It’s here!  Charlie Bears 2011 Collection Part 1 is now live for you to browse and pre-order the bears of your choice - or make a list to ‘accidentally’ leave lying around for someone to see!  There are some fantastic additions with limited editions, lovely pandas and some rather special bunny rabbits!

We are treated to three limited edition Charlie Bears in this collection - Charlie 2011 is a ‘plumo’ bear made from a clever combination of plush and mohair fur.  She will only be available during 2011 (and likely to sell out before the end of the year) and she is named after Charlotte Morris, founder of Charlie Bears.  William IV (the 4th) is of course named after Charlie’s husband William and is also a plumo bear, limited to just 4000.  Puddifoot is also a limited edition of 3000; he is made from exquisite Belgian Tyber plush fur which is unbelievably soft.

For the panda fans we have the gorgeous Yvette who is bound to be extremely popular, along with George who is the biggest of the pandas, Phoenix with his beautiful colours, wild Xena, dainty Tracy, the impressive Quentin, pretty Naomi and the lovely chocolatey Caleb.

Charlie Bears have used some new kinds of plush fur in this collection.  The first is warm and long and cuddly and a little bit wild!  You can see the new fur on Grant, Merlin and some of the pandas.  While Parkin and Torquil have a lovely curl to their fur.

There are some BIG Charlie Bears to choose from - Trevor is a grizzly bear with a wise face, Tony has gorgeous bright yellow paw pads, Michael is a ‘tickly toes’ bear, Hamish has thick, warm fur, as does Ballantyne and Lita is the largest lady bear.

The littler bears are not likely to take a back seat - Tess, Olly, and Molly; and you must have a look at Kitty and Shreddie’s beautiful, unusual fur.  Dolce and Philip maybe related with their lovely patchwork fur.  The smaller stars have to be Riley and Parker with their magnetic paws - they can be posed in all different postions including covering their eyes!

Charlie Bears fans are likely to see a family resemblance in Cody who has a similar look to the very popular Chocolate Fondue Isabelle Collection mohair Charlie Bear.

Finally the piece de resistance!  We have three gorgeous bunny rabbits joining the Charlie Bears family!  Thumper, Caitlin and Cotton Sox are fully jointed, plush bunnies with great long ears that are poseable!.

We’ll certainly have trouble choosing our bears from this Charlie Bears 2011 Collection, so we wish you the very best of luck too!  XX

We are very excited to introduce the fantastic Kaycee Bears.  Designed and made by Kelsey Cunningham - a well-known name in the UK teddy bear world - this is Kelsey’s very first collection of plush bears and we are delighted to be one of the very first stockists.

Kaycee teddy bears are made from plush fur with luxurious cashmere pads on their feet.  All of the materials are sourced in the UK and the bears are made by hand by a very small team, including Kelsey’s Mum and Dad!  They are traditionally jointed and each bear features a pretty, trade-mark crystal at the back of their ear.  Kelsey personally finishes all of the bears, including airbrushing and shading. (more…)

Bearington Bears must surely be the best-dressed of our recent new additions.  Our range includes teddy bears dressed for the beach and for bed, as well as lots of teddy bears and bunny rabbits wearing beautiful dresses and outfits perfect for a spring day.  We even have a choice of bunny rabbits who are chocolate or strawberry scented!  Perfect gifts for Easter as an alternative to short-lived chocolate eggs. (more…)

We have now taken delivery of some fantastic new products from Charlie Bears.  Charlie and Will met the owners of Mel & Steff Dolls during one of their recent visits to Australia as Charlie Bears distribution grows.  They saw the great attention to detail and the high quality of the soft dolls and decided to bring a selection of the ragdolls and gollies to the UK.

Like Charlie Bears, Mel and Steff launch a couple of brand new collections each year, comprising of golly girls and boys, and dolls from around the world.  Each one has a slightly different look, including varying hair-styles and exclusive new outfits.  In many ways they are like Charlie Bears, whose personalities ’speak’ to people in different ways.  They are collectable dolls and recommended for collectors of age fourteen and over. (more…)

Moulin Roty has joined our range this year, after we were really taken by their teddy bears, animals, dolls and other lovely toys when we saw them at the Spring Fair in February

The French toy-maker began as a community of families and friends, who decided to live and work together, renovating a ruined French farm to create workshops and homes.  Their first toys, launched in 1975 were a car made from wood and sponge and a fabric ragdoll. (more…)

It is with great pleasure that we introduce our first range of teddy bears, mice, rabbits and other animals and characters from world-renowned teddy bear artist, Deb Canham.  Deb has a huge following of fans who adore her miniature bears, flamboyant dragons and well-dressed animals.

Deb became one of the UK’s first teddy bear artists when she began designing and making her own miniature bears in 1987.  Rapidly Deb became a respected expert in teddy bear artistry, holding lectures, workshops and writing a book on miniature bear making.

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Meerkats have become one of the nation’s most-loved animals.  If you didn’t adore them before (remember Timon from Disney’s Lion King?) then you probably do now, having seen them on advertisements and their own Meerkat Manor television program.

Such expressive little characters certainly lend themselves to being immortalised in plush so take a look at our meerkat gifts. (more…)

Did you know that we are the only Steiff Bears Club Store in the Purbeck and Swanage area?

Steiff Bears recognise that we, exclusively, carry a vast range of Steiff teddy bears and animals from baby safe Steiff bears suitable from birth, to highly collectable, limited edition replica bears.  Our Club Store status also means that you can join the Steiff Club at our shop. (more…)

We are very proud to be featuring Bearalicious Bears as the very first teddy bear artist  bears on our website.

Samantha Pace starting designing and hand-making teddy bears only a year ago, yet it’s clear to see that she has a true affinity with her creations, which have unique personalities and appeal.  Already a keen crafter Sam started with a bear-making kit, quickly realising she could do far better by designing a teddy bear from scratch.  And Bearalicious Bears was born!

The teddy bears are all made from high quality mohair, sourced from all over the world including Germany, Canada, Australia and America.  They are finished with suede or faux suede for paws, glass eyes made in England and partly filled with steel shot making them sit well and giving a lovely feel when handled.  Their shared characteristic is a bold, varnished nose; hand-stitched with cotton.

We are featuring six of these individual, one-of-a-kind bears and, already, two have been adopted!  Such unique character and attention to detail is very rare to find at such a reasonable price and it is likely that the remaining four bears will find new homes very soon.  We hope to have more Bearalicious Bears teddies available soon.  If you are interested in commissioning a teddy bear from Bearalicious Bears please get in contact with us here or by telephone. (more…)

Did you know that Steiff don’t just make traditional mohair teddy bears for collectors?  They really do have something for everyone from animals to cute keyrings.

One of their best ranges is for babies.  A teddy bear is a lovely present for a new baby, but you have to be so careful to choose something that is suitable, so the newborn can have their present straight away.  It’s reassuring to know that all of the teddy bears and animals in the Steiff Baby range are made in accordance with Oeko-tex standards. Products that are Oeko-Tex certified have been tested and do not contain harmful levels of more than 100 substances known or believed to be hazardous to human health, so the risk is minimised of baby being allergic to their new toy.

In addition you will find that each of the Steiff baby products is either surface or machine washable so easy for Mum and Dad to look after too!

All of the teddies and animals are very affordable, starting at just £13, and they make wonderful presents.  With friendly faces and simple, soft and cuddly designs.  Their Steiff bear will be a good friend as baby grows and begins to explore around them, and will be treasured into adulthood.  They will always feel fondly about ‘My First Steiff’!