Merrythought

Not to be confused with The Merry Thoughts.

Type	Private limited company
Industry	Toy manufacturer
Fate	Operating
Founded	Ironbridge (1930)
Founder(s)	Gordon Holmes and George H. Laxton[1]
Headquarters	Ironbridge, near Telford Shropshire
Area served	UK & Japan (principal markets)
Key people	Gordon, Trayton, Oliver and Sarah Holmes[2]
Products	Stuffed toys, notably teddy bears
Employees	25[2]
Website	merrythought.co.uk

Merrythought is a toy manufacturing company established in 1930 in the United Kingdom. The company specialises in children's soft toys, especially teddy bears. It is the last remaining British teddy bear factory^{[3][nb 1]} and is located at Ironbridge in Shropshire.

The company's site in Ironbridge has a small museum and shop open to the public, as well as being 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 since 1992.^[1]

History

A Merrythought teddy bear from the 2000s, made with mohair and with a bow decorated with Iron Bridges.

Merrythought was founded in 1930 by Gordon Holmes and George H. Laxton, with the first catalogue in 1931. The company's first products were based on designs by a former employee of Chad Valley, Clifton James Rendle, as well as J. K. Farnell based designs.^[4] Perhaps their most famous individual bear was "Mr Whoppit", the mascot of land and water speed record breaker Donald Campbell.^[5] The company first produced teddy bears based on the "Woppit" character (a teddy bear himself) from the Robin comic in 1956.^[1]

The company at first rented rooms at the Station Hotel in Wellington before moving to a building in Coalbrookdale; in February 1931 Merrythought moved permanently to its present site in Ironbridge.^[1] Business grew rapidly, despite the Great Depression, with the Ironbridge site becoming the largest soft toy factory in Britain in 1935^[4] and by 1939 over 200 people worked for Merrythought. The company's site was rented at first, but was purchased from the Coalbrookdale Company in 1956.^[4] Merrythought has operated from the same site, situated between The Wharfage and the Severn, since 1931, with the exception of during World War II when the site was requisitioned by the Admiralty (for map-making) from the outbreak of war in September 1939. During the War, the company operated from Wellington and produced equipment for war use; Merrythought returned to their Ironbridge site in 1946.^[6] The oldest of the factory buildings were constructed in 1898^[7] with further buildings added to the site during the 20th century as the business grew.

Trayton Holmes, son of founder Gordon Holmes, joined the company in 1949; his son, Oliver Holmes, joined the company in 1972 and eventually became the Managing Director. Also in 1949 notable designers Florence Atwood and Clifton Rendle both died.^[4] After the war new buildings were built on the site and an automatic stuffing machine was bought from the United States in 1955.^[6] In 1957 the "Cheeky" bear was first introduced to the Merrythought range, a design which continues to be produced to the present day. In 1996 the Farnell brand name was bought by Merrythought.^[8] In 2001 a special Hope Bear was produced, raising money for the World Trade Center Disaster Fund.^[1]

Recent events

The company ceased manufacture in November 2006, blaming "the ongoing effects of external economics", specifically cheap foreign-produced goods with which Merrythought could not compete. 48 workers were made redundant^[9] and the company went into voluntary liquidation, which lasted from December 2006 to January 2007.^[4] The business was rescued following a media outcry and an acknowledgement of the considerable following for the Merrythought products. Production resumed in March 2007 and in May that year's catalogue was revealed, with a "much sharper, collector-focused group of products",^[1] with newly made toys on sale that month too. The company continued to produce the toys from the original factory at the Ironbridge site, albeit with a smaller workforce than prior to the closure in 2006.^[10]

Oliver Holmes died from cancer, aged 60, on 30 April 2011. His daughter, Sarah, will take over the running of the company; she is the fourth generation in the Holmes family to be involved in the company.^[11]

Merrythought was awarded the 2011 Supplier Award by the famous, luxury London department store Fortnum & Mason (which has outlets in Japan), with limited edition bears for the store currently being made.^[12]

Present day

The shop and museum, which first opened in 1988, is one of the visitor attractions in the area as part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums.^[13]

The company is now back in permanent operation, using 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 daughter, Sarah Holmes, has been involved in its management since 2010, thereby continuing the Holmes family connection.^[2]

The present range includes for the most part traditional and collectable teddy bears (including the company's "Punkie" and "Cheeky" variants), some other soft toy animals, and a few traditional and collectable gollies. Since the relaunch in 2007 the collectable part of the range consists of numerous special designs, each produced in a small batch of usually 80–100 units, with new designs regularly coming onto the market. Special bears have been made in commemoration of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.^[14]

There is a notable foreign export market in Japan for the company's products, 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.^[3] 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

The Merrythought site in 2011

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 and the Ironworkers of Ironbridge. A final company is the Ironbridge Brewery, which brews real ale in the building closest to the Severn.^[7] 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 sizable production run of 2,012 is planned, though a name for the bear has yet to be chosen.^[3][2] Different bears have been produced to mark the Paralympic games.^[16]

Golly controversy

The golliwog, or Golly doll, a traditional children's toy dating back to the 19th Century, has in modern times come to be regarded as a symbol of racism against black people from less-illuminated times. In August 2011 the Sunday People tabloid^[17] criticised Merrythought for continuing to produce Golly dolls, quoting the former athlete Darren Campbell who regards them as not in-keeping with "Olympic values".^[17] Although the company defended the dolls as "an innocent, traditional British toy"^[18] the range has now been discontinued, with a review of the overall product range given as the reason.^[18]

Gallery

• 

  A limited edition "Henry" teddy bear, made in 2011 with brindle-grey hair

• 

  An "Ironbridge Gold" teddy bear, one of the company's regular designs, made c. 2010

• 

  Iron railings with (metal) teddy bear heads, on the outside of the "Merrythought Village"

• 

  A further section of teddy bear railings

• 

  External view of some of the buildings on the Merrythought site

Notes

1. ^ Dean's Rag Book Co. is an older British teddy bear company (producing Dean's Bears since 1915) however their products are now manufactured overseas.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Martin, Kathy (2009). Merrythought Teddy Bears. Pen & Sword Books Ltd. ISBN 9781844680320. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Merrythought celebrates Olympics teddy bear contract". Shropshire Star. 19 February 2011. http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2011/02/19/merrythought-celebrates-olympics-teddy-bear-contract/. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Burton, Lucy (21 February 2011). "Britain's last surviving teddy bear factory". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12523562. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Merrythought". Lucky Bears Limited. 2011. http://www.luckybears.com/encyclopaedia_merrythought.asp. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
5. ^ Tremayne, David (2005). Donald Campbell: The Man Behind the Mask. Transworld Publishers Ltd. ISBN 0-55381-511-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=GKEMAAAACAAJ&dq=Donald+Campbell:+The+Man+Behind+the+Mask&hl=en&ei=1e9qTfTgK9OHhQf6hpiSBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "History of Merrythought". Merrythought. http://www.merrythought.co.uk/wsb/pages/history-of-merrythought.php. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "Merrythought Village". Visit Ironbridge. http://www.visitironbridge.co.uk/merrythought.aspx. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
8. ^ "J K Farnell". Teds & Dolls. http://www.tedsanddolls.co.uk/farnell.html. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
9. ^ Bould, Amy; Johnson, Peter (27 November 2006). "Teddy bear firm closes". Shropshire Star. http://www.shropshirestar.com/latest/2006/11/27/teddy-bear-firm-closes/. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
10. ^ "Special launch day for teddies". Shropshire Star. 1 May 2007. http://www.shropshirestar.com/latest/2007/05/01/special-launch-day-for-teddies/. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
11. ^ BBC News Merrythought owner Oliver Holmes dies
12. ^ ToyNews Merrythought wins Fortnum and Mason accolade
13. ^ "Ironbridge 2010/11: Ten Amazing Museums". Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/uploadedfiles/Ironbridge_lflt_10.pdf. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
14. ^ Shropshire Star Here come Shropshire's Royal Wedding bears
15. ^ "Merrythought Village, Ironbridge". Merrythought Properties. http://www.merrythoughtproperties.co.uk/merrythought_properties.pdf. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
16. ^ Shropshire Star Merrythought teddies mark Paralympics (19 November 2011)
17. ^ ^{a b} Nick Dorman (14 August 2011). "Company which makes official Olympics teddy bear under fire for making golliwogs". Sunday People. http://www.people.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2011/08/14/company-which-makes-official-olympics-teddy-bear-under-fire-for-making-golliwogs-102039-23341900/. 
18. ^ ^{a b} Shropshire Star Shropshire teddy bear maker Merrythought in golliwogs row (15 August 2011)

Further reading

	Toys portal
	Companies portal
	England portal

• Axe, John (1986). The Magic of Merrythought: A Collector's Encyclopaedia. ISBN 0875882749
• Martin, Kathy (2009). Merrythought Teddy Bears. ISBN 9781844680320
• Rush, Pat (2003). More Merrythought Magic. ISBN 0954539206

External links

• Merrythought (official website)
• Museum of Childhood: Merrythought Bears
• flickr: photographs tagged with "Merrythought"

Coordinates: 52°37′48″N 2°29′38″W / 52.63°N 2.494°W / 52.63; -2.494 (Merrythought Village)