As supporters of Ty UK, we can't miss out a celebration of what were perhaps the most ambitious beanies we saw over here in 2006 - these are really detailed - and very special! Here is the original report which I did for websites on the release of the first set, with a selection of pictures of the gold and retail versions. There is a link to the report on the release of the second set at the bottom of the page....and of course we are now looking forward to the third set - not long to go now!
John
the phoenix
18/04/2007
Report from the World of Beatrix Potter Attraction
June 8th 2006
Part 1
Beatrix Potter was born in 1866 in an elegant square in Kensington, London, and was very artistic, even as a young child. Her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was based on letters to the children of her former governess, and all 250 copies sold quickly. The rest is history……but with the profits from her first six books, she bought Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey in the Lake District. Today this is owned by the National Trust. The story of her early life has recently been filmed and will be released on December 29th this year, with Renee Zellweger in the title role.
After an early start, with a 2 hour drive, we arrived in Bowness on Lake Windermere in plenty of time to walk to The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction. This is in a narrow street and difficult to photgraph!
We managed to buy the first set of the day…and like everyone else who bought today gained free admission to the Attraction itself. We decided to return later in the day to look round, and instead took the short ferry crossing over the Lake before driving to Sawrey and Hill Top Farm.
The Ty Beanies visited the garden and explored it, enjoying the sunshine, but looking for shade too…much to the amusement of a large group of Japanese tourists, who also took their pictures! These beanies are the gold thread version, rumoured to be an edition of 750 at The Beatrix Potter Attraction, and 750 at Harrods, although I can't confirm that. [afterword April 2007 - I'm inclined to think this might have been just the first delivery numbers - I never did find out!]
We then visited Esthwaite Lake, the setting for the Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher. As all photographers know, bright sunlight is not always best for taking pictures, so we had lunch under the trees.
We also passed Pigling Bland Corner, but unfortunately the road was too narrow to stop and take a picture.
We returned to the Attraction and toured the small but very striking displays of characters and scenes from the books. It looked like the beanies had been selling very well and a very friendly assistant gave me some exciting news – "We are expecting the next three in the series in about a month!" [NB - this proved to be incorrect!] I wasn’t able to speak to the manager who was elsewhere…but I will do on Monday, and see if I can confirm this.
When the Beatrix Potter beanies were announced, I think that some collectors were unsure about them….but these are beautifully made, with great attention to detail – and excellent value, even at UK prices! I also think they will appeal to another market as well as collectors…so it’s a good move for Ty UK too. I’m already looking forward to the next three…and will be going a little further afield in the Lake District for some photographs.
Well done Ty…..and Ty UK! (….and I think Miss Potter would have liked them too!)
Part 2
(I was very fortunate to obtain a full retail set just after returning from the Lake District, and so was able to complete the report in just a few days)
After the excitement of the limited editions last Saturday, I thought you might like to see the 2 versions of the Beatrix Potter beanies together!
Peter Rabbit and Pigling Bland have arrived at retailers in the UK this week. You may have seen that there has been a slight delay with the arrival of Jeremy Fisher, who should join them at retail within 10 days or a fortnight. Only a very small number got to some retailers this week, so my grateful thanks to Ian from Cornwall for sending me the complete set!
First, here are the "Bland Brothers", with gold embroidery (limited edition), and with dark blue (retail version)
Here is Mr Jeremy Fisher - dark green embroidery on the retail version, and gold on the limited edition.
This detail on this beanie is amazing, and a great credit to its designer!
...and last, but by no means least, the one who started it all in the first Beatrix Potter story, Peter Rabbit. Gold on the limited edition, and a slightly lighter blue than Pigling Bland on the retail version.
There are no tag variations on this set, only on the name colour. The inside of the hang tags feature details about the character, with an original picture.
The style numbers are the same for each version of the beanie. Peter Rabbit is #46064, Mr Jeremy Fisher is #46066, and Pigling Bland is #46067.
Click here for the report on the release of the second set! :
Beatrix Potter Set 2 October 5th 2006
John
the phoenix
