STEPPING STONES

Arrival Date: 6/13/25

Size: 22.5"

Year: 2024 

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: CB Direct

Cost: $69 (Retail $231)

Thoughts: This guy has a story. I was waiting on the CB  website for the gargoyles to drop and I browsed the sale section. I saw Stepping Stones marked down to 70% off. Yes, SEVENTY. I had always thought he was cute and checked him out when my stockists got him in, but I'm super picky about bears that size because I don't have a lot of room for big ones and they're pricey. Well, for $69 how could I not get this guy? I figured if I didn't bond with him, I could sell him and more than make my money back. Out of the box though, he's incredibly soft and cuddly. I think the brown parts are tyber. Pretty sure he's a keeper. He reminds me of a much bigger, fancier-colored version of Karl. I went back a couple days later and he was marked off either 29 or 30%. Not 70%. Soooooo someone made a little mistake and I reaped the benefits. Thank you, CB employee! I don't think I would ever have gotten him otherwise.  

NESSIE (Bear & Me)

Arrival Date: 6/13/25

Size: 10"

Year: 2025

Designer: Charlie

Purchased From: CB Direct

Cost: $31

Thoughts: My first Bear & Me! I'm not big into this line, since they seem like Jellycats more than CBs, though it is nice to have options for younger collectors. 

But I just had to have Nessie with her six legs in this amusing arrangement. 

She's soft and cute. 

This color is called Seaweed Green. Maybe they'll do more Nessies in the future.

HEARTWOOD

Arrival Date: 6/5/25

Size: 17"

Year: 2024

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Standing

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $175

Thoughts: This guy. I've had my eye on him for probably a year now. I just love his grump face! I'm glad he waited patiently for me and then decided it was the perfect time to hop on the ride home with Sofia. He was worth waiting for. I don't normally go for the standing bears, as their hard feet make them less cuddly, but for just the right one, I do make exceptions. 

SOFIA

Arrival Date: 6/5/25

Size: 16"

Year: 2025 Exclusive Collection

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $123.50

Thoughts: Oh, that FACE. When I saw Sofia, I liked her design and knew if I saw just the right one, I'd want her. So when my stockist put up hers, I fell instantly for this lady. In person, she's petite and quite lightweight, but a very good cuddler. And she's simply gorgeous. I think she's one of the prettiest CBs I own. 

WATER ELF

Arrival Date: 5/31/25

Size: 14"

Year: 2025

Designer: Alison Mills

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $115

Thoughts: When this guy first came out, people were all like "Stitch!" but I do not see that one bit. They're not even the same color. Come on. He is incredibly soft and cuddly with those pointy feet's and giant ears. I love this series.  

MISS GABOR (JOHNSON)

Arrival Date: 6/2/25

Size: 21"

Year: 2025 

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Artisanal Bears By Old Griz

Cost: $155

Thoughts: Her stock name may be Miss Johnson, but this is clearly Miss Gabor. Phyllis Gabor, that is. AKA: Pizzazz of the Misfits. She was on my maybe list when the catalogue released, and when I started seeing owner pics and their cute faces, I knew I'd get her eventually. Just had to find the right one and then she popped up in Kitty's stock, so here she is! She is a large, sassy, vibrant girl and I love her. 

YETI

Arrival Date: 4/25/25

Size: 24"

Year: 2024 

Edition Size: 1000 (Mine is #571.) 

Designer: Alison Mills

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $273

Thoughts: Ah, the biggest guy is finally here! Yeti is a whopping two feet tall, four inches taller than Bodmin. He's got the cutest little round ears and I love his expression. Like Bod, he's really not that hard to cuddle, despite his size. 

RAMBLE

Arrival Date: 4/14/25

Size: 14.5"

Year: 2024

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $139

Thoughts: Ramble is the other missing 2024 character I had left. (The last is Woozy, the dodo from 2023.) He's a Pyrenean ibex. His horns are really long, which you can kind of infer from the photo. He looks exactly like his prototype and he's gorgeous, but again, not the most cuddly, but with those horns, I didn't expect him to be. Like Pathfinder, his fur is rougher. Still, he's got a very cute face. 

PATHFINDER

Arrival Date: 4/14/25

Size: 14.5"

Year: 2024

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $133

Thoughts: Pathfinder is one of the last three Bearhouse I've been waiting on. He's from 2024. He's a thylacine or tasmanian tiger. I have mixed feelings on him. I wish they'd done the faces like the prototype. The nose seemed longer or at least the dark shading on the muzzle made it appear longer. That helped him look more like a thylacine. He does have the stripes, though they don't show here. He's very cute, but he definitely could have looked more like the real animal. He's also sadly not very cuddly. His fur is more rough and his head is oddly hard, so he's not great for hugs. I'm still glad to have him, but he's not an ideal Bearhouse offering.  

SPADES

Arrival Date: 4/12/25

Size: 12.5"

Year: 2025

Designer: Alison Mills

Purchased From: CB Direct

Cost: $62.50

Thoughts: Spades is the last of the Bearhouse dragons I was interested in. I grabbed him when we got them in the US. He went on a little surprise journey, because his tracking never updated until the end. He was "label created" for a week and then all of a sudden in Greenville and arrived the next day. He's taller than Clubs but shorter than Deck. Love his color, but his main draw is those two little fangs.