THE EARLY FOUNDATION
aturally artistic, R. John Wright always felt his path would lead to a creative career. Born in Michigan,
John attended Wayne State University in a liberal arts program with an emphasis on art and literature.
Following college, John traveled to New England and settled in New Hampshire.
While browsing in a bookstore, John came across a deluxe large-format art book The Doll authored by Carl Fox. Filled with photographs of antique dolls, one photo in particular caught his attention: a Steiff schoolroom with early Steiff children dolls seated at desks. John was very inspired by this photograph, and having recently made the acquaintance of porcelain dollmaker, Gail Wilson, he began to contemplate the possibility of a career in dollmaking. Two years later he met his future wife and creative partner, Susan - a recent graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. Little did she suspect that her meeting with John would soon redirect her talents and destiny to doll making. The couple settled in Brattleboro, Vermont in 1974.
THE COMPANY BEGINS
In 1976, when he was abruptly laid off from his job as a clerk in the town hardware store, John decided to try his hand at dollmaking. That afternoon he began to sew a crude figure - his first doll - out of the
only fabric at hand, a piece of pale yellow flannel. John had never sewn anything before, but this first effort seemed to hold much potential. Before the first doll was completed, John was already thinking of the improvements he would make on the second one.
Within a few weeks of having lost his job, John made a group of six similarly constructed men dolls out of flesh-colored felt. These dolls featured rudimentary rustic-style clothing and sheep's wool hair and beards.
He took these first dolls to Serkin's Craft Gallery owned by John Serkin, son of famed pianist Rudolph Serkin, in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont where they were purchased on-the-spot for the price of $14 apiece. (The earliest dolls retailed for $28!) During the next six months, John made and sold over a hundred of these primitive felt dolls to area craft stores. Susan began to help John with the production and together they embarked on an intense period of research and development to improve the dolls. Within six months the dolls advanced beyond the primitive "floppy" stage and included joints and more advanced construction.
PRODUCTION GROWS
Working now as a creative team, the couple's doll work soon overtook their small ground-floor Brattleboro apartment turned into a makeshift doll factory. Exhibition in juried craft shows throughout New England provided the expanding wholesale and retail orders for the dolls. They soon began hiring assistants to come and help with the ever-increasing work load. Inspired by early dolls of the Lenci company in Italy and the Kathe Kruse company in Germany, the couple embarked on a mission to discover techniques which would provide the dolls with molded cloth faces. One year after making his first doll, John sculpted the faces which would become the first molded felt dolls from R. John Wright. The Character Dolls, with their molded, hand painted faces and detailed costumes and accessories, brought a new level of sophistication to the work.
CHILD DOLLS
The delightful Little Children Series premiered in 1980 around the time of the birth of the Wright's first child, Lillian. These childlike dolls introduced a completely new look from R. John Wright and the demand from collectors increased worldwide. The business relocated across the border to Cambridge, New York in the early 1980's. There, the doll operation was moved out of the Wright household and into a professional building, a larger work force was hired and trained, and specialized machinery was developed to meet increased production demands.
WINNIE-THE-POOH
1985 was an important milestone year for R. John Wright Dolls, Inc. The company exhibited for the first time at International Toy Fair in New York City. At this show, Christopher Robin & Winnie-the-Pooh was shown under a newly-acquired license with the Walt Disney Company. Over the next decade many of the animal characters from the Hundred Acre Wood and several different editions of Pooh were also produced under license.
DISNEY CLASSICS
The following years brought a succession of many captivating child dolls as well as licensed characters from classic Disney films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio. R. John Wright Dolls has also brought Walt Disney's Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Cinderella to life in definitive limited editions.
BEATRIX POTTER SERIES
In 1998, R. John Wright introduced Peter Rabbit, the first in the Beatrix Potter Collection based on the animal characters in the famous Beatrix Potter books. Among the current offerings is this ongoing series are Hunca Munca and Tom Thumb from the Tale of Two Bad Mice.
CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Continuing a tradition of dolls and animal characters from classic children's literature, the company also produced dolls based on Antoine de Saint Exupery's beloved Little Prince; Michael Bond's Paddington Bear, a delightful rendition of Curious George, France's own Becassine, and Rose O'Neil's darling Kewpies. In 2003 the company began an important all-American series based on the Raggedy Ann characters created by Johnny Gruelle.
BACK TO VERMONT
In 2004 R. John Wright Dolls returned to Vermont moving their innovative and enterprising company to an idylic 17-acre setting on the outskirts of historic Bennington. The Wright's continue to oversee all phases, always stressing the highest quality materials, craftsmanship and integrity of design which for over thirty years have formed the cornerstone of all R. JOHN WRIGHT creations. Among the current productions is the Alice in Wonderland Series based on Lewis Carroll's immortal characters from the 'Alice' books.
THE STEIFF KINDER
In 2007, the story came full-circle with the introduction of a delightful new series of dolls based on the antique Steiff children dolls which inspired R. John Wright in the very beginning: The Steiff Kinder.
2008-2009
In 2008, R. John Wright continued the tradition of dolls from classic Disney films with the introduction of Cinderella. Also produced were further dolls from children's literature: the Palmer Cox Brownies, and Edith, the Lonely Doll. For 2009, the company launched an exciting new licensed series: Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairies. 2009 also marked the year of the first R. John Wright Convention.
Visit the Chronology area of the Web site for a complete listing of virtually every R. John Wright item from 1976 to the present.
AWARDS
R. John Wright dolls and animals have been honored with numerous awards, among them: the Doll of the Year (DOTY) award; the Golden Teddy award; the Dolls magazine Award of Excellence; and Germany's top bear prize Der Goldene George. In 1994, R. John Wright was the recipient of the Jumeau Trophy - considered by many collectors and artists as one of the most prestigious symbols of recognition for achievement in the doll field. In 2005, the definitive book on the company R John Wright - The Art of Toys was published by Reverie Publishing.
