The Fourth Generation of Merrythought
Today the Merrythought teddy bear is still widely regarded as the ultimate childhood toy, treasured by children and adult collectors across the globe. The company’s timeless traditional characters continue to be hand-made in the original factory, alongside stunning limited edition bears that commemorative occasions such as the Olympic Games and Royal Weddings.
Brand Collaboration Bears
Merrythought has collaborated with a fantastic variety of luxury brands throughout its history, becoming a specialist in creating bespoke and exclusive teddy bears for both corporate gifting and premium retail. Clients have ranged from global fashion brands to five star hotels, with each given a truly personal service and a finished product that is tailored to their requirements and, of course, beautifully handmade in England.
The Olympics
As a long-standing British brand and manufacturer, Merrythought was approached by the organising committee of the London 2012 Olympic Games and asked to produce the official teddy bears for the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and Team GB. The collection proved extremely popular as high quality souvenirs of the global event, with a special gold edition bear selling out within just a few hours of the opening of the Games.
Goodbye Christopher Robin
Given Merrythought’s heritage in producing classic British teddy bears, film producers Fox approached the company about recreating one rather famous character – Edward; Christopher Robin’s Teddy Bear – for the major feature film ‘Goodbye Christopher Robin’. Originally made by Farnell, producer of the first British teddy bear and the country’s oldest soft toy brand, Edward was Christopher’s much-loved childhood teddy bear, and the inspiration for his father AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh. Since Merrythought had owned the Farnell brand for many years and was experienced in recreating their classical designs, the company was able to produce a beautiful replica that starred throughout the 2017 film. The bear continues to be one of Merrythought’s most popular Traditional Collection products to this day.
90th Anniversary
Merrythought marked its milestone 90th anniversary with the release of a unique limited-edition teddy bear. Made from special gold and bronze toned mohair, the bear was finished with a gold pendant in the shape of the brand’s iconic wishbone, set within a double ribbon that signified the marriage of ruby (40 years) and gold (50 years) anniversaries. A Cheeky Bear version was also created, giving Merrythought collectors around the world the opportunity to own an exceptionally beautiful bear to remember the occasion by.
Royal Teddy Bears
In recent years, we have created teddy bears to celebrate the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III, amongst many others. These exquisite bears capture historic moments and allow a piece of that history to be remembered and passed to future generations.
Merrythought was also commissioned to produce exclusive Royal Baby teddy bears for the Royal Collection Trust, operator of the official Buckingham Palace Shop, with number one of each limited edition being gifted to the respective Prince or Princess.
Paddington™ Joins the Merrythought Family
With great delight, we welcomed Paddington™ to our distinguished portfolio!
Our detailed recreations of everyone's favourite marmalade-loving bear allow you to enjoy this cherished character in your own home and welcome into your family. Each bear has been intricately designed to truly capture the personality of Paddington, and has been lovingly hand-crafted in Merrythought’s historic British factory.
95th Anniversary
At the beginning of 2025, we unveiled an exquisite collectable teddy bear to celebrate 95 years of Merrythought.
Beautifully hand-crafted in our original Ironbridge factory from two tones of the finest golden mohair, each bear is adorned with a stunning pendant, embellished with the iconic Merrythought wishbone and sapphire crystals. Our 95th anniversary logo is neatly embroidered upon the left paw, and a special 95th anniversary foot label is stitched to the other to create a true collector's piece.
