COLLECTION IN DEPTH: Charlie Bears

Howie

It is a dreary, rainy day, so I thought I'd pass some of the time by doing my first Collection In Depth post. These are different from my overviews, because you'll see pics of my entire collection and my opinions on each piece. In other words, this will probably be pretty long, but most of it will be pictures!

As I said in my overview, I knew about these for a few years, but it was only this January that I finally allowed myself to spend that kind of money on teddy bears! Ha.

Howie was my first. I purchased him off ebay. However, I would quickly learn that it's really hard to tell just how big a Charlie Bear is based on photos. You've got a height listed, but that doesn't tell you anything about the girth. Howie was HUGE. I've got him here next to Kjersti to show just how big he was! Something about him made me think he was a lot smaller and while I don't normally let "too big" bother me with a plush, his sweet little face and his girth just never matched up for me. I think I would have liked him better if he was three inches shorter and scaled down. As it was, I never really bonded with him and ended up rehoming him.

Allsorts and Penny Chew

My next purchases arrived in a pair: Allsorts and Penny Chew. I bought them from a stockist online. Some Charlie Bears with patterned fur like this vary a lot from bear to bear, so I was glad I got to choose my own. Allsorts is 13", so he was 2" shorter than Howie, but he's just so much smaller! And Penny is only 11.5". These two aren't collection favorites, because they actually turned out a little too small for me to snuggle comfortably. Sometimes I like a smaller armful, but most of the time, I prefer something a bit bigger. I do love their color combos though, so they're not going anywhere.

Oodles and Brooklyn

I switched to a different stockist for Oodles and she would become my regular stockist, because she's just on the other side of Florida from me and my packages get here really quickly. She also has excellent deals frequently!

Oodles is my first Charlie Bear love. He's the perfect size, tall but not too fat. I love his unusual color combination and his expression. If I could only keep one bear from my collection, I would fight and say "Let me keep two." Oodles is one of the two.

Brooklyn came from the same stockist as Allsorts and Penny, because my new stockist was sold out. I originally wanted both him and Griffin, but once I got Brooklyn, I realized I didn't want to spend that much on two bears who looked so much alike. Brooklyn is very handsome and he's good for hugging. I went through a period where I napped with him every day for awhile, but mostly, he guards the shelves.

Bray, Dolce and Oodles

Bray was my next arrival, although not my next purchase. Dolce was bought from a seller through Facebook. My regular stockist hooked me up with a lady who was selling hers.

Bray is one of my faves. His fur colors are just gorgeous and he always looks a bit disgruntled. He's perfect for cuddling. Now that it's getting a bit cooler, the bigger, furrier bears are going to be chosen over the smaller ones. All that fur can be too hot to hug during warmer weather, which it is most of the year down here!

Dolce was my original favorite from when I first discovered Charlie Bears. He's very, very sweet and a tiny little thing! He's too small to be super cuddly though, and mine's a little wobbly, so I don't handle him much. He guards my shelf full of smaller bears and handmade dolls.

Hubble

My next purchases were three from my regular stockist. Hubble was high on my want list, so I paid full price for him, buying her last one. Hubble was a little more expensive, because he's "plumo," which means he's made from both plush and mohair. Hubble's plush fur is luxurious and awesome, but his mohair bits (muzzle and ear lining) are a little bit scratchy, so he's not the ideal sleep companion. He's still awesome though. He does a good judgy face, because you can move the fur around his eyes to give him different expressions.

Fabian

My stockist regularly has dozens of bears on sale and I became attached to Fabian. I ended up adding him onto my order for Hubble. Fabian is lovely colors and he's a good size for cuddles, though I admit I overlook him a lot, mostly because he sits back farther on a shelf and other bears are in front of him.

Cayden

Cayden was my third from that order, also a sale purchase. He, Dolce and Fabian all sat together for a long time, because their fur colors go so nicely together. Cayden is a bit smaller, so he's in the mid-range for cuddles.

Shades

I thought Bray was big, but then I got Shades! He was my first really big bear. I bought him on ebay from a UK seller, because I couldn't find him from a US one. Shades is very popular and I was thrilled to win him. I can't afford to collect a lot of the older, more realistic bears, but spectacled bear Shades was not to be missed.

Elderberry

Elderberry was a whim purchase from my stockist's sales list. I love his colors, but I never bonded with him because he's simply too hairy! I don't like cuddling with overly hairy toys, because the hair inevitably pokes my ears, which I hate. I don't like some stuff touching my ears. I'm weird. So Elderberry became my first rehomed bear. I listed both him and Howie on ebay and he sold first.

Bryony

In March, the new arrivals for 2016 started appearing. My mom purchased Bryony for me from a third stockist. Bryony was my first non-bear Charlie Bear! She's got fabulous willowy fur and an amazing face. She's not often napped with though, because she's very skinny and doesn't make a good armful for snuggles.

Graeme

Graeme is my second big guy. He was the other bear, aside from Dolce, that I really loved the first time I looked at these. Unfortunately, being very popular like most of the realistic bears, he's hard to find. I happened to see him on Amazon UK and got help from my friend Picklepud, so getting Graeme was surprisingly easy for me! He's big like Shades, but incredibly beautiful. I love all his fur colors and the shape of his face.

Graeme was my last bear for a little bit. All of the ones you see above were purchased between January 15th and late February. I had several pre-orders for 2016 items with my stockist, so I took a break from collecting for a bit.

Blog

Blog started off my collection again in May. I think I had a gift certificate with my stockist, so I picked out blog. Can't remember for sure though! Blog is different because he's a permanently seated bear. He's designed to hold tablets or phones, which is why all the bears in this style have technology-themed names. I still want Byte. Maybe someday!

Dipsy

Dipsy followed a little over a week after Blog. I'd chosen between them and Blog won, but then I ended up really wanting Dipsy! He was a QVC special for the UK and my stockist got a few of them in. I don't normally go for the animal print bears, but there is just something about this guy. Dipsy has continually held my attention ever since I got him. He's kind of got that judgy, unsatisfied face. He's found his way along on my brief hotel stay earlier this year and my recent vacation. So it's safe to say he's a fave.

Eden and Brussell

Eden caught my eye from early on in my collecting and she finally made it into my collection in late May. I purchased her on ebay and then splurged and got Brussell, too. I had never seen him before he popped up on ebay, because sadly, there is no comprehensive Charlie Bears website. I see all these random new ones turn up on ebay all the time! Eden hangs out with Oodles and Bray. She's similar to Bray size-wise. Even though she's new, she has a slightly wobbly head, so I don't snuggle with her too often. Brussell is tall but slim, yet he's still a great size for cuddles. He's easily the most expressive bear I own. His face and colors are really eye-catching.

Chequers

Chequers was a bit of an impulse buy. I pre-ordered two monkeys from the 2016 collection and my stockist let me know one of them was in. Well, the actual monkeys were nowhere near as cute as the promo pics, so I ended up cancelling that and purchasing Chequers instead. I don't like cancelling pre-orders, so I typically replace that order with something else. Chequers had grown on me a lot when I kept seeing him on ebay from UK sellers and red, black and white is one of my favorite color combinations, so he fits right in with Allsorts, Penny Chew, Bryony and Blog on the mostly black and white (with some red) shelf.

Luna

Luna was an ebay steal at $30. She's a little too hairy to regularly nap with, but her design is pretty awesome. I think I would like her more if she was a little smaller, because she's quite large, but I still enjoy her in my collection. She's my only blue one!

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie is the 2016 bear that really stole my heart. THAT FACE. I was very happy my stockist got her in really shortly after I started seeing her from UK ebay sellers. I knew I wasn't going to be able to wait long to have her at home! Her colors are incredible. She looks like ashes with embers still burning underneath and then that bright orange sweet face. She's the other bear along with Oodles that I could never part with.

Chocoholic

My stockist has albums full of pictures on Dropbox and sometimes I just pore over them, looking at all the bears. It's so cool that she takes photos of them all so you can just give her a name and number and you get that exact bear. Well, those albums are how I've fallen for several bears, including Chocoholic. He was one of the daily specials in July and I bought him, not realizing just how BIG he is. He's my tallest bear, but he's also very skinny and barely stuffed in his torso, which makes him disappointingly not cuddly. Yet I still love his face and colors. If I had to part with some bears, he'd unfortunately be the first on my cut list, because he's not what I was expecting and doesn't really fit my bear needs, but for now, he's sticking around.

Hide

Hide was my first successful pre-order! She's a stunningly crafted ferret and I'm still waiting on her brother, Seek, to arrive with my stockist. I love the non-bear animals, although I only have Bryony and Hide so far. There's an amazing lynx that I wish I could afford!

Mix

I took another little break from collecting after Hide. She arrived in late July and I didn't buy a new bear until mid-October. Little Mix is part of the surprise Sweetie Shop collection. He is TINY. He's only about 8.5" tall. Like all the bears in the Sweetie Shop set, he's a limited edition and I was lucky enough to snag one from my stockist. I think he's absolutely darling and my mom really loves him. He's her fave.

When I bought him, I also put my name down to pre-order this year's birthday box. There's a mystery bear inside that no one can reveal until a specified time on Charlie Bears' birthday. I figured if I didn't like the bear, I could sell it and it was only $72, so I went for it.

Malcolm

On November 19th, we celebrated Charlie Bears' birthday by having contests all day on my stockist's Facebook page. I had to go to work, so I missed out on the birthday box bear reveal, but my mom sent me pictures. Malcolm! Malcolm is one of the older, popular, realistic bears that's more expensive to buy on the secondary market. I would never have bought his original, but this smaller version is perfect. He sits between Shades and Graeme on my shelves.

I was also lucky enough to not only win one of that day's multiple contests for a gift certificate prize, but I found out the next day that I'd won the grand prize: a FREE BEAR! I got to pick from a list of bears and it just so happened that one of my wishlist bears was on there. So Demi came home with Malcolm.

Demi

Demi is a beautiful dark purple that goes really nicely with Bray, whom he sits by. This picture brightened him up a lot, but trust me, he's much darker. He's a little guy, but still very cuddly.

So those are my Charlie Bears. I have Seek the ferret and Pepper Pot, another bear, on pre-order yet, but I don't know when they're coming in. I also have my eye on the lovely Kekezza. (Look her up. She's gorgeous.) I definitely would like some more bears soon, but I probably won't adopt any more until the new year, unless my pre-orders come in.

I love these bears a lot though! I'm glad I finally got into collecting them, because they're worth the extra cost.