Vintage-looking Care Bear ceramic

[Rad]

*Blows dust off Arena* Lots of shiny new things! (I haven't been here in years. )

So I indulged my inner child today, now that my wallet can semi-afford that habit again, and bought 10 MLPs plus a few CB items. I found this absolutely gorgeous CB merchandise at a garage sale. I think it's in pretty good condition, too. But there's no manufacturer information on it, thus it's hard to Google. And while it certainly looks like the original CBs I know nothing about them so I'm not even sure it is vintage. I poked around a few CB websites but didn't see it. Anybody know anything?

It doesn't photograph well - it's actually almost striped on the sides.

Yes, it will be for sale eventually.

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[vira]

oooh! im not familiar with care bears, but just based on appearance alone its a great find!! i love the finish and color! :-D

[Emberfly]

What does the bottom of the trinket box look like?  Usually Care Bear stuff is more cutesy, could it be home-made/unofficial merch?  It does look like the original Care Bears.  It's interesting, however it came to be.

[Kanchii]

That is SOOO CUUUUUTE

[Rad]

Emberfly: I too thought that CB was more cutesy; however while I did some Googling I found some of the older stuff that wasn't as cutesy.

Thank you for the comments!

Due to the lack of manufacturer information and the extremely well-done-ness of it, I'm thinking unofficial merchandise. While I know next to nothing about making pottery/ceramics/porcelain, this is high quality work here. I think anyway. I don't know how someone at home would accomplish the CB himself. It looks so professional, so not homemade. (Of course, there are MLP customizers who do better than Hasbro!)

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[Hannah66665]

Oh, wow... this is gorgeous! I really wish we had more info on it!

[kaoskat]

That is really cute! I wonder where it's from.

[Emberfly]

I haven't done a lot with pottery but the dripping of the green glaze inside the box makes me think it may be non-commercial.  Perhaps someone took a plate or image of Good Luck Bear and made him into a trinket box or refinished the glaze on the box.  The inside could have been a simple stipple technique.  The bumps around the top look like they could be made to hold the image piece onto the top but the box itself looks professionally made.  Artisan made, at least, I would think.  Of course, I'm just guessing.  I hadn't realized that the early Care Bear stuff wasn't as cutesy.  Now I want to go buy some Care Bear stuff.

[Rad]

Thank you for the input! That's more than I could have guessed at!!

[lunar_scythe]

in the 80's, ceramic painting was a pretty hot thing, and I know there were *some* designs you could get as a decoupage added to it, or like the character would be already on it, and then you just did the glazing/painting and the shop would fire it for you; I did some with my grandma.   I have a bright yellow ceramic half balloon to hang on a wall, it has a Carebear, too, but I got it from a yard sale, I didn't make it.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

in the 80's, ceramic painting was a pretty hot thing, and I know there were *some* designs you could get as a decoupage added to it, or like the character would be already on it, and then you just did the glazing/painting and the shop would fire it for you; I did some with my grandma.   I have a bright yellow ceramic half balloon to hang on a wall, it has a Carebear, too, but I got it from a yard sale, I didn't make it.

Yes!  It could be from one of those DIY pottery shops!  I have a cat figurine and a few other things from presents when I was little...

[Emberfly]

That would explain why the box is so well made but the glaze wasn't as good.

[princessluna11706]

It does sound like one of those DIY pottery things.  It's adorable, I love it!

[pinkkittywinks]

That is really pretty

Love pkw xxx

[mlp4me]

All the Care Bears trinket boxes I've come across have been plastic (and surprisingly have had the gold american greetings seal still there or partially there).
I would say based on the craftsmanship as said before that it's not a mass produced item. Great find though! I love that type of CB artwork.