him from BAMS. He's just as soft as his brother and I adore him, too.

BUTTERSCOTCH (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 6/3/19 (Rehomed 1/23)

Size: 8"

Year: 2019

Edition Size: 1725

Designer: Alison Mills

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: Free-ish (Retail $43.95)

Thoughts: Teeny tiny Butterscotch was a last-minute add-on. I added her on to my existing pre-order of the other two after seeing owner pics of her. She's tiny and delicate and very sweet. I initially thought she was a bit too orange for her name, but in person, she's just about the right shade for butterscotch.

SMARTIE (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 6/3/19 (Rehomed 1/23)

Size: 9"

Year: 2019

Edition Size: 1755

Designer: Alison Mills

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: Free-ish (Retail $49.95)

Thoughts: I spent part of my rewards on Smartie! Boynton, Ash and Bunya got me to my rewards, which I applied to this newest-arriving pre-order of Jelly Tot, Butterscotch and Smartie. The latter two were almost free. Smartie is a gorgeous bright blue. I'm glad I picked a heftier-looking one. He's super cute! Smarties in the US are those kinda chalky discs you get in tiny cellophane rolls, but in the UK, they look to be like M&Ms.

JELLY TOT (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 6/3/19

Size: 11"

Year: 2019

Edition Size: 1500

Designer: Alison Mills

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $52.95

Thoughts: Jelly Tot is the same height as Boynton? Huh. He seems so much smaller. Jelly is part of a trio inspired by sweets. Jelly Tots appear to be gummies of some kind. Jelly the bear has some black tipping, so he fits in perfectly with a lot of my other red bears. I love the teeny tiny sculptured feet!