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 like. It’s got all the pieces that you need printed right on the fabric it also has some really simple instructions printed on the fabric you’ll see here that it’s really easy to do, so the first thing you going to do is basically just cut out around all these pieces and your just going to cut out right on the edge of the color where the color meets the white and so you have all the pieces cut out I’m not going to do that here because that would be boring.

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A Teddy Bear isn’t just a plaything, but a collectible for many individuals all over the world. Every Bear has its personality and mood; it really is one of a kind. Known around the globe as a “Teddy Bear”, bears are going through a renaissance. Rare types of both old and new collectable bears are real artworks that are a way to obtain pleasure for most collectors. Continue Reading…

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 label was machine-stitched on beige fabric, reading JAKAS TOYS/ WASH IN LUX€™. Continue Reading…

In the early 1970s, Joy Toys was competing in a changed market. The removal of tariffs meant that toys produced more cheaply in Asia were able to flood the market, and this led to the closure of a large proportion of what had previously been very successful Australian toy companies.

This catalogue, produced in about 1971-3, illustrates the changing production that Joy Toys undertook, to try and remain in business. It was a time of transition, from the more expensive and labour-intensive quality of the 1920s-60s, to cheaper, synthetic (and more competitive) toy production. Continue Reading…

The Schreyer Toy Company, more commonly known as Schuco, flourished during the first half of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1912 by Heinrich Muller who, after an apprenticeship with Gebruder Bing (toymakers), began his toy company with Heinrich Schreyer.

In 1913 Schreyer introduced it’s first range of soft toys, which were wheeled animals, one of which was a bear. It was very successful however the two owners were conscripted into the military after the outbreak of WW1, which closed the factory in 1914. Continue Reading…

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 by British troops stationed in Eygpt in the latter part of the 19th Century). Florence painted all the artwork for her book, and her mother, Bertha, wrote the verses. It was very successful, and inspired the two women to publish a further 12 books. Continue Reading…

The Barton Waugh company produced a range of soft toys in Hurstville, Sydney, from the late 1940s till the late 1960s. Predominately a teddy bear company, it also made a small range of dogs and other plush toys.

The Barton Waugh ‘Bruno’ was the most distinctive pattern. Created in many sizes, from 30cm to 182cm, Bruno is now almost never labelled, as each was only identified, when leaving the factory, with a cardboard swing tag. Consequently, many remain unidentified. There are, though, several distinguishing features. Continue Reading…

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 teddy bears with their arms outstretched. The other distinctive feature was the invention of screw-locked plastic eyes, in 1948. These were amber-coloured plastic with a small black pupil, and fixed in place by a screw-locked nut on a bolt behind the pupil. This revolutionized the safety of teddy bears, as traditional glass or shoe button eyes posed a danger to small children, if pulled out and swallowed. Continue Reading…

Many types of damage can occur to poor teddy! Play, insects, moisture, dirt and dogs can all cause grief!

With very valuable bears, family heirlooms or severe damage, it is advisable to leave the repair to an expert. Many advertise online, or in the Yellow Pages under ‘Doll Hospitals’ or ‘Teddy Bear/Toy Repairers’. Professional teddy bear makers may also be suitable.

It is important to clarify, with whoever you choose to fix teddy, how much you would like him repaired, before he comes home unrecognisable! The repairer needs to keep in mind what teddy would have looked like and how much you would like to retain of what he now looks like, before treatment. Continue Reading…