The British Beat

My name is Fiona and I have been collecting Attic treasures since 1998. I usually stick to collecting the bears, but have been known to branch out for the occasional mouse. I have approximately 90+ in my collection, including the illusive TYRA without her pom poms.

16th JUNE 2000 Apologies for taking so long to update the page, but as I am sure most UK collectors know, there isn't anything new to get excited about at the moment.

I visited 2 of my favorite TY shops today as I knew that they had both had deliveries and neither of them had been delivered any of the last batch of Attics.. The CardWarehouse Branches have got Ariel in for any of you that are Beanie Collectors, but hadn't decided how many points you would need to accumulate to be allowed the honor of purchasing one!!

So im now looking for a source for Boyds Bears in the UK, everyone seems to be going mad for them and I'm curious to see one in the fur...... If you know any shops or better still UK websites that sell them, get in touch please....... Or any sort of miniature bear for that matter, I need something new to collect!!

I've been told that some of the Britannia Beanie Fairs have attics for sale, so it might be worth a visit if you have one in your area...

22nd May 2000 So Im back from Disney and absolutely worn out. I paid a visit to the Beanie Store on International Drive, while it certainly does carry a huge selection of every type of Beanie you could desire, the Attic treasures aren't so plentiful. Yes they had all the new ones, but retired Attics were few and far between. They had 5th Gen Wee Willie priced at $39.95 if you have a look at the price list on this site, its marked as approx. $15 !! The rest of them were similarly priced to the Maison D'Ours List, so there wasn't any bargains to be found. If you are a new collector then you will probably love it. Or if you find it hard to get hold of the rarer TY items, then you should be able to get most of them from this store, including Sakura.

If your going to go to Universal Studios, then pay a call into the Ecology Store near the entrance, they have a reasonable stock of Attics, Beanies and Buddies and while I was there they were offering any Buddies for the price of $11.00 if you bought 3 other TY products, so I picked up Spangle. For Disney Beanie Collectors, I suggest you pay a visit to the Belz Mall at the very end of International Drive, there is a Disney Character outlet store selling at hugely discounted prices, I got P T Flea for my daughter for $1.00 and it was still selling for $7.00 at the Official Disney Store!!!!

Anyone who wants to purchase Tyra from a trustworthy source?? Try Andy's Attics, the link is at the bottom of the page.

Also if your from the UK and looking for a house to rent in Orlando, then get in touch with me, they place we had was fabulous. Must go and try to catch up on some sleep now........... Ciao

1st MAY 2000 So this is my last post for 3 weeks as I'm off to Disney USA. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me with Blarney/Darlene information. I've yet to get a single confirmation of either of them being seen in a retail shop. I also came across a few new UK collectors as well this week, its nice to know that interest hasn't died and that not everyone is a Beanie Fanatic.

Little whispers tell me that a lot of the TY retailers are expecting deliveries in the next 2 weeks. I'm not holding my breath as to what they will contain.

I e-mailed the owners of the blank tag Tyra that appeared up for sale on e-bay. Hopefully it wont come as a surprise to you that this was a price level estimating auction, rather than them seriously wanting to sell it. I would be interested in hearing anyone's opinion on this subject

Its been a frustrating couple of days, I got pulled into a bidding war over a Reggie with no tag. It got to the stage where I had to admit defeat, mainly because it would have meant spending my holiday funds, don't think my kids would have been too happy about that.

20 APRIL 2000 - So I've researched far and wide the last couple of weeks and have come to the conclusion that Blarney and Darlene haven't made an official Ty retailer appearance in the UK. Nosy old me was in on the shops when the Ty rep called and I clearly heard her say that they had no stock of either of them!!! So is this another unofficial USA exclusive like Spruce??? If you know different let me know.......

There has been a flurry of auctions of retired attic in the last week. Are a few of the long term UK Attic Collectors clearing out their collections?? I picked up a couple of 1st Gen Attics for a very reasonable price. Freeserve seems to be the best Attic Auction source, followed by ebase5 which is variable.

2 April 2000 An appeal to all UK collectors this week, have you actually seen either Darlene or Blarney for sale in the UK? Now I don't mean for sale online, but in a TY retailer shop. I have a sneaky suspicion that like Spruce, Blarney is not going to officially visit these shores. I might be wrong, so now is your opportunity to prove otherwise. I've added another link to the bottom of the page. Stanley the Tyke is mainly known for selling Beanies, but now he has Attics too.

Anyone experiencing Driver Memory problems with their PC yesterday would be well advised to check their system for the kak.worm virus. Get in touch with me if you find you've got it.

3/28/00 The update was slightly delayed this week due to my PC being murdered by a virus!! so to everyone who has e-mailed me and not yet received a reply, please e-mail me again and I will respond a.s.a.p

Things have calmed down on the UK attic scene this week. The first deliveries of the new attics have been and gone and everyone is now waiting to see if their supplier next receives all the ones missing first time round.

The immediate shelf sitters in my area appear to be all the rabbits, now considering Easter is just round the corner I find that a bit strange!! Let me know what is left on the shelf where you live.....

The shops all appear to have increased the price to £6.99 in my area, have you found the same too??? Prices online vary, but I have seen quite a few starting at £4.99.

Now is it me or is there suddenly a lot more people selling Attics on the Auctions, and not just the new ones either. Appearances have been made by quite a few rarities on this side of the Atlantic. Lots of 1st Generation Bears have appeared, which is good as then you don't have the expense of International postage.

I've been pleased to be contacted by some new Attic Hunters, its nice to know there is fresh interest in the Attic Treasures.

Next week I will be updating the links again........

20-03-2000 I've been a busy bee since last week. First let me say thanks to everyone who has e-mailed me. Thankfully quite a few other people were missing this page as well as me.

I've added a couple more links to the Attic Hunting grounds at the bottom of the page, the one for the shop told me that he had ordered a lot more Attic Stock as they were selling really well and that it wasn’t a lottery this time, he actually received what he had ordered out of the catalogue.

From the responses I have had to my questions about Tyra, so far it seems that the distribution to retailers was pretty fairly spread across the UK, there hasn’t been a cluster in one specific area yet. Now I am tempted to think that this was very cunningly planned rather than an “accident” Does anyone know any different, or better still does anyone know someone who works for British Safety Standards? Everyone seems determined to hold on to their Tyra too.

I finally got to hold the new Beaniefied Attics and I am sorry but I'm not all that keen on them. Now if I were a Beanie Collector then no doubt I would love them, but to me an Attic Treasure should be jointed. I don’t think I am the only one thinking this too in the UK, I visited one TY retailer everyday last week and the only Attics still sitting on the shelf at the end of the week were the non-jointed ones.

Andys Attics reports that the price of 1st Gen Attics seems to be going through the roof!! So obviously there has been an upsurge in collecting them stateside. He just took delivery of some 1st gen Attics if your interested.

Don’t forget to keep on e-mailing me, the more popular Attic’s get, the bigger stocks retailers will order.

3-15-00 Now I don’t usually buy the UK version of Bean Bag Monthly, but as soon as I noticed that there was an Attic Article inside April’s edition, I grabbed it and hot footed it to the till. It was great to see some close-up pictures. I wouldn’t have thought that Tiny Tim would appreciate being called “stick-like” though!!!! Let me know what you thought…

The NEW attics have started appearing on online auctions in the UK, at the bottom this page you will find links to the auction sites. Don’t go bidding too high though as there already seems to be plenty available.

I’ve also decided to be ultra helpful by giving you the e-mails of 3 good Attic ContactsI have personally used all of them with no problems. Just scroll down to the bottom. I look forward to hearing from fellow UK collectors. Lets get some good information up on this page.

If you’re a UK collector you will already know how hard is to find Attics in the UK and nearly impossible to find retired attics, so first let me ask you all to send in your sources if your willing to part with the information. I will then post a list of shops/dealers. This will not mean that they are 100% trustworthy but at least it will give us some places to Attic Hunt.

I would also be interested to find out how many of us have purchased the illusive Tyra without her pom poms. I had 2 and happily traded one with Terri (Maison D'Ours) And also how much you paid, even if it hurts to confess!!!

Do you work in a TY retailer outlet and know when the next delivery of attics is due?

SELLER	SELL/TRADE	SHOP	WEB
SCOTBEANS HAS MOST OF THE NEW ATTICS	ANDY'S ATTICS Andy has the best selection of rare retired attics	CREATIONS 01253 397575 Blackpool Official TY Retailer	FREESERVE AUCTIONS - TY OTHER COLLECTABLES
DAPH’S ATTICS Retired Attic’s source	BRITCLOG Based in Holland a very experienced international trader		EBASE5 AUCTIONS - TY ATTICS
STANLEY THE TYKE	CLAIRE'S ATTICS Lots to choose from		eBay UK TY OTHER COLLECTIBLES
			Yahoo! Auctions UK: Attic Treasures

12-1-99 ATTICS SPOTTED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM:

England: TYRA, CHERI, and WADDLESWORTH
Scotland: CHERI and WADDLESWORTH.

BOOM BOOM-BYE BYE?

The white, blue and scarlet cheerleader has been spotted all over England. Spies have sighted her in the south, and Manchester. She still hasn't bounced over the border, has yet to grace Glasgow and has not appeared to arrive in Aberdeen. So that's no sign of her in Scotland and on the whole sightings are very rare in the UK. At the present moment, she is still listed as retired. Me, I'm really happy to have her remain retired. That is, when I get her... I thought the whole charm of the Attic Treasures Collection was that they were "yester-year," they were the type of old-fashioned treasures one would find in an old box in the attic. Hence the name. But lately, that seems to have changed. I can hardly identify Baywatch babe Allura nor lumpy Lawrence with bears such as Emily, Woolie and all the other first bears that have the "Ancient Attic Appeal." Nor can I consider the cute crazy cheerleader as a delightful darling dear from the past. Attic Treasures have changed beyond recognition. Very few of these new attics resemble the golden oldie bears that we all love. Still they are very cute! Tyra, even without her delicate dainty pom poms, still warms the hearts of collectors and I shall welcome her into my collection.

If anyone has any news, items, gossip, etc, let me know HERE with the subject heading "Attic News". And if anyone's got a Tyra to trade, or would like to give me one for free out of the goodness of their hearts, email me HERE with the Subject "I've got a Tyra to trade"

Till next time, and watch out for Tyra!

Hannah

The May 99 Attics, for example Allura, have been popping up individually in Scotland, eveb though in England, they have been there for months. William and Malcolm seem to be firmly glued to the shelves where as pretty cute ones such as Allura and Susannah have been leaping off. The Attic phenomenon has yet to hit Britain like the Beanies have. Attics have been described as "cute" little bears but have yet, by most, to be distinguished from the Beanies. On giving a perfectly pretty Laurel as a present to a beanie loving friend, it was described as "a mutilated beanie that had been through a washing machine." Having said that, Attics do have their fans but it has to be said that their sales are much less than beanies. They are in far shorter supply and few shops choose to have them. The Beanie Buddy collection is well appreciated as the larger more cuddlier version of the Beanies but Attics are still left fighting for their place in British collectors' hearts. It must be said that the so called modernizing of the collection has helped to boost their popularity, with more cute ones such as Allura. Yet, many still remain on the shelves. A whole basket full of Cawleys lay on the store floor for months until they introduced a deal saying "Buy 2 Beanies - get a Cawley free!"
The retirement of shelf-sitters Bluebeary and Strawbunny has saved us from the eternal viewing of them in the store windows but many collectors in Scotland have found it hard getting a Sara for she has hardly ever been seen and when she is, it is in very small numbers. The contrary is that old retireds Grace and Malcolm Old have been found in their masses at service stations and airports.

But where as stores are filled with old attics, they seem reluctant to drown themselves in the new attics. It's very strange - the only new Attic that has been frequently spotted is Cheri and there's enough of her around to make up for the whole lot of new attics. Tyra strangely is not on the order list and her occasional appearance is not very popular with the "real" collectors who dismiss her as an "American (said extremely distastefully) non-traditional thing." The idea of a cheerleader complete with matching pom-poms does not appeal to their vision of Attic Treasures from Yesteryear.
One Attic Treasure that has disappeared from the shelves and the order forms is the darling Attic version of Britannia, Jack. None of the stores in Scotland nor England have received him lately and he is believed to be retired. The Ty rep that visits our local store every week denies that he has been retired and simply states that it is a random order. Makes lots of sense, doesn't it, considering that our store is allowed to determine what it will get in the next order and that Jack isn't up for selection. Wonder why...Till next time....

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