MEET THE ARTIST
MEET THE ARTIST
A lifetime R. John Wright and his wife Susan have been designing their distinctive and very appealing bears, dolls and other characters for almost four decades
42
TEDDY BEAR TIMES
J
F O
BY BRITA MOORE
ohn Wright is a living testament to the truth that inspiration can come from anywhere and last a lifetime. Nearly 40 years into his tenure running R. John Wright Dolls Inc., alongside his wife Susan, he’s still bringing a creative spirit day by day and we are so glad he chose to share it with Teddy Bear Times. “We don’t have any plans other than to keep on designing and producing wonderful dolls and animals,” John told us. “We get great joy from doing this and
there are still many things we’d love to see realised!” Carl Fox’s art book ‘The Doll’ caught John’s attention in a book store one day, which provided his initial spark of inspiration. He had also met porcelain dollmaker Gail Wilson and that further spurred him towards his eventual career.“The thing that impressed me was that Gail was making her living making her little porcelain dolls all by herself,” John said. “She lived in a tiny one-room log cabin without electricity
F O
inspiration
and sewed on an antique treadle sewing machine. It was impressive that she had more work than she could handle. “For the first time I began to envision myself as a doll designer. Although my dolls would be nothing like Gail’s, I had a lot of confidence in my abilities and was intrigued with the idea of making dolls or toys.” When John began making dolls himself in 1976, in Brattleboro, Vt., he made them out of felt. He and Susan strove to emulate long-lost techniques from Italy
and Germany, and fortunately they’d become successful enough that they could expand operations, thanks to their exhibits at juried craft shows. They soon had their first moulded felt dolls, leading into the Character Dolls and the Little Children Series. John and Susan’s first teddy bear was a character himself: Winnie-the-Pooh, along with their Christopher Robin doll, after the company had received a license from the Walt Disney Company. “This set the stage for many original
bears and animals, as well as our licensed Beatrix Potter pieces,” John said. Now the Wrights regularly create teddy bears and other critters in addition to dolls. John said usually about 20-30 prototypes are required each year and they spend their days doing research, administrative work, and designing dolls and animals. “The biggest difference for us going from our doll making to bears was that we were unable to utilise any of the moulding techniques we had developed for our dolls,” John told us. TEDDY BEAR TIMES
43
MEET THE MAKERS
It certainly helps that ‘Susan and I are a team because when one of us is discouraged, the other invariably brings a much-needed dose of optimism.
’
44
“Instead, the design of the bears relied solely on pattern-making and stuffing to achieve the desired effect. Much later we were able to incorporate moulding into our bear designs.” Currently the company has two bears in production, named Simon and Christopher, both part of the ‘Toddler Bears’ series. The bears are dressed in vintage children’s clothes and are made of the finest custom-made mohair plush. They even have claws in their paw pads. You can view more of the Toddler Bears on the website. John said that they don’t get too many suggestions but occasionally someone will ask them to consider something rather unexpected, like a Mona Lisa, Betty Boop, Medusa or a Nativity scene (including baby Jesus). “First and foremost, the idea must appeal to us,” John said. “Our approach to choosing projects has always been to make what we like with the conviction that there will be enough people who will also like it too. If I had to choose an overall favourite it would be the ‘Geppetto and Pinocchio’ set. Perhaps it’s that I think of myself as Geppetto - totally pleased with the adorable little marionette he has created! Susan’s favourite series are the child dolls we’ve made based on the artwork of famed illustrator Jessie Willcox-Smith.” One of the Wrights’ signature collec-
tions is their long running line of mice characters. Why would they choose mice, you might wonder? “We began making mice with the Beatrix Potter ‘Mouse Tailor’ mouse in 2002 which was followed by other Potter mice,” John said. “Due to their popularity we came out with the first in an annual series of ‘Christmas’ mice. We found that with the mice we were tapping a market that went beyond dolls and bears. Due to their small size collectors couldn’t get enough of them! “As we improved our ability to make mouse-size clothing and accessories it was inevitable that we would create new mice characters. To date we’ve designed and produced over 50 different mice with no end in sight. For 2016 we are once again licensed to produce Beatrix Potter items and on the drawing board at this time is a lovely mouse set of ‘Hunca Munca & Her Babies’” Currently the Wrights are planning for their 2016 convention, where they’ll give a tour of the design studio in Bennington, Vt. “Even long-time collectors experience a newfound appreciation of all that goes into the design and production of each and every item,” John said. They are also planning commemorative pieces for their 40th anniversary, which will be available on their website.
Previous page: Baby Bears: Bao-Bao, Tickles, Nippy and Pep. Ltd. Ed. 500.Year of Issue: 2000 Left: Hugs Around the World. A 2005 one-of-a-kind that sold for $25,000 in aid of Tsunami Victim Relief Top right: Clifford Berryman Bear, 2002. Ltd. Ed. 1000. Right: Christopher, 2014, Ltd. Ed. 150. Far right: Lady & Gentleman Mouse. Ltd. Ed. 300, 2009. Top opposite: Nighttime Winnie-the-Pooh Ltd. Ed. 2500 from 1999 Top left: Paddington, everyone’s favourite. Above: Wizard of Oz Mice. Ltd. Ed. 200, from 2014. TEDDY BEAR TIMES
MEET THE MAKERS
Of course, these past 40 years have been filled with hard work and innovation. John feels that it’s been completely worth it. “Seeing our first dolls selling was an exciting moment,” he said. “When we displayed at our first show and came home with enough orders for the year, it was thrilling to know that we could actually make our living making dolls. Signing our first licensing agreement with the Walt Disney Company was another high point. I’m happy to say that I’m hard-
pressed to recall any bona-fide ‘disasters’. It certainly helps that Susan and I are a team because when one of us is discouraged, the other invariably brings a much-needed dose of optimism. In this way we are able to weather any storms in reaching our goals.”
THE BEAR FACTS: R. John Wright email: [email protected] web: www.rjohnwright.com Call: (802)447-7072
TEDDY BEAR TIMES
45
A lifetime R. John Wright and his wife Susan have been designing their distinctive and very appealing bears, dolls and other characters for almost four decades
42
TEDDY BEAR TIMES
J
F O
BY BRITA MOORE
ohn Wright is a living testament to the truth that inspiration can come from anywhere and last a lifetime. Nearly 40 years into his tenure running R. John Wright Dolls Inc., alongside his wife Susan, he’s still bringing a creative spirit day by day and we are so glad he chose to share it with Teddy Bear Times. “We don’t have any plans other than to keep on designing and producing wonderful dolls and animals,” John told us. “We get great joy from doing this and
there are still many things we’d love to see realised!” Carl Fox’s art book ‘The Doll’ caught John’s attention in a book store one day, which provided his initial spark of inspiration. He had also met porcelain dollmaker Gail Wilson and that further spurred him towards his eventual career.“The thing that impressed me was that Gail was making her living making her little porcelain dolls all by herself,” John said. “She lived in a tiny one-room log cabin without electricity
F O
inspiration
and sewed on an antique treadle sewing machine. It was impressive that she had more work than she could handle. “For the first time I began to envision myself as a doll designer. Although my dolls would be nothing like Gail’s, I had a lot of confidence in my abilities and was intrigued with the idea of making dolls or toys.” When John began making dolls himself in 1976, in Brattleboro, Vt., he made them out of felt. He and Susan strove to emulate long-lost techniques from Italy
and Germany, and fortunately they’d become successful enough that they could expand operations, thanks to their exhibits at juried craft shows. They soon had their first moulded felt dolls, leading into the Character Dolls and the Little Children Series. John and Susan’s first teddy bear was a character himself: Winnie-the-Pooh, along with their Christopher Robin doll, after the company had received a license from the Walt Disney Company. “This set the stage for many original
bears and animals, as well as our licensed Beatrix Potter pieces,” John said. Now the Wrights regularly create teddy bears and other critters in addition to dolls. John said usually about 20-30 prototypes are required each year and they spend their days doing research, administrative work, and designing dolls and animals. “The biggest difference for us going from our doll making to bears was that we were unable to utilise any of the moulding techniques we had developed for our dolls,” John told us. TEDDY BEAR TIMES
43
MEET THE MAKERS
It certainly helps that ‘Susan and I are a team because when one of us is discouraged, the other invariably brings a much-needed dose of optimism.
’
44
“Instead, the design of the bears relied solely on pattern-making and stuffing to achieve the desired effect. Much later we were able to incorporate moulding into our bear designs.” Currently the company has two bears in production, named Simon and Christopher, both part of the ‘Toddler Bears’ series. The bears are dressed in vintage children’s clothes and are made of the finest custom-made mohair plush. They even have claws in their paw pads. You can view more of the Toddler Bears on the website. John said that they don’t get too many suggestions but occasionally someone will ask them to consider something rather unexpected, like a Mona Lisa, Betty Boop, Medusa or a Nativity scene (including baby Jesus). “First and foremost, the idea must appeal to us,” John said. “Our approach to choosing projects has always been to make what we like with the conviction that there will be enough people who will also like it too. If I had to choose an overall favourite it would be the ‘Geppetto and Pinocchio’ set. Perhaps it’s that I think of myself as Geppetto - totally pleased with the adorable little marionette he has created! Susan’s favourite series are the child dolls we’ve made based on the artwork of famed illustrator Jessie Willcox-Smith.” One of the Wrights’ signature collec-
tions is their long running line of mice characters. Why would they choose mice, you might wonder? “We began making mice with the Beatrix Potter ‘Mouse Tailor’ mouse in 2002 which was followed by other Potter mice,” John said. “Due to their popularity we came out with the first in an annual series of ‘Christmas’ mice. We found that with the mice we were tapping a market that went beyond dolls and bears. Due to their small size collectors couldn’t get enough of them! “As we improved our ability to make mouse-size clothing and accessories it was inevitable that we would create new mice characters. To date we’ve designed and produced over 50 different mice with no end in sight. For 2016 we are once again licensed to produce Beatrix Potter items and on the drawing board at this time is a lovely mouse set of ‘Hunca Munca & Her Babies’” Currently the Wrights are planning for their 2016 convention, where they’ll give a tour of the design studio in Bennington, Vt. “Even long-time collectors experience a newfound appreciation of all that goes into the design and production of each and every item,” John said. They are also planning commemorative pieces for their 40th anniversary, which will be available on their website.
Previous page: Baby Bears: Bao-Bao, Tickles, Nippy and Pep. Ltd. Ed. 500.Year of Issue: 2000 Left: Hugs Around the World. A 2005 one-of-a-kind that sold for $25,000 in aid of Tsunami Victim Relief Top right: Clifford Berryman Bear, 2002. Ltd. Ed. 1000. Right: Christopher, 2014, Ltd. Ed. 150. Far right: Lady & Gentleman Mouse. Ltd. Ed. 300, 2009. Top opposite: Nighttime Winnie-the-Pooh Ltd. Ed. 2500 from 1999 Top left: Paddington, everyone’s favourite. Above: Wizard of Oz Mice. Ltd. Ed. 200, from 2014. TEDDY BEAR TIMES
MEET THE MAKERS
Of course, these past 40 years have been filled with hard work and innovation. John feels that it’s been completely worth it. “Seeing our first dolls selling was an exciting moment,” he said. “When we displayed at our first show and came home with enough orders for the year, it was thrilling to know that we could actually make our living making dolls. Signing our first licensing agreement with the Walt Disney Company was another high point. I’m happy to say that I’m hard-
pressed to recall any bona-fide ‘disasters’. It certainly helps that Susan and I are a team because when one of us is discouraged, the other invariably brings a much-needed dose of optimism. In this way we are able to weather any storms in reaching our goals.”
THE BEAR FACTS: R. John Wright email: [email protected] web: www.rjohnwright.com Call: (802)447-7072
TEDDY BEAR TIMES
45
