(Posted November 4, 2007)
 

Thanks to John (the phoenix) for sharing the following:

“Omnia Omnibus Ubique”
Harrods Ty Launch 2007

Friday 2 November
I travelled to London by train on Friday, and after checking into my hotel, just round the corner from Harrods, I spent a couple of hours touring our famous store before meeting up with other collector friends in the early evening.

Harrods motto means “Everything for everyone everywhere” – little did we know that the original words of this motto would be playing a part in this year’s premier Ty event  in the UK!  The store as a whole is certainly something to see…and if they haven’t got it, they get it for you…..it’s just a question of the money of course!

Eventually I found myself in the toy Kingdom, where I met up with Aly Weston, new to Harrods, but responsible for the organisation of the launch this year, and Sam, the buyer, who is a collector herself. The ladies explained the arrangements for the queuing system, and gave me a sneak preview of the area which was going to be used, at the back of the Georgian Restaurant. 14 tills were already in place, and the area had been cordoned off from the main eating area and terrace. It was clear from talking to them that a huge effort was being made to ensure the smooth running of the launch, and I was particularly impressed by their friendly and professional manner, and their obvious interest in welcoming collectors. I’d like to thank them both for their time and consideration.

After this I met up with friends, some of whom had travelled from the USA and Germany, and we spent a pleasant evening together in conversation and anticipation of the next day.

By 6pm that night, the first queuers were already in place! Terry and Julie, who had slept overnight outside Abbey Bears in Padstow, were as determined as ever to do it all again! Later in the evening I took some photographs of them, and also of the Russian Themed window displays, and include a few of them here.

Saturday 3 November
I managed a few hours sleep, but was back at Door 10 just after 6am. A few others had been there all night, and others started to join us round about 6.30. Most people seemed aware that there was going to be a more organised entry this year, and the thought of that was much appreciated, after the problems in 2006.

As is usual when you are having fun, the time passed quickly, and there was a wonderful atmosphere as existing friends made new ones. By 8 the queue was much longer, and shortly after that the Christmas Parade began, passing right by us on its way round the building.

 Mr Al-Fayed arrived by limousine, and waved to the crowd, and shortly after that Aly Weston appeared to give out numbered passes to the first 250 in the queue.

Harrods security staff were present, and if there was anyone in that queue who had thought they might push forward, they must have realised by now that they would not get the chance.

At 8.30, Door 10 was opened, and we were allowed in – 20 at a time, and on the way up the escalators to the fourth floor, Harrods staff greeted us on every level and pointed the way. In the restaurant itself we entered a roped-off queuing area – it was all very civilised and trouble free. It was clear that the vast majority were very impressed with these arrangements – this was what we had expected from a store like Harrods all along!

And so to the first sight of the new Exclusives… 

We were given a leaflet explaining what the buying limits would be. Buying began at 9am, and the numbered tickets we had been given downstairs were marked to show that we had been through the buying area. Those with Ty invitations were given a free gift – this year it was Niklas, the recent German Exclusive.
 

So let’s look at the new exclusives themselves…and we’ll leave the really collectable item until last!

“Omnia”,  the first of the actual Harrods bears this year, is a dark blue bear with gold ribbon, and I love Harrods embroidered onto his chest – with a red heart design for the word love. With a birthday of November 3 2007, the style number is 46113.

“Omnibus” is a burgundy version, with the same birthday and embroidery, and a style number of 46114. Although the actual production numbers are rarely released, Omnia is less common than Omnibus. The cost of each was £6.95. It’s worth pointing out that if you bought a sleeve of six, they did not have the Harrods tag, but later in the day the Harrods tag was attached to those on sale in the Toy Kingdom

They share this tag poem :-

If you should need help to decide
Then let me be your special guide
So you can find great things to share
Everything for everyone, everywhere!
 

Both these bears have smaller Key Clip versions, identical in colour, but with the Harrods “H” embroidered in gold on their chests. The tags carry the motto in Latin, and the style numbers are 46177 for Omnia, and 46118 for Omnibus. The Key Clips are £3.95 each.

Now we have the Russian bear released to tie in with Harrods Russian Christmas theme – with the translated name “Elbrus”, this white bear has the Russian flag on its nose, and a flag embroidered on its chest.

It is named after a famous mountain in Russia (Google will give you all the details), and has “Harrods” in gold underneath the chest flag.  It is already known that there is another version of this bear (without the “Harrods” gold embroidery, and maybe with a different ribbon).   I can confirm that this version will be sold only in Russia…but Harrods will have a VERY small number available – and I do mean VERY - if you want one of those you will have to be quick! 

This is its tag poem :-

Compared to some I may be small
In Europe that’s  not true at all
In Russia I am proud to be
The highest mountain you will see!

On the hang and tush tags the bear’s name is shown in Russian, and it is expected that this bear will retire on Monday! The cost of the bear is £6.95.
 

“Sheba” is the “Timeless Luxury” bear, and also exclusive to Harrods – and “limited” in their terms, which in my view probably means rather more than we had thought.

“ Timeless Luxury” has been a theme across all departments of Harrods for the past 2 months, and this is Ty’s contribution. The material used for this bear was expensive, and you have to see the bear nin the “fur” to appreciate that – it is almost “double-coated”.  With a green Harrods ribbon, and 2008 embroidered on its foot, I suspect this bear may have a wider appeal beyond beanie collectors – my wife adores it anyway!  The same birthday as the others, and a style number of 46119, the bear costs £9.95, and this is its poem :-

With great poise and elegance
Style and flair and fashion sense
Such luxuries you’ll surely see
If you would only cuddle me!

It’s worth saying that this bear sits very well alongside Harrods own range of Teddies, which are many and various, and with a big price range. I think it is to Ty’s credit that the company has produced this item to join those ranks of collectables already produced by Harrods.

And so to the star of the show…..now this really is a collector’s piece!

The invitation said – “Quid est in arca?” – “What’s in the box?”…and I’ve been surprised that only a few latched onto the box itself as being part of the package! Most people were probably expecting the usual Ty Boxes with certificates…but this time we have two bears in one very special box, which was produced in the UK. Not only that, the bears themselves are different from their “loose” versions, in that they have gold embroidered hearts, not red! Omnia in the box has a style number of 46115, and Omnibus has 46116. There is one numbered certificate,

and the whole production run was round about 1000!  At £29.95, it was expensive…but what a splendid addition to any collection! Total unique, and I am thrilled to have it – The box carries the familiar legend “From our heart to yours”, and a nice touch are the words “the Knightsbridge Collection”.  A stunning surprise for those who were there on the day….

There’s a bit more though…3 lucky people found Billionaire 10 as well inside their boxes – I heard one lady scream with excitement right across the room….and can you believe this same lady won a Billionaire 9 at the Piran release??  How lucky is that?!

And…in some of the boxes, and in some of the sleeves, there were a very small number of Ty signed bears too, also randomly distributed. When we found that out, there was much rummaging in bags to see if any one had got one…and of course some had!

After all this I had coffee with Mark Swallow and Steve Gomez from Ty UK, and their wives…and I can tell you that Ty UK is not done yet…there is more to come, that’s for sure! I would like to thank them both for allowing me to be so involved with the story of Ty in the UK, and must congratulate them, and all the staff at Harrods this year, for getting it so right.

By the way, the boxed sets were understandably sold out very quickly, and I understand from a senior member of the Harrods staff that sales were up all round this year - great news - so let’s do it all again on October 25^th 2008 – that’s the date for your diary, and it’s fixed already!

John
The phoenix