Here at My Bear Shop, we are very excited to announce our partnership with Steiff Bears. Founded in 1880, by Margarete Steiff, Steiff bears are well known within the collector’s community. They have even been described as the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of bears. A German company, Steiff bears are defined by their ‘button in ear’ trademark, a sign of quality and authenticity.

There are three types of ‘button in ear’:

• The yellow tag – Found on all unlimited Steiff animals and bears.
• The white tag with red writing – This defines limited edition bears in the Steiff collection.
• The white tag with black writing – This tag depicts bears that have been modelled on replicas from the Steiff archives.

Steiff Bears – The Early Days

The Steiff Bear company was founded in 1880 by Margarete Steiff. At first the company created elephants, sold as pincushions to Margarete’s friends. Seeing that children were playing with the elephants, Margarete decided to design other animals such as dogs and cats. At the time, she designed and made most of the prototypes herself.

In 1902, Steiff released ‘Bear 55 PB’ – the world’s first bear with jointed limbs. During the production of this bear Margarete’s nephew, Richard Steiff, also found mohair plush that is used on the majority of Steiff bears today.

It was in 1903, at the Leipzig Toy Fair, that Steiff’s breakthrough came. An American businessman came across Bear 55 PB and placed an order for 3000 of them. The bear went on to be sold in the USA under the name ‘Teddy bear’ after US President Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt.

By 1907, Steiff had manufactured 974,000 teddy bears and haven’t looked back since. The famous “button in ear” was the idea of Margarete’s other nephew, Franz, in 1904 to help keep counterfeits from being passed off as the real deal.

The button originally contained a symbol of an elephant, but this has since been replaced by the name Steiff.

Other important moments in the early history of Steiff Bears include:

• 1892 – The first illustrated Steiff catalogue was released.
• 1893 – The toy factory was entered in the trade register as “Margarete Steiff, Felt Toy Factor Giengen/Brenz.”
• 1907 – 400 employees and 1800 home workers produced 973,999 teddy bears and a total of 1,700,000 toys.
• 1909 – Margarete Steiff passed away, leaving the company in the hands of her nephews.
• 1910 – Steiff won the Gran Prix at the world exhibition in Brussels.
• 1927 – 1932 – The plush dog Molly sold over 500,000 units.

(Credit – Steiffusa.com)

Post-War Restart

Following the end of World War Two, the company was restarted in 1947 with just under 1000 employees. This number had doubled by 1952, mainly due to the success of Mecki the mascot of a television newspaper and a figure from the puppet feature film by the Diehl brothers.

A stuffed puppet version of this popular character was manufactured by the company from 1951,

The 80’s and Beyond 

Steiff Bears celebrated their 100th anniversary at the beginning of the 80’s by opening the Margarete Steiff museum in Giengen –  a forerunner of today’s experience museum: The World of Steiff. Alongside this, Steiff also began to produce limited edition animal replicas.

Fast forward to the beginning of the 90’s, the Steiff Club was officially opened for lovers and collectors of their animals. The club featured exclusive club advantages as well as special club editions of teddy bears.

A few years later, in 1997, the first Steiff Gallery was opening in Hamburg – on the anniversary of Margarete Steiff’s 150th birthday. During the next three years, galleries would open in Cologne, Munich and Dusseldorf.

It wasn’t until 2004 that the United Kingdom had its own gallery, which opened in Bromley, London.

Some of our favourites 

Over the past 125 years, Steiff has produced over 20,000 different animals, some of which we are lucky enough to supply through My Bear Shop. A personal favourite of mine is the Studio Elephant. He’s a great addition to any household, with soft plush fur and safety eyes – Benny is a great introduction to the world of Steiff animals for any little one. Or perhaps, if like myself, you’re an avid elephant lover, it’s near impossible to turn away from this little guy.

If you favour the more traditional bear, we have a wide variety of choices such as the Bellamy Bear. Made using the finest, wavy mohair, the Bellamy embodies Steiff perfectly with his dignified expression and of course, the classic ‘button in ear’.

Alternatively, if you like your bears to embody a little bit of history, the Classic 1920 bear may well be for you. From the classic bear range, the 1920 bear is loved among collectors. With two tone eyes and a growler, the beautiful features don’t stop there. The 1920 bear has wavy, brass coloured mohair fur and a hand embroidered nose and mouth. The 1920 bear is just crying out for a loving home.

So go ahead, delve into Toy Street and wonder at the pieces that await. Bears that will complement your collection, bears that you will long to take home and love to love. With our extensive range of luxurious bears and animals, you will find yourself coming back time and again and loving your experience every time.