Jim Shore Patriotic Figurines

A new sub-category has been added to the site within the Jim Shore Figurines category on Beacons Glow Collectibles. We have received in several new Americana patriotic Jim Shore figurines and expect to be receiving in several more.

With a foundation rooted in themes of Americana, Jim Shore's patriotic creations are among some of the most popular pieces in his collection. These are great pieces, perfect for any folk art or Americana patriotic collector. As is always the case, each piece has a colorful quilt pattern and is hand-painted. Additionally each piece is made of stone resin to resemble hand-carved wood.

Jim Shore figurines contained within this new 'Patriotic' category include:

• George Washington


• Memorial Flag


• Patriotic Eagle


• Uncle Sam Riding a Horse

Quote of the Day - "Never regret anything you have done with a sincere affection, nothing is lost that is born of the heart." - Basil Rathbone

Boyds Bears 2009 Treasure Boxes In Stock

Beacons Glow Collectibles has just received in their first shipment of Boyds Bears 2009 Treasure boxes. (Some of us remember them as 'Uncle Bean's Treasure Boxes' but have noticed that Boyds now refers to them as 'Boyds Treasure Boxes'). Nonetheless, each treasure box is adorable in its own way and each has the famous McNibble critter inside, as well as the escape hole somewhere on each resin piece.

Anyway, the 3 new Boyds Treasure boxes are as follows:
1. Henrietta's Roost with Nester McNibble (4013375)
2. Grandpa's Prairie House with Hearth McNibble (4013296)
3. Leila's Orchid with Bloom McNibble (4013373)

As is usually the case, we are lucky enough to get in our shipments from Boyds early, which means that the initial pieces are from Boyd's 1E edition.

For those of you that do not know what a 1E edition is, Boyds produces Treasure Boxes in 3,600 piece editions for 1E pieces. Edition and the sequence in which the piece is produced within the edition are hand-written on the bottom of each piece (e.g., 1E,/283 signifies 1st production run of the edition, piece #283 out of 3,600 pieces).

When production reaches 3,600 pieces, 2nd editions are then created and the process repeats itself (e.g., 2E/325 signifies 2nd production run of the edition, piece #325 out of 3,600 pieces.)

A portion of the 3,600 1E edition pieces are pre-packed at the Boyds Bears factory and offered to Boyds PAW dealers in pack form. Beacon's Glow Collectibles is currently a Bronze Paw Dealer and that would explain why we usually get 1E pieces.

It is a well-known fact that collectors value those 1E edition pieces as the perceived value is higher than that of other editions.

Quote of the Day - "There is no remedy for love but to love more." - Henry David Thoreau

Boyds Bears Thinkin of Ya Series

Beacons Glow Collectibles is expanding their very popular line of Boyds Bears to include Boyds 'Thinkin of Ya' series. A new category on the site has been recently created.

All bears from this collection are usually 8 inches tall and each has a special message to portray. Be it a happy birthday greeting, special bear for a Bingo lover, a bear offering hope to one in need, to name just a few.

Each bear is reasonably priced at $9.95 and as is always the case with any plush that is ordered from Beacon's Glow Collectibles, every bear or plush will be wrapped in coordinated tissue paper with ribbon.

Just a little something to let that special person know that you are thinkin of ya!

Quote of the Day - "Life is the flower for which love is the honey." - Victor Hugo

2009 Bearington Bears

As is usually the case, Bearington Bears gets out their new product for the new year by mid-January. We appreciate this greatly at Beacons Glow Collectibles as we are anxious to showcase this vendor's new line of bears and plush. In the case of several other of our vendors, we have to patiently wait until at least mid-February before their new lines can be ordered and received in stock.

Bearington Bears has a very nice line-up of bears and rabbits for 2009. They have included many new bunny rabbits that are just adorable. They even have a white poodle dressed in pink named 'Fifi' and an adorable little green turtle named 'Pokey'.

We should also note that for the first time in their history, Bearington Bears has introduced miniature plush bears and bunnies that are made of mohair. These are all a limited offering for Bearington and they are very nice.

Additionally, we have fallen in love with both the 14-inch size and 4-1/2 inch size plush light brown rabbits that are wearing an Easter egg shell costume. The 14-inch bunny is aptly named 'Eggs and Benedict' and the little guy is named 'Eggbert'. A must have for any Easter plush collection.

We here at Beacons Glow Collectibles could go on and on about how adorable Bearington Bear's new 2009 lineup is, but please take a look yourself if you get the opportunity.

Quote of the Day - "Fear less, hope more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Hate less, love more; And all good things are yours." - Swedish Proverb

Jim Shore Figurines Lighthouses - New for 2009

Beacons Glow Collectibles has received in the first 2009 shipment of Jim Shore Figurines lighthouses, as well as several Easter items.

As many of you might have already known, the owner of Beacons Glow Collectibles has a passion for lighthouses. In fact, Beacons Glow Collectibles got its name from her fascination with lighthouses. The calming and serene feeling that one's gets at nighttime when watching a lighthouse beacon is indescribable. The beacon glow is indeed mesmerizing and yet rather mystical at the same time.

Jim Shore has introduced 4 lighthouses this year and they are all wonderful pieces. They include: the Bristol Lighthouse (located on the coast of Maine), Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (located on the coast of North Carolina), Haceta Head Lighthouse (located on the coast of Oregon), and the Nubble Lighthouse (also located on the coast of Maine). The Internet has some great articles on the history and specifications on each of these magnificent lighthouses. All of these lighthouse figurines have a working beacon that runs on 2 AA batteries, and can be found within the 'Jim Shore Seaside and Tropical' Jim Shore category within the site. As with all of Jim Shore's figurines we expect these lighthouses to be quite popular and look forward to Jim Shore expanding his selection of US lighthouses.

Quote of the Day - "Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open. " - John Barrymore

Boyds Bears and Enesco Unite

Beacons Glow Collectibles received in the most recent issue of Teddy Bear Review magazine and found a great article highlighting the new business relationship between Boyds Bears and Enesco.

This should prove to be a win-win situation for both companies. Senior VP of Marketing and Product Design, David Miller summed up this new relationship as follows: "He said that mid size companies like Boyds are increasingly challenged to be competitive in the current economy, and working with Enesco gives them the advantages of a larger company, including worldwide distribution and support. He feels the partnership will ensure the success of Boyds Bears for years to come and Enesco's resources, like its customer service team and sales staff, will be a great help to their retailers."

Incidentally, Boyds will be celebrating their 30th anniversary this year (1979 - 2009) so stay tuned for some of these specially created pieces to commemorate this wonderful occasion.

Beacons Glow Collectibles will also become an authorized retailer of the "Friends of Boyds" FOB Club this year. The club theme for 2009 is quilting and friendship, which should be popular with collectors.

And finally some additional interesting news is that Boyds Bears will now be called Boyds by Enesco. By Spring of 2009, all packaging and hang tags will reflect these changes. And, the Boyds Bear Country store in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, will now carry Boyds products as well as other Enesco brand name products.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns regarding this change.

Quote of the Day - "Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors.Try to be better than yourself. " - William Faulkner

Steiff Bears 2008 Christmas - Better Late Than Never. . .

Today we here at Beacons Glow Collectibles received in a substantial shipment of Steiff Bears 2008 Christmas items from their Christmas Special '08 catalog.

It is a shame that they were so late in coming for this holiday season, but as is always the case with Steiff Bears, there are some very exceptional and exquisite pieces that are worth mentioning.

The Mohair Teddy Bear Nutcracker by Steiff Bears (EAN 037269) is a working metal nutcracker and is the first of its kind for Steiff Bears. This Steiff teddy bear Nutcracker was created by both Steiff and the famous wood artists of the classic nutcrackers from the Erz Mountains in Germany. His classic red and blue jacket is fastened with a genuine leather belt with gold buckle and his jacket can be opened with a Velcro closure to crack a nut. His screw action nutcracker, specially made for Steiff, was made in the Erz Mountains as part of the traditional handicrafts made of local beech wood. When the nut is placed in the nutcracker, turning this bear's head to the right cracks the nut. This Nutcracker is a wonderful holiday addition.

Then there is the Teddy Bear Smoker Shepherd with Lamb by Steiff Bears (EAN 037153). He is the first Steiff teddy bear that can actually smoke. This adorable Teddy Bear incense Smoker is made of the finest wavy, sand-colored mohair and is wearing a distinguished cape made of mottled wool felt. There is a beech wood insert inside his body that was especially developed and produced for Steiff by the experts on incense smokers from the Erz Mountains in Germany. In order for this shepherd teddy bear to smoke his pipe, simply remove his head, place the incense cone inside the metal holder in the insert, light it and then reinsert the insert into the body. Inside this shepherd bear's head is also a wooden cylinder with an air hole for the pipe that enables him to smoke his pleasant-smelling pipe and spread the wonderful Christmas fragrance in his owner's home.

We have to mention the Heavenly Choir by Steiff Bears (EAN 037115) . This is an incredible white plush cloud that plays the melody 'Hallelujah' and comes with 5 miniature mohair teddy bears. There is a robust and stable, handcrafted wooden display behind the 'floating' cloud that grounds all of the angels and it even allows one of the angels to fly. . .comes from a limited edition of only 750 pieces.

And last but not least, we have received the vibrantly orange colored mohair elephant, the Circus Elephant Replica 1931 by Steiff Bears (EAN 402081). The original of this new edition was born in 1931 when he elated his owner, Klara Steiff, Margarete Steiff's third cousin, as a prototype elephant with an unbelievable range of motion and fabulous tricks. Thanks to a special neck mechanism that was developed in 1931 by Hugo Steiff, the elephant's head can be moved in a circle by turning his tail. When the elephant is especially hungry, he snaps his mouth open and closed and so that he can emphasize his point, he can stand on his strong hind legs with help of an integrated snap-lock mechanism in his body. Quite the animated elephant!

Beacon's Glow Collectibles also received in several other new Steiff pieces. These pieces mentioned above are just the highlights.

Please take a look at these new Steiff Bear pieces when you get the opportunity. We are sure that you will not be disappointed.

Quote of the Day -
"There’s a miracle of friendship that dwells within the heart
And you don’t know how it happens
or where it gets its start
But the happiness it brings you
always gives a special lift
Any you realize that friendship
Is God’s most perfect gift." - Anonymous