The pumpkins are appearing.
Halloween decorations are slowly taking over store shelves.
And somewhere, someone has already decided it is perfectly acceptable to start drinking everything pumpkin flavored.
Fall is nearly here.
Build-A-Bear Workshop is certainly ready.
As the retailer continues building on the excitement surrounding the upcoming spooky season, another collection has arrived with a little help from Sanrio.
Only this time, Hello Kitty isn’t coming alone.
Berry and Cherry, the mischievous duo known as Lloromannic, are officially making their Build-A-Bear debut as part of the retailer’s newest Sanrio Halloween Collection.
And really?
These two were practically made for Halloween.
For the first time, Berry and Cherry are being offered as full-size plush by a retailer across the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada, giving longtime fans of the characters a particularly exciting new way to bring the duo home.
The pair first entered the larger Sanrio universe back in 2007 as characters connected to Cinnamoroll.
Yet unlike the sweet, fluffy world many immediately associate with Cinnamoroll, Berry and Cherry come with a considerably more mischievous edge.
The two originate from a mysterious world located beyond a magical mirror.
Even their Lloromannic name plays into that connection.
Turn Cinnamoroll backwards and you get Lloromannic.
Which, admittedly, feels appropriately strange for Halloween.
Berry makes his full-size plush debut alongside his partner Cherry, with both characters becoming part of Build-A-Bear’s growing assortment of Sanrio friends.
Their arrival also reflects something particularly fun about the continued Build-A-Bear and Sanrio partnership.
It isn’t simply relying on Hello Kitty.
Sanrio has an enormous universe of characters, including plenty with passionate fan bases that don’t always receive the same mainstream attention as its biggest names.
Bringing Berry and Cherry into Build-A-Bear gives those fans something they have been waiting for while putting the characters in front of an entirely new audience.
And they aren’t the only Sanrio friends getting dressed for the season.
The Halloween collection also includes Spooky Webs Cinnamoroll and Starry Sky Hello Kitty, giving two considerably more familiar characters their own seasonal transformations.
It is another piece of Build-A-Bear’s larger shift into fall.
Every year, the retailer embraces Halloween with seasonal plush, costumes, licensed characters and designs that turn the approaching holiday into considerably more than a single October release.
Instead, spooky season becomes its own miniature Build-A-Bear event.
And with September officially arriving, that event is only getting started.
There is also something especially fitting about Berry and Cherry being among the characters helping usher it in.
A mysterious mirror world.
A mischievous duo.
A name that is literally another character’s name turned backwards.
Come on.
They were waiting for Halloween.
The Build-A-Bear Sanrio Halloween Collection featuring Berry, Cherry, Spooky Webs Cinnamoroll and Starry Sky Hello Kitty is available now online and at participating Build-A-Bear Workshop locations while supplies last.
Fall is almost here.
And spooky season has officially begun building.