Sugarlump Studio

Sugarlump Studio was formed in Denmead, Hampshire, England in 1995 by Andrew Clark, a talented modeller from Scotland. Three and a half years ago production was moved to its present location in Horndean some five miles away.
With such lines as The Clangers, The Herbs, Magic Roundabout, Bagpuss and The Sooty range. ( The Sooty range has now been retired,) Sugarlump creations are a nostalgic collectors dream.
The figures are all actually and perhaps surprisingly, produced from start to finish in the UK by English craftsmen.
The figures are made in moulding plaster, a medium which is very durable and which allows the great detail all Sugarlump products have. Some of the decorations on the mini scenes are also now made in resine. With runs which number only around 300 pieces and with usually only four runs a day production is quite limited which Andrew Clark believes will keep the figures very collectable.

Sugarlump Studios supply around 110 stores in the UK, with one in Jersey in the Channel Islands and another in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This restriction again tends to make the little collectables exclusive which is how Andrew Clark sees his products.
Since 1995 around 4000 Dougals, the most popular figure in the Sugarlump range, have been produced which compares with the run of only 90 Potting Sheds from the Magic Roundabout series. This piece, produced in April 1995, retired in August 1996 and has become the most highly sought after Sugarlump collectable to date, one selling for over £1000.

Production involves removing the figurines from the molds, usually after about 20 minutes, they are fettled (a process of trimming and cleaning the figures of misplaced plaster) after which they a left to stand in a de-humidyfing cupboard for between two to five days depending on the size of the figures which are then ready for hand painting by the small team of local decorators.
Sugarlump uses between 80 and 90 different water based colours, some mere ‘washes’ while others are really thick paints which cover the figures so effectively.

After decoration a fixer is applied to protect the finished product from the elements. When asked whether he ever saw Sugarlump production going to the Far East, Andrew agrees with Lorne Spicer who recently said on the This Morning TV show on ITV that collectors prefer figures which are actually made in the UK and are willing to pay the higher price tag for home produced collectables. You can’t get more home produced than Sugarlump Studios in Hampshire, England! And you would be hard pushed to find a nicer product!

The First ever Sugarlump model Mrs Mopp and an unusual model called Jock in a box.

© 2001 Sugarlump Studio/Images © C&S Collectables Direct