History of Merrythought - page 2
In March 1946 Merrythought were able to restart production at the Coalbrookdale works and Mr. B. Trayton Holmes, son of the founder, came to the factory and under his management Merrythought began to expand again. An automatic stuffing machine brought over from America in 1955 – although it did not entirely replace the hand stuffing which still continues to this day – and the original foundry building was improved again, a new design and showroom building were erected and an office block built in the grounds.
Jacqueline Revitt a designer of all Merrythought’s animals. She started working at Merrythought in 1972 following extensive training as a clothing designer and pattern cutter. Jacqueline gets her inspiration for realism by watching animals in action. Having drawn the animal in profile she then engineers the joining parts to create patterns from which the design can be cut in mohair or plush cloth. After the pattern has been created Jacqueline and her assistant produce a factory model for approval and continually check the production to ensure that the final product is up to the standard of the original model.
The present Managing Director Oliver Holmes is the original founder’s grandson who joined the factory in 1972 after training as an engineer. Merrythought remains a family business to this day and continues to create a delightful range of beautifully made soft toys. There is nothing mass-produced about a Merrythought Toy because each animal is lovingly handcrafted, no two animals of any design are ever exactly the same. In fact through every stage of production we do everything we can to ensure that only the best in top quality soft toys are manufactured here in Ironbridge.
After the sad events of November 2006 when the manufacturing of Merrythought soft toys and bears stopped many thought it would be the end of the traditional hand made English teddy bear.
After many letters, phone calls and emails from concerned collectors around the world the decision was taken to start production once more in march 2007.
The factory was condensed down and it was decided quite early on that due to the size of the factory and the limited number of staff we would concentrate solely on collectible bears, cheekies and punkies.
Once again our exquisite hand made bears would charm and delight collectors around the world.