How Byers' Choice Caroler Figures are Made

Byers' Choice Carolers are handmade in Pennsylvania by skilled artisans. The carolers are highly collectible and feature a unique process of manufacture. All carolers are hand made in the USA.

The process of making a Byers' Choice Caroler begins with creating a skeleton for the caroler, which is a coat hanger bent to make a frame. The frame is inserted into a plaster base before the plaster sets.

After the plaster has set and is painted, the coat hanger skeleton is wrapped with tissue paper into the shape of the Caroler's body. The Caroler's arms, legs and torso is wrapped and shaped with the tissue paper.

At this point, each caroler needs a head. Joyce Byers, the company's owner sculpts the heads by hand. Her scupltures are then converted to molds plaster molds. The plaster molds accepts clay, which is pressed into the mold. The clay is then removed from the mold and shaped by the artisans ensuring that no two heads are completely alike. The heads are set aside to dry.

Once the clay heads are dry, Byers' Choice artisans paint the heads in a flesh-colored paint. Once the "skin" paint dries, the artisans begin the painstaking detail work fleshing out the eyes, nose and mouth to give the Caroler character and personality.

While the above processes are ongoing, other artisans are hard at work bringing Joyce Byers' Caroler fashion designs to life. Fabric is cut, sewn and stitched to fit the carolers. Only 100 outfits are used of each pattern.

Once the body, head and clothes are ready to assemble, a "dresser" puts the caroler together. This is not simply an assembly job, the dresser poses, interprets the way the clothing should hang and gives the figure much of its personality. This is how Byers' Choice Carolers are made.