Love, Dreams & Bears

by Bryony Harrison (follow)

Non-Fiction (83)      Review (36)      Guide (7)      Reference (5)      Collectibles (2)      Bears (1)      Toys (1)     

A must have for any Charlie Bears collector - or any bear collector for that matter. Love, Dreams & Bears is a complete guide to the first five years of the company, which is run by Charlotte and William Morris.



Full of beautiful, high resolution photographs, the book lists every bear the company has made from its launch in 2006 to the year 2010. Each bear comes as pictured, and comes with all the facts such as when it was launched, when it was retired, who was the designer, and how many were made. Many of the bears come with fun anecdotes about their creation; for example, many bears were inspired by loyal collectors who have given name suggestions, and one bear's design was helped along by William Morris getting into a spot of bother with an ink spray.



One thing that I found particularly interesting was being able to compare the styles of different artists. Heather Lyle, who designed the first twelve bears has a very traditional Victorian bear style, while the most prolific artist, Isabelle Lee, gives her bears a much rounder baby-face look, and also specialises in a mohair collection. Charlie and Will Morris have worked with several other artists over the years as well. For example, Susie James has created a small collection of Charlie Bears that have clothes.



As well as bear biographies, the book also has biographies of both Charlie and Will themselves. You can find out how Charlie's panda obsession began, why she had to abandon her dream of becoming a ballet dancer, and how she and Will met and started the business.



The book can be bought for £25 on their website, and each comes with a signed autograph.

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