RUDOLPH (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 4/20/21 (Rehomed 7/23)

Size: 17"

Year: 2013 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 680

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay 

Cost: About $70 

Thoughts: Rudolph came out alongside Satsuma, who I adore. I always liked them both, but favored Satsuma. When Rudolph came up for sale on ebay, I went for him so they could sit beside each other on my shelves. Rudolph is the same more coarse, long-pile plush as Satsuma (only Satsuma is orange). I'm not a huge fan of long-pile, but I do love these two. Rudolph is only an inch shorter, but he's less massive than Satsuma. And yes, he really is that red!

SAMANTHA (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 4/15/21 (Rehomed 1/23)

Size: 12"

Year: 2010

Edition Size: 2,010

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Fellow collector

Cost: $75 (Retail $54.95)

Note: No paper tags

Thoughts: Little Samantha is one bear I've had in the back of my mind for years. Not long after I first started collecting bears, I worked on writing a story involving them. Samantha and Ruby were part of the cast, playing a couple rather snobby bears. Now here we are years later and I own both Samantha and Ruby, who are basically pint-size and adorable, not snobby at all. She's a very pretty little bear, not my usual type, but she still fits in well.

PUDDING

Arrival Date: 4/6/21

Size: 18"

Year: 2010

Edition Size: 900

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Fellow collector

Cost: $150

Thoughts: Pudding! I've wanted him for a few years, but finally got the opportunity to get one from within the US. Pudding is actually much bigger than I thought. I guess I never looked at his height before. He's an older bear and very wobble-jointed. I reinforced his neck by winding a ribbon around it tightly. I don't  mind wobbles, but I do prefer to reinforce the neck if it's very wobbly. I believe Pudding was a holiday release. He has a lovely necklace of thick red, green and gold twisted cord with a large red bell and two wooden beads in green and red. But the thing that makes him most unique is that...he sparkles! Strands of iridescent tinsel are blended into both his brown and white fur. He's also not firmly stuffed so he feels very cuddly.

NIMBUS

Arrival Date: 3/29/21

Size: 19"

Year: 2014

Edition Size: 2000

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $86

Thoughts: Nimbus also arrived today and oh, man, do I love him. I think of Nimbus in a set with Mercury (I have him) and Bobsleigh (probably won't get him). I threw in a bid on Nimbus not at all thinking of winning, but I was at work when the auction ended and I ducked into the back to watch the last few minutes. I tossed in another couple bids and I still can't believe I won for less than $100! I mean, that's less than retail even and I know this is a popular bear. He's super soft like Mercury and I rearranged things so they can sit together. He's a big chunky guy, too. A bit wobbly-jointed like a lot of the older larger bears. He's adorable! 

HUEY

Arrival Date: 3/29/21

Size: 13.5"

Year: 2011

Edition Size: 3000

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Mostly Bears

Cost: $66

Thoughts: Huey was a random purchase. One of the FB group members posted a list of a stockist's older bears and the poor stockist was then inundated with a bunch of us asking for pictures. I asked about 5 of them and Huey was the only one in stock. (The list that was posted was sadly old.) But Huey is adorable. He's actually a very pale blue, but photographs more white. I've got him sitting with Tatum, who's similar in that her blue doesn't photograph well. He's tiny, but soft and cuddly.  

ALISON

Arrival Date: 3/22/21

Size: 14.5"

Year: 2017

Edition Size: 1760

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: FB collector

Cost: $30 (Retail $77.95)

Note: No paper tags

Thoughts: Oh, dear, poor Alison. I saw someone on FB selling bears for incredible prices, so I jumped on getting Alison here. The lady was very nice, but clearly has no idea what's going on in her home. Or someone else's home if the bears weren't hers. Alison smelled like the home she lived in never changed about a dozen cat litter boxes. My mom IDed the smell immediately and I knew she was right, because we'd just taken care of 3 cats next door and that's exactly what their apartment smelled like. Alison is an absolutely adorable, sad-faced bear with unusual fur that feels more rough and coarse like a mohair might. I've spent the past couple days working on cleaning her up. I don't recommend putting your bears through the washer, but sometimes it is necessary and this sure was. So she's been through the wash and then sat in the laundry room covered in a couple nice-smelling dryer sheets since. Just today I moved her into an open space (away from other toys) in my toy room and I'll monitor her scent over the next few days. I won't put her with my other bears until I'm sure the smell is gone. If I have to wash her again, I will. But we'll get there, Alison. We'll get you clean. 

CUBBY HOLE (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 3/10/21

Size: 18.5"

Year: 2021

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: All Nations Trading (local stockist)

Cost: $91 

Thoughts: Cubby Hole was a late add to my pre-orders. I thought he might become really popular after they showed the live video presentation and Will focused on him for a while. I knew he was coming in soon, so I was really excited, but then disappointed, because my stockist only got 3 and I didn't get one. I decided to go check out a local stockist, since I knew their shipment came in and I found 3 to choose from. I'm glad they changed the eyes on him and made him much cuter than the promo. He's absolutely gorgeous in person with all the colors! 

ALANNA (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 3/9/21 (Rehomed 6/23)

Size: 12.5"

Year: 2009

Edition Size: 3000

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Fellow collector 

Cost: $81 

Thoughts: I've seen Alanna for sale a few times over my collecting years and always thought she was cute. The same seller had all three of these recent additions and I got really excited to bring Alanna home. Alanna is slightly odd because she's super tiny, but in photos, she always looks pretty big! She's very wobble-jointed and I love her chubby tummy. She's sitting nicely with Kerri, which makes me really glad I didn't end up selling Kerri.

SHANE

Arrival Date: 3/9/21

Size: 19.5"

Year: 2018

Edition Size: 1500

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Fellow collector 

Cost: $90

Thoughts: Ah, Shane. I passed on this guy when he first came out because I had such limited room and was really picky on bigger bears. I've since seen him for sale several times in the past few months and I decided I need him in my hug. He's happily sitting beside Brady right now. I love his colors and while he's stocky, heavy and a bit stiffer than the majority of my bears, he's still awesome and I think he'll give good cuddles.

SHARDUL

Arrival Date: 3/9/21

Size: 15"

Year: 2012 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 4000 (Mine is #1868.)

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Fellow collector 

Cost: $90

Thoughts: Poor Shardul has lived on my low-key wishlist for several years. I actually want all four of the standing, animal print bears in this series, but he was the one I most wanted. Thankfully, a lovely fellow collector had him and then I adopted a couple others from her, too. I'm always worried about standing bears being less cuddly because their feet are hard, but Shardul seems pretty snuggly regardless. I love his tiger colors.