Reflecting changes in social views of child safety and of household modernisation, the Wendy Boston soft toy company developed the modern washable teddy bear. Wendy and her husband, Ken Williams, began the company soon after WW2 (1945), in South Wales. The factory then expanded in 1948. The Wendy Boston company was known for its unjointed […]

What Exactly Are Squishmallows? At first glance, Squishmallows might look like your typical plush toys—but pick one up, and you’ll get it. These soft, squishy pals feel like hugging a marshmallow (if marshmallows had cute faces). Created by Kellytoy, a brand under Jazwares, Squishmallows come in tons of shapes, sizes, and characters—from cuddly animals and […]

Today I’m going to show you how to make a stuffed bear using the bear kits that Wendy sells on her website shiny happy world. These are really easy to do and you can make one in less than an hour. When you get your kit in the mail this is what’s going to look […]

The Jakas company began producing teddy bears in the late 1950s, in Melbourne. 1950s-The earliest teddies were distinctively different to those made from the 1960s on-wards. Fully jointed, and with brown glass eyes, they were made from a wool/synthetic fabric, with woven fabric for the pads (possibly being reversed pieces of the body material). The […]

Florence Upton first published her book ‘The Adventures of the Two Dutch Dolls’ in 1895, which told the story of her two wooden dolls and their friend, a black rag doll, given to her by her Nana. (These black dolls were popular toys for Egyptian children at that time, and were brought back to England […]