Teddy bears

It's not only little children who like to cuddle them, ‘grown-ups’ also find their hearts melting at the sight of them, put them on display and even collect them: teddy bears.

At Fleurop, they are also available with flowers. Because whether given as a charming gesture, after a birth, to cheer someone up or as a get-well message, absolutely everyone loves the cuddly bears that remind us of our childhood.

That’s particularly true of Fleurop’s large sitting bears at around 25 cm tall. Because they’re lovable and a little bit mischievous. And they’re also available in white and brown.

They have the CE label because they meet the EU’s ‘basic safety standards’ and other criteria.

By the way, you have a choice: you can order the teddies singly or as a couple.

And you can combine them with any floral gift from our shop, or opt for a gift set where the little bears are already included in the total price.

The story of the teddy bear began in the USA in the early 20th century. In November 1902, the then US President Theodore Roosevelt visited the state of Mississippi, where he had been invited to a bear hunt by the state governor.

As, however, few wild bears were in evidence that day, they caught a black bear, tied it to a willow tree and urged the President to shoot it.

However, he considered such an act unsporting and refused. A caricature then appeared in the Washington Post of 16 November 1902.

It showed Theodore Roosevelt, «Teddy» to his friends, with a cute little bear

Inspired by this drawing, New York confectioner Morris Michtom produced a little stuffed toy bear, which he placed in the display window of his Brooklyn store. Although at the time bears were deemed to be dangerous predators, this little bear won people’s hearts.

Roosevelt is said to have given the Michtoms written permission to call it «Teddy’s bear», and in 1903 the family founded a toy factory where their products included teddy bears.

As chance would have it, the German toy manufacturer Steiff in Giengen was thinking about producing toy bears at the same time, although Margarete Steiff’s company was faring very badly at the time.

However, in 1902, her nephew Richard had produced a stuffed bear with jointed limbs. And it brought them luck, although not straight away.

In early 1903, it was sent to the USA but was apparently returned because it wasn’t popular there. After that, Steiff showed it at the Leipzig Toy Fair. An American entrepreneur then ordered 3,000 of these bears, and a year later orders at the World’s Fair in St. Louis came to 12,000.

They were universally known as «Teddy», and the name has stuck up to the present day.

Later on, Roosevelt even used the teddy bear as a mascot in his election campaigns.

Teddy bears have changed since those days. Older models still had a pointed snout. But it became rounder (and cuter) from generation to generation. However, the name remained: «Teddy»!

Teddy bears are so popular that not only one, but five annual events have been dedicated to them. This is a bit freaky, but also funny.

Here is a short overview of these curious occasions:

• On January 18, we celebrate Winnie the Pooh Day, because on this day his «inventor», children's book author Alan Alexander Milne, was born.
• On July 10 the international Teddy Bear Picnic Day takes place.

• September 9 is the National Teddy Bear Day.
• On November 7th we are looking forward to celebrating the National Hug a Bear Day.
• And finally, November 16th is «Have a Party with Your Bear Day».

So, if you are looking for a reason to have a picnic or party, pamper, hug or kiss someone, then don't hesitate.

Not only will the teddy bears enjoy it. Children, grandchildren and even your darling (smile) will be all happy.

Moreover, it is up to us, the adults, to remember our favorite teddy bear and to evoke our childhood memories associated with it.

The fact that teddy bears have long been more than just children's toys is shown by the many collectors and teddy bear lovers. No wonder, there are also records concerning teddies:

• The most expensive antique teddy bear comes from the Steiff company. It was made in 1926 and was auctioned at Christie's in London in 2002 for 156'240 Euro.
• The biggest teddy bear in the world comes from the company «Martin Bären». It measures 5.40 meters, weighs about 500 kilos and can be seen at the German Teddy Bear Museum in Sonneberg.

• The world's smallest teddy also comes from Germany. It measures only 5 millimeters, but is still fully mobile. «Mini the Pooh» (that's its name) is in the museum «A World in Miniature» in Carlisle (England).
• And let's not forget Teddy «Babbage». In 2014, he jumped from a height of 39,000 meters, breaking the record of the extreme sportsman, the Austrian Felix Baumgartner. Babbage had made the ascent using a hydrogen balloon. As soon as the cutting mechanism separated the teddy bear from the balloon, Babbage came back down to earth.

Last but not least there are countless teddy bear museums all over the world. Switzerland alone has three:

• For example, the Spielzeug Welten Museum Basel has the world's largest teddy bear collection with more than 2,500 old teddy bears. The Steiff teddy bears are an important part of this collection.

• The Teddybärmuseum in Baden is said to make collectors' hearts beat faster. Hundreds of antique teddy bears are displayed in lively and amusing scenes on three floors of a beautiful old town house. You can see bears baking cakes, in the old village school, at the doctor's, on a trip and many more.

• Finally, Sempach also has a «Teddy Bear Museum». The whole thing started here with the private passion for collecting of the today's museum boss, who at some point didn't know where to put all her teddies. She had received the first one as an adult, as a gift from her husband. And this first teddy bear had then laid the first stone «of a wonderful friendship».