Dolls-and-Bears -> Bears -> Boyds

Boyds Bears are the creation of Gary Lowenthal and his wife, Justina Unger. Before they were married, they owned an antique shop together in 1979, and found that they couldn’t afford the types of antiques they wanted to carry. So in 1982 they started making and selling antique reproductions, beginning with their line of duck decoys. They began making miniature reproduction houses out of resin which they called Gnomes Homes. Business was good—they even sold wholesale to other retailers.

Then in 1984, they designed a 12” jointed bear, inspired by a line of Merino wool bears from China, and named it Matthew after their infant son. Boyds Bears were born. In 1993, they began making resign bear statues, as well as other items. Their catalogue of products is large with a variety of different things to choose from. But the soft bears are still one of their most popular items, with collectors clamoring to get them all.

Many of their products, including Boyds Bears, have won doll and toy industry awards, and their line is highly popular with teddy bear collectors. The bears can be found in chain and independent stores like Hallmark and other shops, and through many online stores, as well as eBay. They have a party plan that allows a party hostess to earn free merchandise by hosting a bear party to sell the plush bears, as well as a collector and fan club called the Loyal Order of Friends of Boyds, whose fee entitles you to special members-only versions of some items, as well as other perks.

As with most collector lines like Boyds Bears, the older and retired bears are more valuable and more difficult to find. When a bear is retired that means it’s no longer being manufactured, so the number is limited to how many have already been produced. These are hot items for collectors, so if you’re looking for a retired bear, you might have a lot of searching to do before you’re lucky enough to find it at a price you find acceptable.

Unless you just want every one of the Boyds Bears you can possibly find (and some people do!) then it’s best if you narrow down your idea of what your collection should be about. You can choose between plush bears and resin, or you can have a mixture. Even if you choose one or the other, you’ll want to further plan your collection, because there are so many, with new ones being produced all the time.

You can narrow your collection theme by holiday—there are several both plush and resin designs for every holiday you can think of. Just Christmas bears alone in both plush and resin could have you happily searching for new items for quite some time, but the other holidays are well-represented, too. You can choose ornaments, bears wearing different hats, bears made to represent the seasons, Boyds Bears themed Victorian or country, or almost any other kind of classification you can think of.

Originally posted 2008-12-29 14:00:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Franklin Mint Collectibles Collectibles -> Decorative Collectibles -> Franklin Mint One of the most popular brands of collectibles are Franklin Mint Collectibles. This company is well known throughout the world for providing collectible editions at reasonable prices and they even offer payment plans for their more expensive items. This has allowed thousands, if......
• Precious Moments Collectibles Collectibles -> Decorative Collectibles -> Precious Moments -> Figurines With their distinctive designs and inspirational quips, Precious Moments collectibles are one of the most sought after decorative arts. Originally designed in 1975 by Eugene Freedman, it wasn’t until the mid-1980’s that the company hit full stride. Since then, these cute......
• Ganz Cottage Collectibles Collectibles -> Decorative Collectibles -> Houses, Cottages Out of all of the available decorative arts collectibles, Ganz Cottage collectibles rank near the top. They offer a huge variety of different types of collectibles and no matter what your interests are, chances are they will have something that will be perfect......
• Coca Cola Collectibles Collectibles -> Advertising -> Soda-> Coca-Cola By far, one of the most endearing collectibles that has become popular over the past few decades are Coca Cola collectibles. This company has done a great job of coming up with many ways to create valuable and memorable products that are highly sought......
• Avon Collectibles Collectibles -> Decorative Collectibles -> Decorative Collectible Brands-> Avon The Avon Company has been a respected institution in the United States since 1886, and their line of decorative collectibles contain some of the most sought after pieces on record. The company first began producing Avon collectibles in the mid-1960’s and......

• Safe Bear Hunts Bear hunts are a popular sport in Alaska. It's one of the many types of big game hunting that's popular in this very northern state. People who don't live in the area and aren't familiar with bears may wonder why anyone would want to hunt a bear. But it's actually......
• Choosing a Theme for Coin Collecting There are some coin collectors who work on vast and varying coin collecting. They do not settle in on one theme, and instead try to collect as many different types of currency as possible. While this is perfect for some collectors, it is difficult for those looking to have some......
• Collecting Antique Teddy Bears Are you wondering why you might want to go into collecting antique teddy bears? It really is a matter of taste when it comes to collecting antique teddy bears. It is quite possible for you to collect these bears on a wide variety of different levels. You can collect all......
• Stamp Collector Stamps -> Worldwide -> Collections, Lots Few types of collectors get more excited and enthusiastic about a new acquisition than a stamp collector. Stamp collecting is one of the most popular hobbies in the world, enjoyed by young children, the elderly, and every age in between. Over 20 million people......
• Protect Your Autographed Baseball Memorabilia Most people who are sports enthusiasts, and that collect autographed baseball memorabilia are thrilled when they find the perfect item and it happens to also be autographed by one of their favorite sports stars. This happens to be especially true when the piece of autographed baseball memorabilia is a well......

• Batman Figurines Comics Collectibles
• Holiday Lights Holiday & Seasonal D�cor Home D�cor & Accents Home Store
• Plastic Ornaments Christmas: Modern (1946-90) Holiday, Seasonal Collectibles
• Spider-Man Figurines Comics Collectibles
• Belts, Belt Buckles Original Period Items Civil War (1861-65) Militaria Collectibles