Cherished Teddies
Delightful hand made collectible figurines.
Since their introduction in 1992, Cherished Teddies have become the world's most popular teddy bear Collectible.
Each bear starts its life in the minds of artist Pricilla Hillman and her son Glenn. Their final drawings are sent overseas to the Cherished Teddies sculptors, who follow size and colour specifications, indicated on the original artboard. The sculptor studies the drawing and starts to turn the original sketch into a 3-dimensional clay form. This master clay is baked to harden it, before a polyresin material is poured onto it to create the mould. The mould is then baked again.
The silicon mould is handled and sorted very carefully as it is used to create all of the Cherished Teddies figurines. A polyresin material is poured into the rubbery silicon mould and air-dried at room temperature. This creates a 'white body', known as whiteware, so named for its plain, colourless appearance. This is the beginning stage of a figurine prior to attaching extra moulds for special features, such as a newspaper or watering can. The whiteware figurine is removed from the mould, cleaned, sanded and inspected for any imperfections in preparation for being painted.
As many as eight artists - often holding several brushes at once - hand paint the bear's clothing, patches, fur and adorable expressions, bringing Pricilla's concepts to life.
Each hand painted figurine is understamped and comes with a Certificate of Adoption, fulfilling Pricilla's dreams that her precious Cherished Teddies find a special home with you.