Additional Information About the 2019 Charlie Bears Fable Collection

Several of you have asked which pairs go together with the 2019 Charlie Bears Fables Collection. 

All of these amazing characters were inspired by the creator of Charlie Bears, Charlotte Morris.  These are some of her favorite fables and folklores.

Lil' Red & Sly (page 7 in the 2019 Charlie Bears catalog)

Aesop's Fables, The Hen and the Fox

Slow Coach & Speedy  (page 8+9 in the 2019 Charlie Bears catalog)

Aesop's Fables, The Tortoise and The Hare

A tale between two unequal partners, the Fox ridicules the slow-moving Tortoise. The Fox boldly takes a nap mid race, and the Tortoise keeps a steady slow-coach speed to win the race! Which I now see, is why our Slow Coach is looking very happy with himself !

Sarge & Winco Hopper (page 10+11 in the 2019 Charlie Bears catalog)

Aesop's Fables, The Ant and the Grasshopper

This hard working Ant doesn't waste all his days dancing and singing his days away and refusing to help his tired friend Ant gather food. When Winter comes, this hungry Grasshopper, begs for food for the efficient Ant, who refuses to share on the grounds of "when I was tired and asked for you help - you said "no" !".

Dunk (page 12 in the 2019 Charlie Bears catalog)

St Nicholas Tale (and 1875 folk tale), The Gingerbread Man

 "Run, run as fast as you can - you can't catch me - I'm the Gingerbread Man!"..we all know how this story ends.

Kisses (page 13 in the 2019 Charlie Bears catalog)

The Grimm Brothers, The Frog Prince

A spoiled Princess reluctantly befriends an ugly frog who helped her find her precious golden ball from a pond. As the Frog is really a Prince, when the Frog persuade the Princess to kiss him - the curse from his past disappears - a love story!

Quote of the Day - "Success is not final, failure is not fatal:  it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

Charlie Bears Halloween Enchantment Collection on Its Way!

We are pleased to announce that we have gotten word that the five very special Charlie Bears teddies and characters are on their way to us from the Florida Bearhouse.

This is one of four special mini series from the 2017 Charlie Bears Collection.  Charlie and Alison Mills created and exclusively designed each of these characters.

In this collection there is a first for Charlie Bears - a pumpkin with jointed arms and legs and he is named Trick.

There is also a half pumpkin called Treat.  He can be used as a Halloween treat bowl or one of the other characters can sit atop him for a really cute look.

Wanda is an adorable Halloween owl and Brat is a teddy bear dressed in a rat Halloween costume.  He is made from a gorgeous deep purple plush.

And no special Halloween collection can be complete without a black cat.  Stella is up to the job and she is made from a long pile black plush.

If you have not already contacted us to be put on our pre-order list, please do as we expect these will sell out very quickly.

Happy Halloween!

Quote of the Day - FEAR has two meanings - Forget Everything and Run OR Face Everything and Rise.  The choice is yours. - Anonymous

Summer Festival Steiff Bears Are On Their Way!

It is that time of the year again for the Steiff Summer Festival which is held in Giengen, Germany on an annual basis.

Limited to only 500 pieces, this very special set was created exclusively for the 2017 Festival.

These two very colorful teddy bears pay homage to the very first vibrant Steiff bears ever made.  The original set was produced for Harrods in 1908 and are primary red and yellow bears.  Made from mohair, each has a sculpted muzzle and a replica of the original Steiff elephant 'Button in Ear' tag.

One bear measure 7 inches and the other 8 inches tall.

Truly a very special Steiff set for that discerning bear collector!

Quote of the Day - "The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal.  The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach." - Benjamin Mays

The Great Mystery. . . Kaycee Bears to Introduce a Special Edition for Beacon's Glow Collectibles

We are very excited to announce that Kaycee Bears is working on the prototype for the Special Edition teddy for Beacon's Glow Collectibles.  We hope to see the actual prototype in the next couple of weeks and from that point, the bears will be handmade in the UK as always.

Kelsey from Kaycee Bears is an amazing and very special individual by the way.  It is wonderful that the popularity of her bears and animals is steadily increasing day by day.  We are so pleased to hear this and to also get the special opportunity to be one of her very few US stockists (aka retailers).

After being in business for almost 12 years and never being offered a special limited edition item, we are all very excited about this special opportunity.

Please stay tuned as we will most probably be providing a sneak peek of  this very special teddy.

Quote of the Day - "Happiness if not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling." - Margaret Lee Runbeck

How Do I Find Out What My Collectible Teddy Bear or Doll is Worth?

This question is asked of us on at least a weekly basis.  So, where would one begin to find the value of a collectible doll or teddy bear?

There are lots of books written out there that will tell you the approximate value of an item, but keep in mind that these are not updated on a regular basis.  And also please keep in mind that these are estimates and the collectible market is constantly changing in regards to what is popular at the time.  One truly cannot value their collection at X amount of dollars as that is an estimate and sometimes the value will change dramatically when you actually go to sell your collection.

Some books that we recommend checking are:

Boyd's Bears - 

Boyd's Tracker, 2nd edition, 2004
The Boyds Collection Collector's Value Guide 2001

(Unfortunately, no recent Boyd's value books have been published.)

Madame Alexander Dolls - 

There are several Madame Alexander Doll price guides available for purchase.  The latest guide we found was published in 2009.

Steiff Bears - 

Many Steiff price guides can also be found but the latest guide we found in publication was from 2003.

Department 56 Villages and Snowbabies by Department 56 - 

Several guides were available for both Department 56 Villages as well as Snowbabies by Dept 56. We were very pleased to find that a recent guide from 2010 was available.

Charlie Bears - 

Since Charlie Bears is a relatively new company (founded in 2005) there is no value guide available at this time but the founders of Charlie Bears, Charlotte and William Morris, have written a book.  Titled "Love, Dreams and Bears", this book chronicles the first 5 years of the company and contains all teddy bears created in the first five years.

In addition, once in a while, you can find some beneficial information written by sellers on eBay who are avid collectors themselves.


Another excellent way to determine what your collectible is worth is to write in to either "Teddy Bear and Friends" magazine or "DOLLS" magazine.

In the past, Ken Yenke, teddy bear historian, museum curater, and appraiser asked collectors to send him photos and descriptions to him in care of Teddy Bear and Friends magazine.  Unfortunately, we were saddened to find that Ken recently passed away so we would assume that teddy bear appraisals will be unavailable for quite some time.  That is, until a replacement is found to try and fill his shoes.

For DOLLS magazine, collectors can send in their questions regarding doll identification and a current appraisal to:  Curious Collector, c/o DOLLS, PO Box 5000, Iola, WI 54945.  Photos should be included for each vintage and modern doll query.

Hope that you find this information helpful, and good luck with finding the information you desire!

Quote of the Day - "Imagination is more important than knowledge". - Albert Einstein

Brutus Charlie Bear On His Way from the UK

Just got word from our wonderful Charlie Bears rep that Brutus is on his long journey from the UK to Texas.  We expect that he will be arriving mid-week.

Several customers have expressed interest in this massive teddy bear and we can certainly see why. He is 23 inches tall and has a very serious look on his teddy bear face.  His plush fur is a beautiful brown color and the fur around his nose and eyes is just a bit shorter with a touch of darker airbrushing to add to his realistic look.

We are sure that this Charlie Bear will sell out quickly, so please either email us or give us a call if you would like for us to put one to the side for you when he arrives.  As is the case with most of these collectible teddybears, once they are sold out, they can no longer be ordered.

Quote of the Day - "Storms make oaks take roots" - Proverb