My, my, my! Gary has really begun to show his age since he turned 50!
I tuned in to the first show of the Boyds QVC mini-series and poor Gary looked about a
1000 years old!!! "Arg, arg, arg"!! No, it was just The Headbean all dressed up
as Father Time, complete with long white hair and beard and as full of "beans"
as ever! What better way to kick off a celebration of Boyds for the new century, than the
set Alpha and Omega. Personally, I think Gary just that Millennium bear is so
handsome, that he picked the "Father PRIME Time" outfit so that he could look
like Alpha! He reported that at the four signings he's recently done, this set was the
most often chosen by collectors for him to sign.
In this report, I'm going to highlight mainly the items that
were QVC exclusives or launches, even though there were many others also presented in this
two-hour, live audience show. The others are available in the regular retail line from
your favorite dealer., or were repeats from previous shows.
First then, let me tell you about Ameila P. Quignapple,
a very cute 10" beige bear dressed in a navy corduroy dress with a plaid patch pocket
embroidered with a Boyds paw print. What I thought made her extra special was her hand
embroidered folkart style pillow with two bears and the words "Old Friends" and
the perky plaid bow on her head. She's a sister to Polly Quignapple from the fall line.
There was another QVC exclusive that featured a folkart
accessory, and shoppers were given a double treat if they ordered Charlotte Tweksbeary
with Hobbes, at a One Time Only Value price! Charlotte was a nice large (16")
gold Archive bear and wore an antique gold paisley tone-on-tone jumper under a black
cardigan wool sweater which featured art deco bear paw buttons. She was accompanied by
Hobbes, a folkart style black cat with button eyes and a bow around his neck done in the
old-gold paisley print to match Charlotte's jumper and head bow. A very nice set and a
quick sell-out!
Boyds and QVC often combine an exclusive item with something
from the retail line, and that was the case with Marley Dreadlion and Maybelle B.
Bahoodle, two adorable child-safe 9" BabyBoyds. The combination of a lion and a
lamb signify the holiday season when the lions laid down with the lambs at the nativity.
This Marley was "narley" with is long dark brown velvet cut mane and Maybelle
was sweet and soft in off-white velvety plush. Gary reminded viewers that the BabyBoyds
have smiles because his daughter Bailey asked him to make some animals with smiling faces.
This pair could be posed on a pretty holiday wreath.
Exclusive to QVC and a Limited Edition of 3000, Nicole
and Amy Berriman with Tassle F. Wuzzie were a lovely set in shades of green and gold.
Nicole was another large Archive bear in a gold plush and elegantly dressed in a green
velvet coat and matching hat, both with white faux fur trim. Peaking from her pocket was
none other than Tassle, the 3" Wuzzie dressed in his burgundy holiday stocking cap!
With them was Amy, a white Archive style bear adorably dressed in a gold velvet romper.
Nicole and Amy had burgundy pillows with appliquéd gold stars as accessory pieces. Gary
mentioned that this gold velvet type fabric and the green and gold combination are new for
Boyds this season. They also sold out quickly.
Talk about items that sold out quickly, there were only two
Bearstones in the show, "Light A Candle For A Brighter World" and "Nana
Bearhugs with Austin and Haley
Nap Time", and both were gone in a flash!
(THB said he warned them they should order more!) "Light a Candle
" is
another special Ltd. Edition Boyds millennium item which is only a six month production
run and it is scheduled for retirement on 12/31/99. It is available in the regular retail
line and is bottom stamped by month of production. We were also treated to the premier of
a new resin, "Nana Bearhugs
". Nana was a grandmotherly bear wearing
eyeglasses and just "bearly" nodding off while reading to her little bears
Austin and Haley. The book in her hands says, "Whos been sleeping in my
bed?" and the quote on the bottom of the piece reads (as nearly as I could listen and
take notes) "There was a place in childhood that I remember well, And there was a
voice of sweetest tone bright fairy tales did tell, And gentle words and fond embrace were
given there to me, When I was in that happy place upon my grandma's knee." These will
be numbered as Premier Editions or PE, and were exclusive to QVC. Further editions will be
coming in the regular retail line.
Kayla Mulbeary and Krista Blubeary were another
retail line/QVC combo. Kayla, a beige plush bear wearing a soft fuzzy burgundy knit
sweater and matching hat was presented with the new Krista Blubeary, a gold bear in a navy
fuzzy sweater and hat. Both gals were 6" and Krista was described as a launch.
"New today" and "sold out" were the key words to describe "Virginia
Grizberg
Gather Together", a LeBearmoge Porcelain Box. Perfect for autumn
and Thanksgiving decorating or gift giving, Virginia in and white and purple dress and
purple and blue hat was standing on top of a brown box with "Gather Together"
painted on it. Inside the figurine was a tiny porcelain "Pilgrim" bear. Gary had
a few comments about this item that totally cracked up Mary Beth, but I won't try to
repeat them
sorry, you just had to be there! This was a very nice item and also very
popular.
Next up was another QVC launch, Auriela Angelfrost, a
10" tree topper. She was a gold plush angel bear wearing a long off white velvet-like
dress. The dress covered the cone-shaped bottom, which is for posing her on top of your
Christmas tree. Her head and arms were fully jointed and she has lovely off-white angel
wings accented with golden threads. A snowflake button that looked like Marcasite trimmed
her neckline. She sold out, but her cousin Ariella, a white bear dressed in burgundy may
still be available from your favorite retailer. I understand that Ariella is sold out at
the Boyds warehouse, so don't delay!
Mary Beth's "Pick of the Show" was P.J.
Bearsdale and Tink who came with a quilt. P.J. was a 7" off-white Archive style
bear, all snuggled up from ears to toe in his knit bear suit. The suit was made from a
pretty variegated blue and burgundy yarn. Tink, tinnier than your usual T. F. Wuzzie at
only 2", was still fully articulated and cute as he could be. They shared a 32-piece
pastel quilt made up of squares of pretty floral print fabrics.
My own "Pick of the Show" was Nickleby S. Claus.
I wasn't fast enough on with redial to order before he sold out, but I did love his
antique look and since he was a QVC launch, maybe I'll have another chance. A Liz Smith
design, as are most of the latest plush, Nickleby was done in a nutmeg color and featured
a closely shaved pointy muzzle. The shaving extended up between his closely set eyes,
giving him a very 1920's appearance. Also he had extra long arms, a hard-stuffed lima bean
shaped body, and large feet. He could even be posed standing on his head, but then you
might not be able to appreciate his beautiful burgundy Santa hat with its faux fur trim
and the green velvet scarf he was wearing around his neck.
I mentioned that Tink was smaller than your average Wuzzie,
and then along came Fargo, Fuzzball and Foster Wuzzies who are larger than usual!
This set of three 5" fine fellows were Fargo, a moose from the retail line, Fuzzball
a black cat being launched, and Foster a tan bear wearing a purple ribbon and another
launch. They are also a bit different from the usual T.F. Wuzzie because they have beans
in their bodies, and the regular poly-filled arms and legs. A very cute set - Fuzzball is
a sweetie, Foster's nose has been hand-stitched in a style usually used on antique or
artist bears, and the moose "snoot" on Fargo is a hoot and a half!
And talk about a moose "snoot"! McKinley
the 10" mohair moose was nearly a show stopper! With his suede antlers and paw pads
and a very fashionable red and blue chenille scarf, he was a very high-class limited
edition QVC exclusive! He really flew out of there when Gary announced that there were
only 1800 of him and he also said that the new Milhous N. Moosington mohair in the retail
line will be retired at the end of this year! Hope you moose lovers were able to get one
or the other of these fantastic fellows.
We saw her picture several times and they mentioned that she
was selling quickly, but we didn't get a full presentation of the Limited Edition set, Jean
Marie with Nutmeg. Gary did say she is a variation of the 16" Porcelain Doll in
the retail line, and this edition of 3000 was done exclusively for QVC. Jean Marie was
wearing a blue plaid dress with an apron decorated with a blue star in the front. She had
blonde hair and blue eyes and her accessories included an oven mitt and wooden spoon in
her apron pocket and a tray of gingerbread cookies. Her little companion Nutmeg was a
mocha colored big-ear bear dressed in a navy blue apron and it looked like he just
couldn't resist taking a bite from his gingerbread boy cookie.
For some reason, they didn't take calls from viewers during
the show, or let Gary roam among the audience as he sometimes has in the past. Still I'm
sure those in the studio enjoyed his antics on-stage and during the numerous
"commercial breaks" very much. Also, "Father Prime Time" had brought
along a bag of surprises (!) for Mary Beth to help her cope with the aging process, but
the biggest surprise was when he removed his long robe to reveal himself as "Baby New
Millennium", dressed in long thermal underwear, balloon printed boxers and a T-shirt
proclaiming he was ready to party like it was 1899!!! As always, he left us all laughing
and eager for more next week! Don't forget, they've promised us a Today's Special Value,
so stay tuned for more!