The Beginning! I began collecting Cherished Teddies toward the end of 1995.  As a Christmas gift, I received the figurine named "Dorothy". I thought the little bear was adorable, but I had no interst in starting a collection. She was placed on my shelf (still boxed up) and basically forgotten. Nearly nine months had passed and my birthday was almost here. My boyfriend decided to take me to the mall to help him pick out my gift. As he looked for a birthday card, I browsed the store. Right beside the counter, was a glass cabinet full of CT's. That's when I fell in love with them.  And for my gift, my boyfriend bought me a pair of bears named "Seth and Sarabeth". That's when I decided I'd start my collection. I didn't know much about them, so each week I would buy what seemed to be the cutest that day. A friend of mine found me a Cherished Teddies Price Guide, to help me learn about my collection. After reviewing the book herself, she was hooked into collecting Cherished Teddies also. I was totally fascinated with the book. I knew what to look for, how to read the understamp along with so much more. I was really hooked, along with my boyfriend,  my friend and her boyfriend as well. The four of us spent each weekend searching for the CT's. Looking for limited editions, older pieces, and just about any in between, took up most of our free time. Our journeys took us around New York state and into Canada.  Canada was like a gold mine to us. That is where we found "Mandy, Sherlock and even the limited...Tasha". Collecting was fun. As time went on, my collection had grown so much, but things had started to change. I started to feel like I had entered into a competition. I was buying more bears than I could afford, just in attempt to keep up with my friends. Problems were arising. Certain places we visited would have a rare find and we both would want it. It came down to who could grab it first. At this time, all the fun was gone.  As time went on things kept going downhill. My love for collecting came to an halt in July of 1997. With the loss of my Fiance' to my friend and fellow CT collector, didn't leave me with any desire to collect. The bears served as a fateful reminder, of the competition of collecting, as well as losing my fiance' to my best friend. I simply wanted to forget it all. I now had to find a way to move on and eventually I did. My collection was put on hold for awhile. But now a year has passed and my collection stands at a 145 pieces. Things are great. I don't compete anymore. I buy what I can afford and what I like. It's fun once again.
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Jayson - #506214 has been found with the word "Earned" spelled as "Eamed". This miss-spelling has since been corrected.
