How the Byers’ Choice Carolers are made.

“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!