In today’s tough economic environment, it is nice to know that there is still a workplace where employees smile, laugh and make cheesy jokes. Welcome to the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory.
A short drive up Route 7, in Shelburne, Vt., The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory and Bear Shop lies on a 57-acre spread. The 60,000 square-foot factory, built in 1995, is brightly painted and attracts over 150,000 visitors annually. Tours are held each day on the half hour. Customers are led through the factory and each sees how his beloved bear is cut, sewn, assembled and stuffed. Due to an increase in demand for the bears, the company constructed another sewing facility in Newport, Vt. in 1999, and teddy bears are made there, as well.
Despite the fun-loving and cheery atmosphere of the factory, there are important rules for visitors to follow, as they take a tour. Cassy Magliozzi, a new tour guide at the factory, said visitors must laugh at all her teddy bear jokes, as unfunny as they may seem. She enjoys instructing groups to head down the hall and then to “bear right.”
In between jokes, Magliozzi spoke to the group about the intricacies of teddy bear making. There are 20 different steps to follow when constructing a single bear. Each day, the factory uses 270 yards of fur to produce roughly 1,000 bears. The process begins when bear part cutters, tools similar to cookie cutters, cut out specific shapes from large stretches of fur. With the excess fur, workers make “button bears,” tiny bear-shaped pieces of fabric that they give to visitors and can be attached to buttons on clothing. Fur pieces are then stitched together with the seams out. This makes the bear more durable, as all Vermont Teddy Bears come with a lifetime guarantee.
Despite this promise, teddy bears are still shipped back to the factory with torn ligaments, as well as other ailments, such as sticky fur after going through the dryer. The company has a solution: The Vermont Teddy Bear Hospital. All injured bears that are sent back to the factory are fixed by “bear doctors” and are then sent back to their owners with a “prescription,” usually stating that the teddy bear requires extra hugs. Bear owners also must fill out a health form listing the bear’s “allergies,” such as the family dog, before the teddy can be treated.
Seven-year-old Timmy Silkowitz has had his teddy bear for about three years. It was recently injured, and the hospital came in handy.
“His leg fell off in a bad accident,” said Tommy’s mother, Chris, jokingly.
She and her husband, Peter, both graduated from the University of Vermont. They wanted to show Timmy and his younger brother William where they went to school, and the couple decided to make a trip to the factory while they were in Vermont and conveniently they were able to pick up Timmy’s bear, as well.
Though the family would have liked to see bear production in the works (the tour took place when most employees were on a lunch break), the kids did enjoy the interactive features of the tour. This included pressing a large red button that caused teddy bear stuffing to blow into the air under a sky-diving teddy bear. The stuffing, or bear guts as Magliozzi calls them, is used to fill the bears after they’ve been assembled. One 15 inch bear requires three-quarters of a pound of stuffing.
After the tour, visitors are encouraged to browse through the bear shop, where bears and accessories are on display. Vermont Teddy Bears come in nearly every costume imaginable. There are firefighters, wizards, cheerleaders, doctors and many others. The store also has seasonal bears on display, like witches and scarecrows during the autumn months. If customers don’t find what they want at the store or online, they can custom-design their own bear. Magliozzi remembers a woman who sent in the fabric from her wedding dress. Working with designers who made a sketch of the lady’s dream bear, she created a one-of-a-kind bride teddy bear. The company also offers personalization of bears, and can stitch a name or a quote into the paw of the teddy. Customers can be sure their teddy bear is authentic by checking its eyes, as each teddy has “Born in Vermont” written around the edge of its eyeball.
Yet Vermont Teddy Bear’s main mean of business is something quite simple: a Bear-Gram. John Sortino, the company’s founder, developed the concept of packaging a teddy bear and shipping it directly to the customer, when a tourist who wanted a bear stopped by his cart at a market in Burlington. Until that point, business for Sortino had been relatively slow. In 1990, after Sortino expanded the idea further, he began advertising on Z-100, a popular radio station in New York City. It didn’t take much time for the idea to attract customers. According to vermontteddybear.com, “Calls for Bear-Grams flooded the company’s three telephone lines and within the first two days, the company reached its sales goal for the entire year!”
Today, over 350,000 Bear-Grams are shipped yearly. Though every bear may be different, each is placed in an identical cardboard box with games printed on the inside so the teddy does not get bored as he travels. Also included in the package is a Vermont Teddy Bear chocolate, a treat for the bear in case he gets hungry during his journey. The company also ensures that every bear has proper ventilation when traveling - the boxes have air holes.
Demetria Darling, assistant supervisor of the retail store, said she enjoys her job immensely. “Teddy bears are a happy thing,” she said. “Guests are coming here for a happy experience.”
Darling’s job is to make sure they have just that. She said what makes working for this company different than other retail jobs is that Vermont Teddy Bear is a “destination location.” Customers come hoping to have a unique experience, not just to buy a product.
Darling isn’t the only employee excited about her position in the factory. Dawn MacIntire, a Bear Ambassador who has been working at Vermont Teddy Bear for a mere week, said getting to help a child make a teddy bear and then to watch him hug the teddy for the first time is “really magical.”
MacIntire, who found the job thanks to her daughter-in-law and friends who worked for the company, said she had already met customers visiting the store from Israel and Germany.
“Where else do you get to play with a teddy bear all day long and they pay you for it?” she said.
Can you BEAR these teddies?
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