Merrythought

Merrythought is a toy manufacturing company established in 1930 in the United Kingdom. The company specialises in soft toys, especially teddy bears. Merrythought has handmade traditional teddy bears in the World Heritage Site of Ironbridge, Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England since 1930.

The company's site in Ironbridge has a small museum and shop open to the public, and is where the toys are made. The site is a former iron foundry building on the banks of the River Severn, less than half a mile (0.7 km) upstream from the world-famous Iron Bridge itself. The vicinity is known as Dale End, lying at the bottom of the Coalbrookdale valley, and falls within the wider Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

The origin of the firm's name is uncertain but possibly derives from an archaic word for "wishbone" – the company has used a wishbone as an emblem from 1930.[1]

History

Merrythought was founded in 1930 by Gordon Holmes and George H. Laxton, with the first catalogue in 1931. The company hired AC Janisch who had been in charge of sales at J. K. Farnell [3]

Present day

The company still uses traditional methods and materials (such as mohair for its bears) to produce a limited range of hand-crafted toys, appealing to the high end of the market. The founder's grandson, Oliver Holmes, ran the business as managing director until his death in 2011; his eldest daughter, Sarah Holmes, has been involved in its management since 2010, and middle daughter Hannah Holmes since 2011, thereby continuing the Holmes family connection.[2] As of 2011, all four shareholders are members of the Holmes family.[11]

The present range includes for the most part traditional and collectable teddy bears (including the company's collectable "Punkinhead" (1948) and "Cheeky" (1956) variants),[12] some other soft toy animals. Since the relaunch in 2007 the collectable part of the range consists of numerous special designs, each produced in a limited batch (typically between 75 and 200 units) and with new designs regularly coming onto the market. Recent commemorative bears include those for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton,[13] the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and in memory of the late Oliver Holmes.

There is a notable foreign export market for the company's products, with Merrythought teddy bears being sent all over the world, most significantly in Japan, where in recent years a "cult following" of Merrythought Bears has developed; the depreciation of the British pound against the Japanese yen since 2008 has also helped sales there.[14] The recent depreciation of the pound has also helped the company compete in the UK against imports, including those from continental Europe.

Displays of historic and current Merrythought products can be seen at the small shop and museum located at the company's Ironbridge site, which is open seven days a week throughout the year and is free to enter.

Merrythought Village

Part of the Merrythought site is now rented out to other businesses, as the company has scaled down operations, with many of the factory and associated buildings not in use by Merrythought rented out to other companies. The overall site therefore has become mixed use with office, workshop and retail units, and has been named the Merrythought Village.[15] The Village at present includes the Merrythought company's factory and its teddy bear museum and shop, but is also home to Ironbridge Interiors, Crystal Labyrinth, Ironbridge Fine Arts and Framing, Ironbridge Scenic River Cruises, Admaston Firecraft Centre Ltd, Ironbridge Arts and Antiques Centre and the Ironworkers of Ironbridge. The Ironbridge Brewery was located at the Village until 2014 (it moved to Wellington and has been renamed) and brewed real ale in the building closest to the Severn. A Co-op supermarket opened at the Village in December 2014. The Merrythought site's historic name is the Dale End Works, sometimes still used on postal addresses.

2012 Olympics

Merrythought was selected by the London Olympic Games organisers in February 2011 to produce the official teddy bears of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, giving the company a further boost. A range of London 2012 Olympic Games Commemorative Teddy Bears has been created each a Limited Edition of 2,012 pieces. Paralympic and Team GB Teddy Bears have also been produced. All of the Olympic teddy bears are handmade in England Merrythought's Ironbridge factory.[2]

type	Private limited company
fate	Operating
foundation	Ironbridge (1930)
founder	Gordon Holmes and George H. Laxton‡R1R‡
location	Ironbridge, Shropshire
area served	Worldwide (principal markets: UK and Japan)
key people	Gordon, Trayton, Oliver, Sarah and Hannah Holmes
industry	Toy manufacturer
products	Stuffed toys, notably teddy bears
owner	Holmes family
num employees	25‡R2R‡
homepage	www.merrythought.co.uk

History

Present day

Merrythought Village

2012 Olympics

Special Editions

Gallery

Further reading

External links

References

Golly controversy