KAREN MERCER WAS A 'COLLECTOR CORNERED'

(Taken from the 'This Morning' website)

COLLECTORS CORNERED

Eric Knowles invites a different collector into the studio each week to gamble something from their collection in the hope they will win their most wanted item.

We ask them five questions on their specialist subject. If they get three right, they win their most wanted item. If they don't we keep the item they gambled!

Today's Collector: Karen Mercer, a huge Beanie Bear collector.
What is she going to gamble?: Exclusive Canadian Maple bear - this was a gift from some Canadian Beanie collectors she went to visit and you can't get it in this country. It is worth £45.
What is she hoping to win?: Billionaire bear - these are given to employees of Beanie Bears at the Beanie Bear factory in New York and are impossible to get hold of.

Background:
Karen her been collecting Beanies Bears for 3 years. She started by accident when she saw a fuss over in the corner of a card ahop and it was because if the new "Bushy the Lion" bear that had just come out. She liked it and brought one. The most she has paid for a bear is £275 each for Nip and Zip bears, these are two of the originals from 1996 when Beanie bears began.

Her best buy is her Summer Olympics bear from the 1996 Olympics.

Her collection is insured for £16-18,000.

If you were to put every bear Karen owns on its head, they would stand 650ft tall - taller than the London Eye and the BT Tower!

When she wrote to us, she admitted to having 630 Beanies … but we know that she's bought more since then (892 at last count!)! The main problem apart from paying for them, of course - is where to put them all when a collection gets this large!

Thanks to Karen and Dave for sharing their photos of the occasion with us
The first two photos are ones that I took of the TV screen - hence the poor quality
Notice the three ticks across the first picture, denoting that Karen had got three questions right and had won the prize!
Karen managed to get several items signed for CHERISH during her time at the studios for which I am very grateful
Here are photos of some of the items which will be sold on eBay at the end of October to raise money for Breast Cancer Research

 breakfast

Karen when she realised that she had won her dream prize - Billionaire Beanie!

Karen and her beanie display on the set; with Fern Britton and Philip Schofield

Philip's signed Joseph Peace; Phil's signed Punxsutawn-e Phil

Fern's signed Ferny; Fern's signed Mum

Eric Knowles creating an Eric-look-alike Color Me Beanie; the signed tag

 Peter Amory/Chris Tate in Emmerdale signed tag; Ty shirt signed by Fern and Phil

Click here to visit Karen's website and read all about her Big Day!