Caring For Your Byers Choice Carolers
Monday, September 8th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Touch-up Tips:
If the cheeks on your Caroler fade, apply some powder blush with a soft cotton-tipped applicator. A faded lip can be touched up with a natural-looking shade of nail polish. A small chip on the base can be smoothed with a nail file and colored in with a dark green felt-tip marker. Likewise, a scuffed shoe can be polished with a black marker.
A little hairspray can calm a frizzy hairdo, and a hand-held clothes steamer is great for taking the wrinkles out of a skirt, jacket or paper scroll. To curl a paper scroll, roll the ends around a pencil. A lint brush or the baseboard attachment of your vacuum cleaner is useful in removing loose fur and dust from clothing. A very soft, pliable dry sponge is also helpful. A small, soft cosmetic brush can be used to dust off the face, hair and base. Adhesive tape dabbed gently against felt clothing will remove loose fluff.
Many accessories that become unattached can be fixed by applying a small amount of white craft glue.
Storage:
When storing your Byer’s Choice Carolers, avoid damp areas. High humidity can cause metal parts (such as the frame) to rust or mold to grow on some fabric. If a Byer’s Caroler should get wet, quickly blot the excess water with a clean towel and dry with a hand-held blow dryer set on low.
Your dog or cat may be attracted to the fur used in dressing the Carolers. Pets have been known to completely devour a Caroler, leaving behind broken fragments of the head and base. So make sure your Carolers are out of the way of these potential mischief-makers.
Beware of mice! The felt and tissue paper used in the construction of the Carolers makes great nest material. Wrap your Carolers in tissue paper and add a few mothballs to the packing box to help keep pests away. Avoid storing Carolers in Cedar; it has been known to dissolve the paint on their faces.
Avoid bright sunlight when choosing where to display your Byer’s Choice Carolers. Prolonged exposure will fade the clothing and face paint.
The Story behind the Byers’ Choice Carolers
Monday, September 8th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
“No two Byers Choice Carolers are ever the same. Our artisans create a unique character and personality in each figure by using a variety of techniques and materials. Each crafter leaves a little bit of herself in every figure she touches. As many as ten people will work on one Caroler. Consequently, it is almost impossible to find two Carolers that are exactly alike.” - Joyce Byers
What does Christmas look like to you? It was the late 1960’s and Joyce Byers, an amateur artist with a degree in fashion design, was disappointed in what she was seeing in the stores: aluminum tinsel trees with garish blue lights. She was looking for holiday decorations with warmth that showed respect for timeless traditions and her own memories of Christmas.
“A scrap of fabric, part of my mother’s old fur coat, some hair from the kids, a coat hanger, some plaster and paint. The first ones were made with simple things that I had around the house,” says Joyce Byers. “I dressed them in plaids and made them cheerfully singing because that reminded me of Christmas.”
The first Carolers graced the Byers’ dining room table that Christmas, and they received compliments from all of the relatives. On a tight budget, Joyce knew what to make for presents the following year. A neighbor suggested taking some to a local store, where they sold quickly.
Joyce pressed her husband, Bob, and their two sons into service to help produce the figures each autumn. It wasn’t long before the Carolers overwhelmed the dining room table, where the family gathered to work together. “Every year the house would be a total wreck, and I’d say that we’re never doing this again!” remembers Joyce.
But when a downturn in the economy hurt his construction business, Bob looked around and saw some potential in the Carolers. He decided to devote more of his energies to the fledgling business, and in 1978, the couple hired their first employee, and turned the garage into a workshop.
The unique appearance and handcrafted quality of the Carolers quickly gained a following. Each year, Bob & Joyce would work with their crew of trained artisans up until Christmas Eve putting the finishing touches on Carolers.
The two sons joined the company upon graduating from college and have played an important role in the growth of the firm, with Bob working in production and Jeff helping with marketing and design. “We always say that mom’s hobby has gotten a little out of control,” jokes Jeff.
The company now resides on a park-like campus near Chalfont, PA. Collectors are invited to tour the facility and watch the artisans at work.
In the spirit of Christmas, Byers’ Choice donates over 20% of its profits to charity each year.
How the Byers’ Choice Carolers are made
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“The expression of joy that can be found in any Caroler comes directly from the love and caring that our skilled artisans put into their work. They bring the magic of Christmas to life everyday. Every Caroler is created in our Pennsylvania workshop by the loving hands of a team of skilled artisans. Although Joyce still designs each Caroler, it is the following steps which bring to life the figures that have found their way into people’s hearts.” - Bob Byers
Plaster
Each Byers’s Choice Caroler begins with a coat hanger. This is cut and bent to form a wire frame. Plaster is hand poured on a table, with the coat hanger placed in the plaster before it dries.
After the plaster hardens, it is painted with a specific color of green. The body is then sculpted with tissue paper.
Joyce sculpts every original head, from which plaster molds are poured. Clay is then pressed into the plaster molds. As the clay is removed from the mold, it gets slightly distorted. The artisan “cleans up” the head ensuring that each one is unique.
Feature
After the clay dries, the head receives a coat of flesh colored paint, and then the features are added. Each artisan uses an impressionistic technique to bring life to each face. No two are exactly alike!
Cutting
Joyce designs every outfit worn by the Carolers. She has hundreds of different fabrics, ribbons, and laces available to be mixed in various combinations to create Traditional and Victorian Carolers. There will only be 100 sets of any design cut to send to our dressing department.
Dressing
Dressers will take the body, head and clothes to combine the parts into a unique handcrafted Caroler. By changing the posing, or adjusting the draping of the clothes, a dresser adds life and personality to each Caroler.
Finish
Through the combination of loving care from each artisan, we now have a hundred unique, handcrafted Carolers that capture the warmth and spirit of Christmas. These figures will be divided among 3000 retail stores, all of which will have entirely different selections.
So when you find the Caroler that reminds you of your niece’s first Christmas, please don’t expect to find that same Caroler anywhere else!
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Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
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