The Toy Shoppe Has Offered R. John Wright Creations For Over Three Decades
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 John and Susan's 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 of exceptional quality. As work of this nature can only be produced in small quantities, each piece is all the more special.
Originality Of Design
Every great object begins with fine design. John and Susan often take their inspiration from famous illustrations found in the classic children's books which they love. What is most impressive is that each piece created from these illustrations remains true to the original artwork: two dimensional illustrations brought to life in three dimensions exactly as we expect them to be. They become the definitive interpretation of our favorite childhood characters. The Wright's designs are also inspired by nature. The realism with which they create their bears, mice and other animals is matched only by their ability to introduce rich character and personality in them without resorting to caricaturish extremism.
Inspired By The Classics
Established in 1976, R. John Wright 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, Palmer Cox's Brownies, Saint Exupery's The Little Prince, Beatrix Potter's animal kingdom, Rose O'Neill's Kewpie, Michael Bond's Paddington and Sir John Tenniel's Alice in Wonderland... and the list continues to grow today with their new Peter Pan series!
Fine Craftsmanship
In our opinion, the making of an heirloom piece requires a marriage of fine design and quality craftsmanship. Poor manufacturing can shatter an artist's fine design. The RJW Workshop employs a unique process to address this. After designing an edition, John and Susan oversee every step of production at their workshop in Vermont ensuring each piece lives up to their artistic vision. Under their watchful eyes, a highly skilled team of trained artisans puts each limited edition into production, detailing and finishing these treasures by hand. Due to the complexity of their original designs, John and Susan must often develop innovative techniques to insure that the edition remains consistent and uniform throughout production: the first piece in the edition must be as wonderful and charming as the final one. Technically speaking, as amazing and delightful as the early R. John Wright creations were, the newer pieces are far more complex. Today’s RJW designs are now brought to life in a way that they never could have been done 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.
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.
Today, John and Susan continue to create and innovate with delightful felt dolls, bears, mice and many other characters at their workshop in Bennington, Vermont in the United States.
see more by R. John Wright
