Starbucks Bears

 

Back to Teddy Gallery

 In 2001, on a holiday on Orlando, I came across the Starbucks bears for the first time. Although I'd been drinking their coffee for a while (on trips to the US - there weren't many shops in the UK at that time), I'd never seen the bears before. But I found them very cute, and Ant bought me two - a finger puppet and an 8" bear, both in green aprons . 

After two years, I now have 17 8" bears, 13 small magnets and two finger puppets. Oh, and Ant has two bears as well.. I haven't got pictures of them all right now, but I will have soon...

This is Roger, the first of my Starbucks bears, His tag says he is the 15th edition in the Bearista collection (a pun on barista, the name for someone who makes coffee).  
Elvis and Edward, my Starbucks Christmas elves. Edward joined us after Christmas, he was picked up in the sales (as was Alvin, who belongs to Ant and has his own website)
Wellington joined us in Spring 2002. I now have three more of the same "style", who were left on the shelf in the local Starbucks for several months. When they were reduced to a quarter of their original price, I couldn't resist any more and bought them home (pictures further down). 
Bertha & Barry were summer 2002 bears. I saw them first at Heathrow airport on the way to the US for a model show and holiday and assumed I could get them there. But they were nowhere to be found, so I got Uncle Sam instead. Then I got Barry & Bertha from a local store here on my return.
Uncle Sam was an American special, but we were in the US in May of 2002 so picked him up in a New Jersey Starbucks. He was the first of my bears to have a button on his foot marking him as collectible..
This is Jim-Bob (left) and Billy-Bob (right). These scarecrow bears were both rescued from eBay. They also have a cousin Melvin, living in Oxford.

Andrew, Basil and Carl - the three 2002 springtime bears left in the shop until Autumn, when I picked them up. They were meant as gifts but I made the mistake of giving them names, so they stayed..

Oscar - I can't recall why I named him that. Oscar is the 2003 Valentine bear and was yet another eBay rescue. Not all the bearistas come to the UK, so eBay is a good source for them. Oscar was smuggled out to Greece where he joined my hug (for those who don't know, a hug is the collective noun for teddies).
The 2003 Halloween bearista - who did make it to the UK! His name is Jack (after Jack O'Lantern). The hood pulls back, but the mask is not movable, its stitched on. And poor Jack is only furry on the head and the costume - under the costume, he's just made of cloth. All the others are furry bears under the costumes, I guess this is the first trial of a new design.
The Oxford based Starbucks bears, who are sort of honorary members of my hug... Alvin the elf (left) and Melvin the scarecrow (right).