Steiff
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Best of America Club Store
Steiff is the oldest plush manufacturer and is best known as the company that invented the first poseable Teddy bear. The Wolfe Den Garden Shop is honored to be recognized as a Steiff Best of America Club Store and offers Steiff collectors and enthusiasts exclusive perks like signed pieces, annual events with a Steiff historian, and much more.
Our displays showcase a huge selection of Steiff's best collections including Studio/riding pieces, Worldwide and North American Limited Edition Exclusives, Classic, Retired, and Club bears as well as an assortment of child/baby items. We invite you to visit our Steiff wonderland!
Don't miss out on our next Steiff event scheduled for Sunday September 26th, check out the events page for more details.
About Steiff
The Story of the Most Legendary Name in Toys
Steiff is the world's oldest plush manufacturer. Founded in 1880 by Margarete Steiff, a seamstress who was limited to sewing with one hand due to polio, the company has grown to be synonymous with top quality the world over.
Steiff is best known as the company that invented the first poseable Teddy bear. In 1902, Richard Steiff, a nephew of Margarete and a gifted artist/inventor, presented the idea to Margarete. At first she was not enthusiastic but with Richard's persistence she finally relented and the rest is history.
The famous "Button in Ear" trademark, introduced by Franz Steiff, another of Margarete's nephews, in 1904, distinguishes every Steiff Teddy bear or animal. It stands for superior quality, richness of ideas, and an entrepreneurial spirit.
The Steiff product line is divided into two segments: Child/Baby and Collectible. Child/Baby items are suitable for children of virtually any age and are made from cuddly soft materials such as valuable woven fur. Nearly 100% of the world's output of stuffed animals is made with inexpensive knitted plush - making Steiff the notable exception. Steiff uses the finest quality woven plush to achieve their realistic designs and unmatched durability. Woven plush can be as much as 12 times more expensive than knitted plush. That's one of the reasons Steiff products cost more, but they last so much longer!
The collectible line is made of mohair, alpaca, cotton velvet, silk, and other valuable materials. The limited edition white tagged collections are produced in limited numbers - some as low as only 25! The yellow tagged pieces are considered "open stock"; however some items are only produced for one year - which puts them into high demand worldwide.
Steiff products, both child/baby and collectible, are still made in the century-old manufacturing facility in Giengen an der Brenz, Germany. Traditional hand labor is still the norm in their factory; Steiff believes there is no substitute for products that are completely handmade. This is in keeping with the founder's philosophy, which still motivates the company today, "Only the best is good enough for our children".