PANDER (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 1/27/23

Size: 15"

Year: 2022

Designer: Charlie

Purchased From: QVC

Cost: $67

Thoughts: I've been feeling the bear need and decided on Pander from QVC. He reminds me of Phantom, who is an older bear from 2013. I always loved him, but at 26", he's simply too big for my space. Pander is much more reasonable size and he's very cute. I like the green bow. He's a Charlie design, so he's got that little bit more structured feel to him like Peppermint, Cottontail, etc. He's going to hang out with Foster, who's a similar fabric.

CHESTER

Arrival Date: 12/20/22

Size: 15"

Year: 2022

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Lovely Bears Australia

Cost: Gift (Retail $106.95)

Thoughts: I LOVE Chester. I've wanted them to do a tree kangaroo for ages and unlike some of the others I really wanted (quokka), they did a great job of capturing the animal's likeness in the plush. If you know what a tree kangaroo is, you know immediately that Chester is one. Like a lot of the modern Bearhouse, he's made of many different fabrics. The warm brown on his body feels like it's tyber, it's that soft. It could be. I'm just not used to them using it for the Bearhouse line. I loved the expression on this particular guy. He's very sweet and hopeful. Definitely the best Bearhouse of the year so far. 

PAUL

 Arrival Date: 12/20/22

Size: 13"

Year: 2010

Edition Size: 1800

Designer: Christine Pike

Purchased From: Collector on FB

Cost: $25

Thoughts: Paul! I've wanted this guy for years. I figured I'd have to import, which is why I haven't gotten him before. He's popular, so he can be in the $150-200 range once shipping is factored in. But a seller on FB recently had him and I got him for an absolute steal. He's missing his paper tags, but who cares? It's Paul! If I can get a good deal on a bear within the US, I don't care if he's got tags or not. He's well worth it. He's a total stocky chub like Sid, who is my only other one from his particular designer. I wish she'd done more. I love her work. 

GALILEO

Arrival Date: 12/17/22

Size: 14"

Year: 2022 

Edition Size: 1200

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Plumo

Purchased From: ebay (Cindy Lewellen)

Cost: $107.10 (Retail $126)

Thoughts: Wow. I thought this guy was cute in the catalogue, but he was a bit pricey for his size, so I ended up skipping him. When people started posting pics, I again thought he was cute and kept peeking at QVC and Amazon to see if he'd be offered in either place. I figured the shipment arriving with my stockist would be all taken and I wanted him now. So when this one popped up on ebay, I totally fell for his face AND he was 15% off! The total of bear, ebay tax and shipping came out less than his retail cost! When I opened him after work tonight, I realized why he's more expensive for a 14" bear. He's tyber! And plumo. His mohair is actually super soft for once. I really like it. He's a wonderfully soft little cuddler with the cutest face. I'm so glad I treated myself!

MAGDA

Arrival Date: 12/14/22

Size: 15"

Year: 2021

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $71.95 (Retail $109.95)

Thoughts: I've had my eye on this Magda ever since BAMS got her in. I had almost enough rewards points but then spent them on the Birthday Bear instead. So when Valerie did her huge post-Black Friday sale and I saw Magda, I had to grab her. I didn't have her shipped til I got home from vacation and she arrived today. I just got home from having a tooth pulled, so Magda will be a nice recovery companion. She's got a very sweet, concerned look on her face. She's a light biscuity color with a very soft, textured fur on her limbs and ears. Her toes, torso and head are all a longer pile, soft fur. She's got quite a bit of weight to her, considering her smaller 15" size. I think she's great. 

TRIFLE

Arrival Date: 11/28/22

Size: 17"

Year: 2022 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 1200

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Plumo

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $168

Thoughts: Trifle is a regular Secret Collection bear, but she was shown on the most recent Cuddle Time, which I missed because I was at work. I preordered one from my stockist and I was pretty low down the choosing list. I initially wasn't that into any of the ones she got in, but then I went through the pictures slowly and decided each one of them had a mood. Making a list of them made some of them very endearing. Sometimes I'm drawn to bears with flaws and Trifle is one of those. Her nose is longer on one side than the other. Her eye whites are totally different. One comes down and lies flat, while the other is crinkled and off to the side more. I knew I wanted this particular one, but then my stockist mentioned a bald spot. She ended up sending me a pic and I opted to stick with this Trifle, because she was already flawed and I knew she needed someone like me to adopt her, not someone super picky. I know collectors that strive for perfection, while I prefer expressiveness. When she arrived, I took a tweezers and gently pulled some of her mohair through the backing beside each eye. So her bald spots got covered up pretty nicely. A lot of the time, the fur is just stuck underneath a bit. Trifle is a lot like Kirsteen. I completely fell for her when I hugged her the first time. Kirsteen was one I knew I'd love but I didn't expect to love her as much as I do. Trifle is one I initially thought I might skip and ended up being one of my top bears for the year. Her face is so endearing, her colors and lovely, her pinky-purple toes are perfection, and she's SUPER cuddly. I'm totally in love. If you like the colors and can afford her price, which I do think is a bit high, you should try her out. 

CARENZA

Arrival Date: 11/28/22

Size: 14.5"

Year: 2022 Secret Collection

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $115

Thoughts: Now this was another surprise buy! I've seen a lot of Carenzas from owner pics on FB, but never fell for any of them. I have bought several pink or pink-accented bears this year. Lammington and Bumbleberry. Harley. Shortcake. Jam Scone. Kirsteen. Battenberg. Eton. It doesn't seem like many, but that's a lot of pink for me in one year. So Carenza was nowhere near my radar until I saw the ones from BAMS. I fell for not one but THREE of them. One got adopted and then it was down to the choice of two. I ended up with this lady, who was not one of my initial two faves, but my liking for her grew to eclipse the other. I love her pink eyeliner wings. Heh. I saw a review of this bear that said she wasn't soft, but I disagree. She's a similar texture to Nicky. Not everything can be tyber, but that doesn't mean it isn't soft. I'm glad I adopted her. She fits in perfectly with my other pink bears. 

CHERISH

Arrival Date: 11/28/22

Size: 14"

Year: 2022 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 300 (Mine is #266.)

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Mohair

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $315

Thoughts: I am definitely prone to falling in love with a face. However, falling in love with a mohair face is something new. I very rarely buy mohair and when I do, it's always planned. Every mohair I have was a pre-order, except for Plum Crumble, who I had some time to think about before deciding to go for her on that particular Cuddle Time show. I saw Cherish in a shop post on FB and wondered who he was. Then there he was in Valerie's Secret Collection album and I fell for this particular one. Things worked out and I ended up with him. He's a heavy guy. Mohairs are sometimes surprisingly heavy. His fur is purple and brown and it's kind of stringy, unlike any other mohair I own. He's not soft, but he is a cool texture and he makes a nice addition to my mostly mohair shelf. 

BIRTHDAY BEAR 2022

Arrival Date: 11/25/22

Size: 13.5"

Year: 2022 

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: Free with rewards (Retail $112)

Thoughts: I decided on a whim to get this year's Birthday Bear box. That's the one they do every year where you have no idea what's in it. I've only ever done it once before in 2016 and I've since sold the bear. I also bought 2018's but I knew what she looked like, and again, I've since sold the bear. I used my rewards points to grab this one and figured if I didn't like the bear, at least I hadn't spent money on him. But it's a baby Black Forest Gateux! A lot of people complained about this and I seriously do not understand why. Many past Birthday Bears have been "anniversary" ones, the smaller versions of older bears. Black Forest was very popular and it's tyber fur! I love the smaller tybers. My only wish is that they'd done baby Rum Baba instead of Black Forest, but that's a minor nitpick. This is a fabulous cuddly bear with the same long pile, deep red and black tyber fur that both Rum and Black Forest have. It's the best tyber they've used so far and having it on another bear is perfectly fine by me.

JOURNEY

Arrival Date: 11/2/22

Size: 16.5"

Year: 2022 

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $137.95

Thoughts: Eee! I'm so happy I got my first choice of Journey because I love this particular face. He's gorgeous. He's very skinny with long arms and legs and a big tail. The red fur I believe is tyber. It's very soft, while the white and dark brown are less so. I love him.