OVERVIEW: Charlie Bears

Allsorts, Penny Chew and Oodles

This blog isn't just about dolls, because I collect all sorts of toys, so let's look at one of my current favorite plush lines.

Charlie Bears are one of my newer collections. They were founded in the UK in 2005. I learned about them via a LJ/Flickr friend a few years ago, but could not bring myself to spend that much money on a plush bear. How little did I know! I got back into them in January of this year and bought Howie off ebay and Allsorts and Penny Chew from a US stockist.

Stockist is the term for a Charlie bears dealer. I'm guessing it's a UK thing and the US ones just use the same term.

Bray, Elderberry and Oodles

Charlie Bears are designer plush bears. They are done by a few different designers, most notably Korea's Isabelle Lee and New Zealand's Heather Lyell. The materials used are luxurious and don't compare at all with things you'd find on an American toy shelf. Most of the bears are jointed at the neck, shoulders and hips. They come in a wide variety of sizes.

These are the most expressive and unique bears I have ever seen. You can't really even appreciate them unless you see one in person. Their weight and the high quality of their materials are really obvious when you hold one.

Hubble

There are many different Charlie Bears lines. There is a collection for babies, and one called Bearhouse that lacks the joints of the more expensive bears, but has a lot of the same quality. (Or so I assume from the pictures. I've never held one.) The Isabelle Collection are limited edition mohairs and the Minimos are smaller mohairs at lower prices. Some bears, like Hubble to the left, are called "Plumo." They're made mostly of plush with some mohair details. Hubble's snout and the lining of his ears are mohair. The majority though are just the regular plush line.

Charlie Bears release a catalog and online images near the beginning of the year, so customers can pre-order what they like from their stockists. There is no way of knowing which bears are coming out when, which is a bit frustrating for me, because knowing my luck, all of mine will come out at once.

Shades

My own collection is fairly small. I received Dipsy, my 16th, in the mail today. As a US collector, I'm finding that things are easier than I expected, but still a bit frustrating. We have to wait longer for the new releases and certain exclusives are harder to find. If you want an older bear that's less common, you're going to have to import. So far, I've imported three: Dolce, Shades and Graeme.

I like a variety of bears. Mine range in size from little 10" Dolce to 21" Shades and Graeme. I like the multi-colored unnatural bears like Oodles, Allsorts and Penny, but also favor the realistic big guys like Shades, a spectacled bear, and Graeme, a grizzly. There are some epic realistic bears that I'd love to get one day, but I'm pretty sure I'd have to import them all. Malcolm the moon bear and Kojak the Kodiak bear are my favorites, although I also like the anniversary mini rerelease of Slothy Joe. (The mini is cuter than the big one!)

Graeme

The differences between bears are very striking. Aside from the obvious fur differences, there are several paw types. Oodles in the top picture has sculptured paws, while Graeme has a sculptured line under his toes, but they're much less detailed. Shades simply has stitched toes and Bray has no detailing on his paws.

Size-wise, there's no predicting what you're going to find when you open that packaging. Howie, Fabian and Dipsy are all 15", but Howie has a lot of girth compared to the other two. Bray is shorter than Oodles by half an inch, but he seems a much bigger bear, because he has thicker fur and is stockier. I would recommend checking out a lot of owner pics online to make sure the bear you're thinking of ordering is what you'd like. I assumed Howie was going to be a lot smaller than he actually is! (And I've failed at bonding with him because of this. Elderberry is also one I haven't bonded with for a reason I haven't figured out yet.)

Dipsy

A good stockist will also provide pictures for you so you can choose which exact bear you want. Doll collectors know how much variation there can be from doll to doll, but it's the same with these bears! Dipsy is my most recent addition and I had three to choose from. Bears with prints like he has are very, very different from bear to bear. There are some like Oodles, Graeme, Hubble and Shades where most of them look alike, but there are definitely others where the variations are apparent.

Charlie Bears frequently come with a reusable burgundy shopping bag. I have so many of these! Their paper tags are on elastic around their necks, and many of them have some sort of collar or necklace. Isabelle Lee's frequently have a bell necklace or a choker with at least one bell on it. For those like me that like to cuddle their bears, these are mostly easily removable. Although bears with ribbons can be problematic, because those ribbons do not come off without cutting. My Brooklyn had both a bow, which he still wears, and a bell necklace, which came off, but Bray had his bell sewn to the ribbon. I thought I might be able to remove both without damage, but no, the bell plopped off. it's a cute heart-shaped one though, so I saved it. But yeah, be careful if you're doing ribbon removal!

Blog

Some bears are very specific types. Blog here is permanently seated. His neck and arms are jointed, but his legs don't move. These bears are designed that way, so they can hold a smart phone, tablet, or even an old school paper book. (Although I'm not sure how well the latter would work.) The bears in this line were designed by Heather Lyell and have cute techie names like Byte (blue), Pixel (black with white) and Giga (red). They also have extra weight in their bottoms, so they would make cute bookends, too. I'd suggest doorstops, but don't put your expensive bear on the floor.

Speaking of expense, these are not cheap. Blog here is 10" tall seated and retails about $70. My most expensive was Graeme, who was about $200 after I paid for shipping overseas. Heather Lyell's bears run cheaper than Isabelle Lee's for the most part, then you've got to consider size and materials. The mohair ones are hundreds of dollars. That's why I don't have one. Maybe someday, but not yet. However, a lot of stockists have excellent deals. I'm going to give a couple recommendations at the bottom of this post for the best deals.

Bryony

I should also add that Charlie Bears are not just bears. Bryony is a bunny, and they have made big cats, dogs, red pandas, donkeys, giraffes, and even smaller monkeys and ferrets.

I currently have 3 bears (Pepper Pot, Scrump and Pumpkin Pie) pre-ordered for this year, plus 2 monkeys and 2 ferrets. I took a small break from bears after Graeme's arrival, because he's just that awesome, but now I've got the bug again and I hope some of my pre-orders start coming in soon.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Now is definitely the time to start getting into Charlie Bears. I learned recently that they're opening their first US office in Florida! Everything is still in the early stages, but they're coming! And that may mean lower prices for US buyers. Always a yay.



PHOTO CREDITS: All my images.

RECOMMENDED SITES:

http://www.bearsagainstms.com/BAMShome.html
BAMS is my stockist, being right here in Florida with me. Valerie is super nice and has a different bear on sale almost every day! She has the best prices for sale bears, too, and she will send you a link to a dropbox album where you can view individual photos of every available bear and choose who you want to adopt. (This has gotten me in trouble.)

http://www.beaconsglow.com/default.asp
Beacon's Glow is Texas-based and they offer free shipping for purchases over $75. They carry both bears and dolls from various companies, including Steiff, Kaycee Bears and A Girl for All Time. They have a Deal of the Day every day, which is actually multiple sale items. They're very helpful, too, because I inquired about a certain Kaycee Bears bunny that's out of stock and they were actually able to reserve another one so I could pre-order her.