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View our Plusch und Stoffspielwaren Teddy Bears

Gehren is a small village in a particularly delightful rural area in the forest of Thuringia in Germany. Since 1870 it has been a tradition to manufacture plush and soft toys in this district. The founders of this company at that time were the Henze and Steinhauser families. In 1949 the company was nationalised and production expanded. From that time on the company was called VEB Plusch und Stoffspielwaren. At that time a wide range of products were exported to almost every country in the EU as well as the former Soviet Union, to Hungary and Cuba, and of course, also to West Germany. The business became the leading manufacturer of toys in East Germany. The product range consisted of bears in fur fabric up to 75cm in size, numerous pets, riding and rocking animals and figures from fairy tales. Up to the sixties the articles were produced from mohair or artificial silk plush and stuffed with wood wool. After that time the fur fabric animals were produced from synthetic plush and stuffed with synthetic wool or foam rubber pieces.

In 1991 the company was privatised under the control of two partners Marion Schacht and Eleonore Pierach. In addition to the creation of original dog breeds and other animals, the production of teddy bears using original patterns was introduced. The teddy bears were made with mohair plush and were stuffed with wood wool. The arms and legs and the head were attached to the body by discs and splints. The glass eyes and growling voice are Thuringian handmade articles. Since that time more than 200 different sorts of bears utilising original patterns have been produced.

In the year 2000 they manufactured 2000 bears for a Japanese bear museum, and in 2001 a considerable number of mohair bears were produced for a VW branch in Tokyo. In the honour of the 100th birthday of Roosevelt, 60cm sized bears with the original signature of Roosevelt embroidered on them were sold to a company in the USA. At the beginning of 2002, “100 Jahre Teddy bear” and “Centi” were created. A new range of bears has also been introduced, namely “Barengluck”, “ Tipps” and “Tapps “ .

Also available is range of Personalised Range of Bears, whether its for a special birthday, an anniversary or just to say thank you.

As we are the UK Agents for these bears, Trade enquiries are welcome. Please use the Contact us form.