Abraham, Mercy and Truth -- sounds like a WWF wrestling card, doesn't it?
Guess again. They are some of the Angelic Beans, a collection of beanbag bears, lions and other animals based on Bible stories. The creator, ProTech Products Inc. of Walnut, Calif., hopes the Angelic Beans will have a positive influence in a violent society."We're a Christian company and, hopefully, our toys will have a niche," says company President Steve Doughty, a resident of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
The Angelic Beans have almost 600 retailers and distributors worldwide. The suggested retail price for the average Angelic Bean -- $8-10.
ProTech, which specializes in acrylic casing for collector's items, says the first series of nearly 148,000 biblical bears is almost sold out. The company says the other series also are selling well: There are biblical lions, patriotic animals covered in red, white and blue fabric and a millennium series featuring bears with clocks in their tummies.
"Collecting bean-bag toys is not as much a money thing as it was a year or two ago," notes Donna Scheffer, owner of Donna's Precious Dolls, Gifts & Collectibles in Huntington Beach, Calif., which sells Angelic Beans. "People do it now because they enjoy it, not because they want to resell the toys and use the money to go to college."