Modern Teddy Bear Makers of the United States
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During the 1960's, many American soft toy makers had their toys made outside of the United States, many of these toys, in particular the Teddy Bear, was made in the Far East and, unfortunately, this meant the end of some big American Teddy Bear manufacturers including the early Ideal and Knickerbocker companies, as toy companies such as these simply could not complete with the Far Eastern production costs. Of course, another factor being, during the 1970's and thereafter for a time, Teddy Bears were largely being produced for the mass-markets, such Teddy Bears being made of synthetic plush rather than quality mohair or such like.
R. Dakin And Company - The Dakin Company of California was founded by Richard Dakin back in 1955, firstly as an importer of handcrafted items. In 1957, however, whilst packing some Japanese mechanical toys, they stumbled upon the soft toy market. Dakin's son, Roger could immediately see an opening in the market for such toys and they almost immediately placed an order with the Japanese for such toys. Such was the success of these toys that Dakin began designing their own toys. These toys were marketed under the name of Dream Pets. During the 1960's, the company began making toys for Japan, Mexico and Hong Kong. In 1989, they bought the famous British Company, ‘House of Nisbet'.
Amongst their most successful of soft toys are Garfield and many of the characters from The Muppets. Of course, this company also produced the famous Teddy Bear called ‘Misha' who was produced as a mascot for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. These Misha Bears are now becoming rather difficult to find, in good condition, that is, so if you find a good example, it could be worth buying.
Avalon Inc. - In the United States, Teddy Bears with plastic faces are very popular. Avalon Inc. Of Pennsylvannia are makers of such Teddy Bears. A cloth label sewn into the Teddy Bear's side usually identifies his makers, Avalon Inc.
Of course, during this time certain toy stores in America still stocked some high quality limited edition Teddy Bears from some of the world's most leading makers including the ever popular Steiff Company. The F.A.O. Schwarz toy shop in New York, for example, is one of the oldest and largest toy shops in the world. They opened their first shop way back in 1862 and are certainly famous worldwide for their very high quality toys. Infact, it is always a joy to visit their store.
F.A.O. Schwarz opened another shop in San Francisco in 1989.
America certainly has a long and most established history with the Teddy Bear and today there are thousands of avid Teddy Bear collectors from North to South.
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