wright dolls type private industry doll toy manufacture founded 1976 brattleboro vermont founder r. john wright & susan wright headquarters bennington vermont area served worldwide services design and production of limited edition molded felt dolls and plush animals website http www.rjohnwright.com r. john wright dolls is an art doll making workshop located in bennington vermont . established in 1976 r. john wright dolls rjw is a privately held company founded by r. john wright . 1 the company designs produces and markets original felt doll and plush animal lines along with many licensed products including winnie the pooh raggedy ann beatrix potter characters classic disney paddington bear and the wizard of oz . the dolls are designed by john and susan wright and produced in numbered limited editions at the r. john wright workshop in bennington vermont . 2 the r. john wright doll company is known for their realistic creations of character dolls and animals molded in felt and plush . each character is strictly produced in a limited number and is packaged with a signed and numbered certificate . 3 contents 1 history 2 disney editions 3 licensed items 4 collector s club 5 awards 6 quotes 7 references 8 external links history edit classic winnie the pooh by r. john wright 1998 r. john wright was born and raised in michigan where he graduated from wayne state university with a degree in liberal arts . two years later having relocated to new england he met his wife susan who had a degree in fine arts from the university of new hampshire . 4 in november 1976 while living in brattleboro vermont r. john wright created his first felt doll in the image of a simple male folk character . production commenced at the couples ground floor apartment . these early dolls were primarily sold at juried craft fairs along the east coast including the american craft council acc exhibitions in rhinebeck new york . the technique and style of the r. john wright dolls underwent significant changes throughout 1977 78 . 5 the early felt dolls of the steiff company were a strong inspiration . the wright s were also inspired by the early molded cloth dolls of kathe kruse . in 1977 during the first full year of wright doll production the book lenci dolls by dorothy s. coleman was published and provided further inspiration . in 1978 through trial and error the wrights were able to reinvent the art of molded felt dolls using their own techniques . 1978 r. john wright joined the united federation of doll clubs 6 ufdc and was elected to the national institute of american doll artists 7 niada where he served as the standards chairman of the organization . in 1981 the r. john wright facility relocated from brattleboro vermont to cambridge new york . r. john wright is known for producing dolls and animals that remain true to the original artwork or source material which they are based on . every project has new technical challenges associated with it . 8 beginning in 1987 every r. john wright item features a 8mm brass identification button inscribed with the initials rjw . in 2005 the r. john wright facility relocated from cambridge new york to bennington vermont . all work continues to be done on site under the wrights direct supervision . r. john wright and susan wright reside in old bennington vermont . they have four children lillian arthur emily and john . 5 r. john wright at the rjw facility in cambridge ny 2005 . disney editions edit in 1984 r. john wright inc. began a 13 year relationship with the walt disney company with the development of a range of dolls and animals based closely on the original illustrations by e. h. shepard in the winnie the pooh books by a. a. milne . these products ushered in a new licensing division titled classic winnie the pooh 5 which was a departure in disney s marketing of winnie the pooh products in the u.s. several editions of winnie the pooh and other characters from the hundred acre wood were produced including a special holiday scene featuring all of the pooh characters which sold at a walt disney world auction for a record 27 000 . 9 under license with disney the r. john wright company went on to produce many disney art character dolls including mickey mouse minnie mouse cinderella pinocchio geppetto and snow white and the seven dwarfs . the snow white and the seven dwarfs set won the rjw company the award of excellence from dolls magazine in 1998 . 5 licensed items edit 1984 1999 r. john wright was under license with the walt disney company for collectible dolls and plush . in 1985 the rjw company received the first doll of the year award from doll reader magazine for their rendition of christopher robin and winnie the pooh . 5 1999 rjw was licensed to produce rose o neill s kewpie in felt . the kewpies are highly collected in japan . production coincided with an extensive r. john wright tour and exhibition at the takashimaya department store in japan . 2000 2008 rjw secured licensing to produce the beatrix potter collection with the introduction of peter rabbit and a series of animal characters from the beatrix potter books . 2000 2002 three editions of the little prince were produced under license with the estate of antoine de saint st. exup ry including a one of a kind figure that traveled the world from january 2001 to january 2002 and sold by the doll auction house theriault s for 35 000 with proceeds going to st. jude s children s research . 5 2000 2002 r. john wright produced several editions of paddington bear under license with the copyrights group r. john wright hummel celestial holiday angel musician 2002 r. john wright produced the clifford berryman bear under license with linda mullins to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the teddy bear . the cowardly lion by r. john wright 2004 2008 rjw was licensed with the copyrights group to produce raggedy ann and other related characters created by johnny gruelle . 5 2006 the french comic character becassine was produced by special permission from the copyright holder and publisher gautier languereau hachette jeunesse . 2007 2008 rjw and the steiff company in germany collaborated on a series of felt child dolls titled steiff kinder . 5 2007 the 50th anniversary of edith the lonely doll by dare wright was met with limited edition replica based on the original lenci doll . 5 the tin man from the wizard of oz r. john wright 2015 2009 2015 rjw produced felt dolls based on the flower fairy books of cicely mary barker under license with frederick warne & co. 2010 2018 rjw was licensed by warner bros. to produce felt art dolls and mohair mice based on the film the wizard of oz . 2012 an edition of the vintage patsy and skippy dolls designed by bernard lipfert were made by special permission of the copyright holders . felt christopher robin dolls in production at the r. john wright workshop circa 1987 . 2013 rjw began production of felt dolls based on the original hummel designs under license with m.i. hummel . in 1992 goebel distributed a series of christmas angels including the celestial musician which has been released by rjw in late 2015 . in 2016 the company will mark its 40th anniversary with joint ventures with steiff an extensive array of licensed pieces and a line of mice bears cats dogs and lambs . 10 collector s club edit in 1996 the company formed the r. john wright collector s club which attracted more than 4 000 members worldwide . 5 awards edit 1985 doll of the year award from doll reader magazine christopher robin & winnie the pooh 5 1986 doll of the year award from doll reader magazine little brother little sister 5 1988 dolls magazine award of excellence snow white and the seven dwarfs 5 1994 jumeau trophy most outstanding male artist of child dolls in the world 5 1994 golden teddy award from teddy bear review magazine pocket pooh 5 1995 dolls magazine award of excellence geppetto & pinocchio 5 2000 der goldene george award presented at teddybar total for paddington bear . 2005 jones publishing lifetime achievement award 2 quotes edit r. john wright and his fanciful felt dolls exemplify the fine work being done by doll artists today . 11 i am grateful that somehow i was given the strength and the unfounded optimism to begin making dolls . i don t know where that came from but it was like being on the edge of a cliff with no other alternative but to jump . i m glad i did . but even if i had failed it would be preferable to never knowing . 12 references edit margiotta christine 2004 . incentives and hometown pull prompt doll maker to leave ny . albany business review . a b history . r. john wright . retrieved 2015 . check date values in access date help thorne mary 2014 . on the block madame alexander dolls prove popular . reading eagle . collecting r. john wright dolls . world collectors net . a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p goddu krystyna poray february 1 2004 . r. john wright the art of toys 1st ed . . reverie publishing ; 1st edition . p. 36 . isbn 1932485147 . united federation of doll clubs the national institute of american doll artists hayes patricia 2006 . special feature r. john wright interview . the lenci doll collector . pinckney . owners see handmade doll business as so much more than just child s play albany business review . albany business review . retrieved 2015 10 18 . ross bonnie winter spring 2015 2016 . a quality of warmth r. john wright s collectable dolls . so vermont arts & living . check date values in date help a. glenn mandeville august 1992 . 40 years of the best contemporary doll stars featuring fashion dolls barbie alexander celebrity . hobby house pr inc. p. 103 . isbn 0875883850 . magazine dolls . the wright way . dolls magazine . retrieved 18 october 2015 . external links edit the r. . john wright company official website united federation of doll collectors national institute of american doll artists retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title r. john wright dolls & oldid 724866636 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