Clarecraft

Clarecraft

Type	Private
Industry	Figurines
Founded	1980
Headquarters	Suffolk, England
Key people	Sally Couch and Trish Baker (Co-owners) Bernard and Isobel Pearson (Founders)
Products	Figurines based on the Discworld Various other fantasy Figurines
Revenue	N/A
Employees	29
Website	N/A

Clarecraft was a company which produced fantasy figurines. Its most popular series was an officially licensed series of figurines based on the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. The company was founded in 1980 by Bernard and Isobel Pearson, and acquired the rights to make Discworld figurines in 1990. In 1993, Clarecraft was purchased by Sally Couch and Trish Baker, the current owners. It is one of the few large scale vendors of Discworld merchandise, along with Stephen Briggs, Paul Kidby, and Bernard Pearson.

Clarecraft figurines are made from a variety of different materials, including pewter and ceramic, and vary widely in size. They range from statues of characters to replicas of objects from the novels to locations appearing in the novels, and some function as book ends, stamps, or containers as well as figurines. The designers at Clarecraft consulted with Terry Pratchett to ensure their figurines accurately reflect the novels. Clarecraft figurines are available in stores throughout England as well as online through Collectors Gifts. Its figurines have become quite collectable, with discontinued items often selling for many times their original price on auction sites. Since their pieces were hand made in Britain rather than mass produced like many figurines, each statue is different. The most expensive sale on record is that of an extremely rare piece sold on eBay in early 2005 to benefit the tsunami relief effort, which sold for £1600.

Clarecraft also ran a large fan club called The Discworld Collectors' Guild, which hosted a large convention every other year which drew about 1000 people, including Terry Pratchett himself.

On August 4, 2005, Clarecraft announced they would be shutting down at the end of October and would stop taking orders in mid-October.

External links

• Bernard Pearson's Discworld Emporium
• An article on Discworld collectibles
• Biography of Bernard Pearson
• An article about the figurine sold for tsunami relief charity
• An article about the closing of Clarecraft's factory