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Can It Happen Again?
American insight on these Chubbley newbies on the block.
By Christopher Omiros |
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| Think of it, a 19 year old male; in college; has his own website. Doesn't sound too out of the ordinary, does it? BUT there is a twist--The website is all about Teddy Bears and this 19 year old has a teddy bear collection of over 1000, mostly from a fad that many had thought died out a few years ago. BEANIES. But Beanies continue; not with the lines outside the Hallmarks at 6am, but with a weekly visit to see if 'they got any in.' Its nice, its comfortable, and on occasion, Mr. Ty likes to add some spice to the mix with a fast retirement, several variations on one piece, or a few exclusives all at once. Its been a long road for Beanies, and finally, that trip on that road up Mt. Everest our collecting cars were taking a few years ago, has finally found the plains of the United States; the road has become more clear and flat, and we can more easily chart our course when it comes to Ty. Collecting Ty has become more simple, but it still isn't without it's thrills. But on those great plains, a Chinook type wind blows something down from the Great White North--a new breed of bear ... the Chubbley. I wonder if Ty ever thought someone might try to give him a run for his money? |
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The Original 7 Chubbleys
From left to right (top row):
Little Bear, Rusty, Snowbear
(bottom row): Rollem(5), Moonbeam, Creamy, First. |
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Chubbleys first came onto the collecting scene in August of 2001. Darren Barker and Charles Rogers are the creators of these new, loveable, and 'grow-on-you' soft toys. The Chubbley is, in truth, a British invention! Yes, Ty could be overthrown, or at least lose his monopoly on small plush toy collectors by a British Invention, and our Canadian friends could be to blame (And I thank them!). Besides the United Kingdom there are retailers for Chubbleys in Spain and eventually they reached across the pond to Canada. And today, there are a few retailers in the United States, all in Ohio currently. I have talked it over with my one retailer, and it sounds like she might be interested in ordering them! And she hasn't even seen one yet, she is encouraged by the success had in other places with this collectible! So yes, Chubbleys are spreading like wildfire. They caught on in the UK, spread throughout Canada, and because of their success in that market (I believe), they have now come into the United States. And believe me you, there is no shortage of Chubbley enthusiasts in the USA! |
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A Commemorative Piece
The creators of Chubbleys may not know exactly what the future holds for them, but they choose not to ignore where they came from. With their introduction of their Original 7 Chubbleys, they released: First, a bear to commemmorate their success at creating this breed of bear. |
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People anxious for more reading & news on Chubbleys; eager enough and thirsty enough for news on Chubbleys, have found their respite in the UK's BeanBagMonthly who's editor-in-chief Daphne |
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| Roberts, is a collector of Chubbleys as well. The magazine is filled to the brim with useful information, news, editorials, reader mail & artwork, perspectives, contests and the list goes on and on. With the magazine catering to Chubbley and Ty Collectors, as well as other bean bag plush |
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| collectors, no Chubbley collector can be without it. To order this useful tool in collecting Chubbleys, especially if you are a new collector of Chubbleys as I am; click here! Unfortunately, the magazine is not distributed in North America yet, so this is the only way for us Canadian & American collectors to get our Chubbley 'fix' in magazine form. The shipping might be a bit steep, but believe me, once you have one issue, you will have to have the next! |
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To paraphrase the old cliche: I may not know much about Chubbleys, but I know what I like. When I first stepped onto the Bean Bag Monthly scene, which was on the message board, I heard all about Chubbleys and how great |
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they are. To be totally honest, I thought they were ugly, and represented everything I did not look for in a teddy bear. But then I saw Jubilee. I had no idea what the Jubilee was at the time, even though I have always been interested in British culture. Once I learned about it, and looked more and more at Jubilee over the internet, I decided I'd give it a try. Turns out it was a great decision of mine. |
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Her Majesty's Chubbley
The creators of Chubbley Bears were first, before Ty INC. To introduce a bear commemorating Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee year. This Jubilee commemorates her 50 year reign on the throne. It might be important to note that I think Ty has to pay royalties to HRM Queen Elizabeth for the use of the official emblem of her Jubilee. (left: Chubbley's Jubilee, right: Ty's Celebrations) |
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Jubilee was gold, soft, new, exciting and an 'exclusive' that I didn't have to or would not have to pay an arm and a leg for. The red, white, and blue streamers tied around Jubilee's neck, coupled with the red, white, and blue 2002 sewn on Jubilee's right foot, made me feel as if I were back in jolly old London again (I went to London in May 2001). And the best and most whimsical part of it all, was Jubilee's stomach. That cute little dot sewn on to represent a belly-button is the creme de la creme of the Chubbley line. It is what drives many people to buy more, it is something never seen on a teddy bear before in a large manufactured line. Sure, Ty did it with his Beanie Kids, but they aren't bears, and they went over ok for a few months, and soon, interest in them dwindled. Mainly since Beanie Kids were not ... the teddy bear! Discussing what draws us near to the Teddy Bear is for another article, but the fact remains, Chubbley has something here with these pudgy faced, stout bodied, with their belly-buttons hanging out: Teddy Bears. Maybe they remind us of ourselves, *HINT* *HINT* No, I am not that fat. |
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Jubilee isn't the sole Chubbley in my collection. I have two others. George and Sterling. Quickly retiring on December 25, 2001 after it's release in September, George caught my attention. Not only does this bear hold my middle name, my father's name, and the name of a prominent Saint in the Greek Orthodox Church (my Church), but he represented and was exclusive to one of my favorite countries ... England & the UK respectively. I didn't settle for less when I wanted George when I saw Ty's England released. Both bears are white, both bear the flag of England, the Saint George Cross, and they look similar, but for one thing, guess who released him first? Contrary to what we think normally happens, Ty again was not the one to release a George-type bear first between the two companies, Chubbley was! |
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By George I think he's got it!
Do you think Ty got his idea for England Beanie from this bear? |
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I keep saying the word Chubbley, but the UK based company was not always named that, in fact, up until March 29, 2002 Chubbley was known as Soft Touch Toys (UK) LTD. Darren |
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Barker co-founder of Chubbleys told Bean Bag Monthly 'We just figured that everyone calls us Chubbley so we might as well be Chubbley!' |
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| So the new Chubbley has become a new collector's sensation. On April 8, 2002 Chubbley introduced 7 more of these adorable bears. Sonny, the first of a four season bear series. (Could Ty be next to do 4 season bears? Steiff did it, Chubbley did it, will Ty?) Great Bear, second of the constellation series; Sleepy Head, a light blue bear wearing a nightcap with a candle and holder embroidered on his right foot. Jack of Hearts, Jack of Clubs, Jack of Diamonds, and Jack of Spades are 4 bears representing the 4 symbols of the Jack card in a regular deck of cards. |
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I have collected Ty products for over 4 years now, and will stay faithful to the manufacturer; but I see great promise in the Chubbley line as well. I doubt people will end up bidding $130.00 for a single Chubbley anytime soon, but the fact cannot be ignored that the line is catching on. Websites and message boards, like Chubbley Corners help! In part, how do you think the Ty craze caught on and has held on for so long? The friendships and communication through message boards and websites have helped keep the collecting bug going, especially if you are the sole collector in your household.
Lets face it, many Ty collectors have quit because they just can't keep up with Ty anymore, Ty's release of 6 Asian exclusives a few months ago, Ty's release of three exclusives to the UK, with each bear exclusive to it's own country within the UK, Wales, Scotland, and England respectively. Of which, making Wales the rarest of the three being it is such a small country! Ty also released 3 German exclusive beanies since the start of 2002. All these exclusives are fetching mega-bucks on the internet, and only if you are lucky, can you get a deal. But you do not need to break-the-bank when looking for a Chubbley exclusive. In fact, US collectors, with the exception of those who are fortunate enough to live near a retailer, see all the Chubbleys as foreign exclusives! So, in essence, Chubbleys are rarer than Beanies! |
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Sleepy Head (above) is at the Head of the Game!
Chubbley Bears is no sleepy-head when it comes to bringing out fresh, new designs and ideas. It looks as if Chubbley is one step ahead of Ty, as seen with George Chubbley first and second with Jubilee. And now, with an affordable Plush company introducing the first of a four seasons series, Ty collectors have been wanting that for years, what is Ty to do? Chubbley has gone global very quickly, and retailers are eager to learn about this new breed of bear, this new breed of bean. Do you think that Chubbleys could reach any sort of climax as Ty products did a few years ago? |
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| We as North Americans may not see the potential for Chubbleys yet since there are virtually none to be found in stores here! You wait, Chubbleys will become as common knowledge as Beanies, as Puffkins, as Russ Bears. Variations will evolve, new lines from Chubbley will come forth. These products are destined for something major to happen with them. Of course, none of us know what form that will take. But as long as there are Chubbleys, I will be trying to get a few. The surge in retailer's stock of these products will commence within coming years, and Americans will no longer say, "What's a Chubbley?" We may have a child's toy again as well; not only will adults collect as they do today Ty, but young children will find something appealing about Chubbleys. They will find some |
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sort of fascination with these bears. My bet with what will draw them is that face and belly-button. Chubbleys are not serious, pretentious, ostentatious. They are relaxed, normal, comfortable, regular, familiar, not rare (yet), not snobby; Chubbleys are us! In this fast-paced, be here at 7am society; isn't this what we need? I hope the phenomenon that happened with Beanies does not happen with Chubbleys, I hope it happens better than with what happened with Beanies. What I mean is I do |
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not want the long lines, people pushing me to get to the shelves, I do not want to call the retailer daily. I like this, I like the fact that people do not know much about these bears yet, and maybe before this thing gets really big, we can be part of something more relaxed, with no-strings attached. I don't think there will be such a mean craze as there was with Beanies since these bears are more relaxed; but there most definitely will be collectors. Spend some time on a Chubbley message board, and you will be sucked into this new breed of bean before you even realize it. |
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Any comments? Questions? Suggestions? Email me! |
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Photos from www.chubbleybears.com, www.ty.com, and The Daily Bean
Information from BeanBagMonthly, Chubbley Corners, www.chubbleybears.com and home-based knowledge of the line.
May 9, 2002 |
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