Cornish Magic

The launch of the four Ty UK Exclusives

 

 

 

Saturday 26^th May 2007

Padstow, Cornwall

 

 

Early morning

 

After spending a very pleasant evening the night before with other collectors who had traveled down to Cornwall, I was up bright and early for this special day in Padstow…and what a day it turned out to be! After an early breakfast, and a walk round the harbour, I arrived at Abbey Bears to find Julie and Terry already awake – if indeed they had slept at all! Jenni from the shop had kindly provided them with sleeping bags, and I think they had had many questions from passers by.

 

The early morning queue

 

Soon others started to arrive, and expectations were high, with lots of discussion as to what we might expect. We knew that there was to be a regular retail bear, exclusive to Cornwall, and a mystery “exclusive within an exclusive” too, but no one was prepared for what other surprises were awaiting us.  Ty UK is to be congratulated for really keeping its secrets this time – not even an announcement on the Ty Site, which I think many people expected. We were told later that this had been quite deliberate – all part of the plan to ensure that collectors over here got the chance of something really special.  I was told by the Ty representative that they thought they would have steady trade through the day, as more and more visitors and collectors arrived, and this proved to be the case. The queue at the start of the day was good humoured, and there were none of the problems that some of us have experienced elsewhere at bigger stores in the past!

 

At 9.15am, Morley Lester, the Territory Executive for the West of England, and also the designer of the new releases, came out of the shop to make several announcements. We were very pleased to see that Jonathan Swallow, one of the owners of Ty UK, had made the journey to support this unique event.

 

 Morley Lester introduces the retail version of Piran
 

 

Piran - Retail Version
 

And so to the first sightings of what we had come to collect!  Morley had no less that 5 surprises up his sleeve…and this was almost literally, as you will see!  He started the proceedings by welcoming all who had made the journey, and introduced the new retail bear for Cornwall – our first look at Piran, right there in the street. The subject of much speculation for many weeks, Piran is a crisp, white bear with sparkles in his coat, the Cornish flag on his chest, and a Cornish tartan ribbon.  Very striking, and a good companion piece to Kernow, the Cornish bear for 2006, which Morley also designed.  The sparkles in his coat represent the history of tin mining in Cornwall, which was once a major industry.  We were told that Piran would be available in all Cornish retailers, as Kernow was, but that the production run was less – about 6000 have been produced, and so this bear is a collectable in its own right! The crowd were not disappointed in this new bear – far from it, there lots of immediate  and positive comments…and this was only the beginning!

 

Kernow - the Keyring

 

 

Morley went back into the shop, and returned with a second bear….but not what we were expecting at all. He produced something most had not guessed beforehand – the first UK exclusive Keyring, depicting Kernow! This was also to be available to retailers in Cornwall, and I learned an interesting fact about it which is worth passing on to everyone.

 

There is a very famous Cornish folk song called the “Song of the Western Men”, written by R.S.Hawker (1803-1875), which, under the name of “Trelawney” is sung as the unofficial National Anthem of Cornwall. What has this to do with a keyring?  Well, let’s take a look at the chorus of the song, and we might see what the link is:-

 

“And shall Trelawney live?

And shall Trelawney die?

                  Here’s twenty thousand Cornish men

   Will know the reason why!”

 

20,000?   That’s the number of keyrings made!  And apparently this makes the Kernow keyring limited too – others have been made in much higher numbers! There is a strong expectation that many tourists will buy this item as a souvenir of their visit to Cornwall.

 

Flag nose version

 

 

 Back to the shop again, and on his return Morley produced yet another Piran bear, but this time with a flag nose! He told us that this one was very limited – only about 1100, and would be delivered randomly to other retailers in Cornwall – they would not know how many there were getting until they opened their boxes!  Excitement started to rise then, I can tell you!

 

After this many of us were beside ourselves – I often reflect about the sight of grown people queuing up like this, and wonder what others think when they see us…but also note that many then join in on the end of the queue! Padstow in on the tourist trail, and I have no doubt that many of these latest collectables will find new homes with people who do not collect as we do, which will also add to the rarity for us!

 

the Abbey bears exclusive

 

Abbey bears exclusive - hang tag

 

Off went Morley to the shop for visit 4 – and this time he came back with “the exclusive with the exclusive.”  At first glance some people thought it was just the retail version in a Ty Box with a certificate…but this one held   secrets of its own. The certificate carries the logo of Abbey Bears, and is numbered. Morley told us that there were less than 950 available, making this bear the rarest exclusive ever released in the UK – and then he revealed the real secret – the inside of the tag carries the logo of Abbey bears and is the shop’s own exclusive…AND it has a different and unique style number.  A true collectable indeed!

 

Billionaire 9

 

We thought it was all over when Morley went back in again, and we were ready to go and buy.   But…one more surprise to come, as Morley returned with another boxed item – no less than Billionaire 9. When he announced that there would be a lucky draw at 1pm and that there would be  FIVE winners of Billionaire 9, we were almost speechless, I can tell you! They had decided to do this to say thank you to all who had made the journey down to Cornwall, a way of showing appreciation for our support. 

 

Finally we were allowed to enter the shop – all very organised, just 10 at a time (this is not a big department store!), and the chance at last to make our purchases. We were allowed to buy up to 12 regular bears, 2 flag nose bears, 1 Abbey bears Exclusive, and as many key chains as we liked! The shop was decked out with black and white balloons, and Marcus, the owner, and his wife were there too.  Morley and Jonathan were on hand to talk to collectors and answer questions – a personal touch which was much appreciated.

 

 Inside the shop

 

Jonathan Swallow and Morley Lester

 

I then left, to take some pictures in and around. The weather was not too great, and I decided that the boxed bear had better stay in his place, but I managed to get some photographs of the others in various locations in Padstow. I returned later on for the grand draw at 1pm – and it was a real pleasure to see the look on the winners’ faces when their number was drawn – particularly when the first winners were Terry and Julie, who had spent the night outside the shop!

 

 Billionaire Winners

 

 

 

Retail and Flag-Nose Version at the Harbour

 

 

In the garden of my hotel

 

 

It was a splendid occasion, something that will stay in my thoughts for a long time. So many people to thank as well – Marcus and Alex his wife, who must be feeling very proud,  Jenni, who is absolutely tireless in her devotion to the Ty range and all the staff who gave us a friendly welcome. Morley Lester – a very proud day for him too, and well deserved. He had put a huge effort into this launch, and he showed just what a committed and enthusiastic representative could achieve with a dedicated and supportive retailer.  Jonathan Swallow, and all those at Ty UK in the background – I know these events don’t happen without a lot of hard work behind the scenes.

 

 Kernow 2006 and his new friend

 

 

And a personal note of thanks to Ty Warner himself – I applaud his decision to allow this to go ahead, and on behalf of myself and other UK collectors I’d like him to know that we appreciate it very much.  This corner of Cornwall, a long way from most everywhere else in the British Isles, provided the location for a completely unique event in the story of Ty in the UK. The New Face Bear is a design classic of the future, and once again it brought it’s magic to Cornwall.

 

 The 3 versions of Piran
 

 

The 4 Cornish Exclusives
 

 

As Ty continues to develop its product line, I recognise, as many other collectors will, that new designs and styles will be released and aimed a different markets. A business like Ty needs to develop and grow, and reach  different markets – things can’t stay the same -  but it’s good to know that there is still a place for the New Face Bear – a design classic already, and when mixed with occasions like these, absolutely unbeatable!

 

(Sticker)
I found this ...in a shop near Abbey Bears, and couldn't resist it!
 

Ty UK got it right again!