Pierrot

Babes In The Wood

Forever Friends Raggedy Ann

Geoffrey the Hummingbird

(see all)

Camel with the Wrinkled Knees™

6.5" Forever Friends Camel™

Babes in the Wood

Raggedy Ann's Bed

Snowbear

Mr. McGregor's Garden

Clifford Berryman Bear

About R. John Wright

R. John Wright mouse tailor The Toy Shoppe has had the pleasure of offering the work of R. John Wright since 1979. When Danny Shapiro, the founder of The Toy Shoppe first saw this work he was impressed with the great charm and fine craftsmanship exhibited. Each piece created by R. John Wright continues to display the virtuosity of the artist when considering fine and original design, beautiful craftsmanship, and the use of beautiful materials. Obviously each piece is rare due to the fact that work of this nature can only be produced in small quantities.

Originality of Design

Every great object created begins with design. R. John Wright's design quite often begins with source material from famous children's illustrations and from nature. John and Susan particularly have a great propensity for designing work based on famous childhood characters from classic children's books. What is most impressive in this endeavor is that each piece created from these illustrations remains true to their source. Each is truly a definitive interpretation of the most famous childhood characters.

Established in 1976, the company has produced work based on the most famous illustrations of all time, including Ernest Shepherd's Winnie-the-Pooh, Jessie Wilcox Smith's storybook characters, Johnny Gruelle's Raggedy Ann and Andy, Walt Disney's Classics, Saint Exupery's Little Prince, Beatrix Potter's animal kingdom, Rose O'Neill's Kewpie, Michael Bond's Paddington, and Sir John Tenniel's Alice in Wonderland.

Fine Craftsmanship

The making of an heirloom piece in our estimation is synonymous with fine craftsmanship. We have seen so often a fine artist's design destroyed in manufacture. This is definitely NOT the case with R. John Wright. At the R. John Wright workshop and studio in Vermont, a highly skilled team of trained artisans puts each limited edition into production. Each piece that comes from the R. John Wright workshop is beautifully detailed and finished. Because of the complexity of these original designs, innovative techniques must neccessarily be devised to insure that each piece in the edition remains consistent and uniform. Technically speaking, as charming as the early R. John Wright work was, the newer pieces are much more complex and innovative. Due to these technical innovations in manufacture, the designs are now brought to life in a way that they never could have been 20 years ago.

Each accessory that comes with an R. John Wright creation is also of original design. John and Susan are not content to merely use an existing object as an accessory. When the object cannot be created in their workshop due to the material or specialized skills desired, the company works with master craftsmen in their respective fields to custom make the final pieces.

We believe that these factors have been important in contributing to the already established higher value of earlier R. John Wright work.

Materials Used

Felt has been the material of choice from the earliest R. John Wright dolls. Felt is an extremely difficult material with which to work. In the history of fine toy making, we can count Steiff and Lenci as amongst the leaders in the use of felt. R. John Wright has gone beyond each of these makers in his use of felt. We particularly love the artistic manner with which felt is used to create beautiful objects of nature, including leaves, fruits and vegetables.

Heirloom Quality Toys

At The Toy Shoppe, we believe that true collectibility is earned by the maker's dedication and commitment to design, craftsmanship and material usage. Rarity is naturally implied, as work of this nature cannot be mass-produced. The market has already well recognized the collectible nature of the work by R. John Wright. We believe this will easily continue to be the case.