Sharie's Jellycat Blog

got this jellycat finley bear at a local thrift shop visiting family! he was $3.50 which is hilarious considering they were charging $6-$7 for all their beanie babies

I started this doodle ages ago and then just didn't finish it until now :V

Jellycat of the Day | 6th May 2024

↳ Bashful Kitty | 2017 Retired Design

This handsome beast is Mr. Ruurd Lowieke Peebles!

I haven’t quite decided how Mr. Peebles fits into my critters’ lore yet, but he’s a prized addition to my collection all the same. He’s a Jellycat Zigzag Gecko; I discovered and fell in love with the design only after it had been retired and was no longer anywhere to be found in any American store. In fact, only two stores appeared to have them in stock anywhere in the world: one in France and one in Sweden. Neither one would ship to the US.

Luckily, I have wonderful European friends, and one of them--one of my best and oldest friends, but one whom I have never met in person--kindly purchased him for me and forwarded him to my address in Utah, even with the increased costs incurred by the war in Ukraine.

To me, there’s something very funny and beautiful about being shipped something as innocuous and fripperous as a stuffed gecko from halfway round the world, a stuffed gecko that’s been held and petted by friends you’ve never met, in a time of unrest. There’s lots of wretched stuff in the world. But there’s also Mr. Peebles.

Mr. Peebles’ first and middle names were suggested by the Dutch friend who went to such pains to procure him for me. His surname is from the titular character in the short story “Mr. Peebles’ Heart.”