BEARRIVAL

I meant to do a Bearrival post for June, but hey, suddenly it's July. I just opened a box from my stockist, so now is the perfect time to catch up. 

Starburst! Lots of little bears in bright colors in this year's collection, but red and yellow Starburst is my favorite of the bunch. 

I fell in love with some Michals from Australia and the UK, but opted to wait to see what American stockists got in. I ended up finally finding the one I wanted and he was worth waiting for. There are two types of face I like on this bear. One is the more standard cute face. The other is what you see here. I think of it as the Trifle face. The eyes are closer together and the face looks rather small in a larger head. I find it endearing. Michal is very soft. His arms are bent a bit by the paws so they curve for a nice hug. Not one I had planned on getting, but owner/stockist pics are the best advertisements. 

I've seen Clemens Spieltiere bears before, but never bought any. No one really spoke to me until I saw pictures of the two Baptistes one of my stockists had for sale. I fell in love with this particular one. Baptiste is a good size and his different types of plush are very soft. He has good joints and nice movement. I think bears like him would be an excellent alternative if CBs are a little too high-priced for anyone. He's wonderfully cuddly and I absolutely adore him.

I loved little Meadow Troll when they were teasing her before the Cuddle Time show. Thankfully, I was home on break when she became available and I got one. She's an adorable floof, and I love her giant ears and the flower and leaf accents. My only wish is that they'd given her a long, skinny tail with a puff on the end. 

This truly is the year of Alison Mills CBs. Her designs are the best for the more fanciful characters. 

I love Hogwash. I think most people went for his pink counterpart, but I only had eyes for him. Hogwash is part of the Monsterology series this year as a representative of when pigs fly. I love his very short pile fur and the detailing on his wings. 

Wing detail. 

He does have a little sproingy tail that's just peeking out from under the tags. 

I was one of the few who really loved last year's Birthday Bear. He reminds me of Damon, only in colors I like better. I always meant to get a box, so when my stockist had a sale and he was part of it, I grabbed one. And managed to get possibly the best one I've ever seen. I love how dark he is and his face is perfect. Super soft, too!

Orange bears, am I right? I almost always pick up any orange ones they make. I didn't have Honeycomb on preorder last year, but she was on my "will likely purchase eventually" list. Tiny, cute, fluffy, orange. An adorable little bear that can perch on the palm of my hand.  

MY BABY IS HOME. 

Saved the best for last.

So this is the Beast of Bodmin. I'm not sure if it was Charlie's or Alison's imagination who came up with this, as the actual Beast of Bodmin is supposed to be your typical black panther type of cryptid. But I'm forever grateful for whoever was the mastermind. (I'm guessing Charlie.)

They like to shorten his name to Bob, but I call mine Bod. 

Bod is 20" tall. He has flat feet so he can easily stand. 

His face is glorious. There are so many separate pieces going on here. The eyelids, the sculpted darker gray parts around his eyes, the nostrils made from a satiny material, the fangs. He has little gray pointed ears. 

I'm so utterly thrilled that he was 1st quarter so I didn't have to agonize for too many months waiting for him to come home. 

I'll be back later this month with another post. I've got one more coming from my stockist's sale, as well as two more that were in the same shipment as Bod and Hogwash but I've yet to choose faces.