Gabrielle Designs Bears
When Gabrielle Designs first started making their Paddington Bears in 1972, it was a very small business run by Shirley and Eddie Clarkson out of their home in Burghwallis near Doncaster in Yorkshire, England.
If you would like to learn more about the fascinating story behind Gabrielle Designs then look out for Shirely Clarkson's hilarious autobiography, "Bearly Believable: My part in the Paddington Bear Story"
This is a picture of the first prototype Paddington which Shirley made as a Christmas present for her children, Jeremy and Joanna.
Shirley Clarkson put her bears into Wellington boots to help them stand up and this, in fact, is how Paddington first came to wear this particular item of clothing for which he is now so famous.
The very early Gabrielle bears had slightly darker fur and they wore small children’s sized boots made by Dunlop. They also had totally straight legs with no hint of a foot shape, which is one of the best ways of identifying really early versions of these bears. To see photographs showing the difference, please click here.
Eventually, Dunlop couldn’t supply enough of the boots and so Gabrielle started to have them specially made with pawprints moulded into the soles.
The earlier bears were made wearing a variety of different coloured coats, hats and boots but eventually some colours proved more popular than others so that in later years they were mainly sold in a combination of red, blue, black and yellow as can be seen in this typical example on the left.
A few different items of clothing were introduced for Paddington over the years, including floral pyjamas based on the tv series, a dressing gown and, in 1986, a series of Rugby strips.
Gabrielle Designs also made smaller versions of their bears, bean-filled bears, glove puppets, an Aunt Lucy and some mohair, smaller, limited-edition Paddingtons and Aunt Lucys.
The one common item on all the Paddingtons is the label, usually attached to a toggle on the duffle coat, bearing the immortal words: "Please Look After This Bear. Thank You"
Eventually, a few years after Shirley Clarkson retired, the business closed down and so it hasn’t been possible to buy new Gabrielle Designs bears since the late 1990’s.
If you would like to learn more about the fascinating story behind Gabrielle Designs then look out for Shirely Clarkson's hilarious autobiography, "Bearly Believable: My part in the Paddington Bear Story"
Shirley Clarkson put her bears into Wellington boots to help them stand up and this, in fact, is how Paddington first came to wear this particular item of clothing for which he is now so famous.
The very early Gabrielle bears had slightly darker fur and they wore small children’s sized boots made by Dunlop. They also had totally straight legs with no hint of a foot shape, which is one of the best ways of identifying really early versions of these bears. To see photographs showing the difference, please click here.
Eventually, Dunlop couldn’t supply enough of the boots and so Gabrielle started to have them specially made with pawprints moulded into the soles.
A few different items of clothing were introduced for Paddington over the years, including floral pyjamas based on the tv series, a dressing gown and, in 1986, a series of Rugby strips.
Gabrielle Designs also made smaller versions of their bears, bean-filled bears, glove puppets, an Aunt Lucy and some mohair, smaller, limited-edition Paddingtons and Aunt Lucys.
The one common item on all the Paddingtons is the label, usually attached to a toggle on the duffle coat, bearing the immortal words: "Please Look After This Bear. Thank You"
Eventually, a few years after Shirley Clarkson retired, the business closed down and so it hasn’t been possible to buy new Gabrielle Designs bears since the late 1990’s.