Search results
Margarete Steiff was a German seamstress who founded Steiff, a maker of toy stuffed animals. She created the first teddy bear in 1902, based on a design by her nephew Richard, and became a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist.
Learn about the history of Margarete Steiff, the founder of the famous Steiff toy company, and her legacy of high-quality plush animals. Discover how Steiff became a global brand and a symbol of craftsmanship and creativity.
- 2005
- 1992
- 1980
- 1951
- 1927
- 1910
- 1904
- 1902
- 1880
- 1874
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
The new millennium
Naturally the success story continued into the new century, and new paths were walked. So the world première of the musical”teddy - a musical dream“ took place in 2002. Also in Giengen the home of all Steiff animals, there were things going on: the Steiff experience world was presented in 2003 for the first time. Up until 2005 the ”World of Steiff“ experience museum was built on the company grounds, according to instructions of architect Andreas Ramseier. It is an architectural paramount achi...
Steiff Club
Then - finally- on 1st April 1992 the Steiff club was founded for lovers and collectors of all Steiff animals, with exclusive club advantages and own club editions. In order to be able to present own products in the cities in an appropriate surrounding, the first Steiff gallery was opened in Hamburg in 1997 on the anniversary of Margarete Steiff’s 150th birthday. Three years later Cologne, Munich and Dusseldorf followed with Steiff galleries, and then Berlin, Vienna, Nuremburg and Stuttgart....
100 years of dreams in cloth and plush
The 80’s begin with the 100 years company anniversary, when the Margarete Steiff Museum was opened in Giengen - a forerunner of today’s experience museum, ”The world of Steiff“. In addition Steiff began to produce animal replicas in limited editions for their fans. ”Petsy“ - the children’s favourite captured the market and the hearts of Steiff friends around the globe.
The new beginning
The next difficult time was during the 2nd world war. After the end of the war the company restarted in 1947, and already 1 year later it was employing almost 1,000 employees, and 5 years later twice as many. Among other things this rapid growth was due to Mecki, the mascot of a television newspaper and a figure from the puppet feature film by the Diehl brothers, which was manufactured by Steiff as a stuffed puppet from 1951. In 1953 the teddy bear celebrated its 50th birthday - the jubilee b...
Hard times in a positive sense
In the golden twenties there was once again a demand for fabric and plush. Steiff introduced production line manufacture, in order to satisfy the high demand for above all their stuffed dogs. The plush dog Molly went down a storm and over 500,000 were sold by 1932.
Steiff worlds arise
In 1910 Steiff won the Grand Prix at the world exhibition in Brussels, show pieces with a multitude of stuffed toys and animals inspired the public. The ”Steiff circus“ used mechanically moved figures for the first time. One of the most successful show pieces, "Noah’s ark" came about four years later. Then there were hard times but not only for the company: in the hard years of the war and after the war Steiff finally had to adjust their range - paper type materials meant that the so called ”...
"Steiff – Knopf im Ohr" (Button in Ear) - a brand sign arises and an eventful life comes to an end
In order to make their own high quality products unmistakeable, and fend off numerous cheap imitations, Franz Steiff developed the brand sign "Steiff - Button in Ear". At the world exhibition in St. Louis, Margarete was awarded the Grand Prix, and finally in 1906 Margarete Steiff GmbH was founded, the company name which is still used today. In 1907 400 employees and 1800 home workers produced 973,999 teddy bears and a total of around 1,700,000 toys. An international company arose which contin...
The teddy bear is born...
Richard Steiff, Margarete’s creative favourite nephew, entered the company in 1897. He attended the school of applied arts in Stuttgart and studied in England. His animal sketches were the basis for many Steiff creations. In 1902 he designed the "Bear 55PB" bears, the worldwide first stuffed bears with moveable arms and legs. When searching for a suitable covering, Richard found the cuddly and good for colouring mohair plush, produced by the Schulte pile weaving mill in Duisburg. Margarete he...
Margarete Steiff GmbH is founded
The official founding date of Steiff Manufacture was 1880. The first big seller was the elephant, which her younger brother Fritz sold at the nearby Heidenheim market. Just six years later Margarete had sold over 5,000 elephants and was now designing other stuffed animals too. In 1890 Fritz built a house for his sister, with a flat on the first floor, designed for disabled people, and a small shop on the first floor. At the house in what is today ”Margarete Steiff Straße“ there is the sign “F...
The foundations were laid - the step towards independence
In 1874 Margarete’s father converted her parent’s house and built her own work room, a small tailors shop. With the first money that she earned herself she bought her own sewing machine. She could only move the fly wheel on the right hand side with difficulty, and so without further ado the machine was reversed. In 1877 Adolf Glatz, her cousin’s husband, advised her to take the step towards independence. Thereupon Margarete founded her own felt clothing business and successfully sold clothes...
Learn how Margarete Steiff, a young girl with a pin cushion in the shape of a small stuffed elephant, started a unique company that produces high quality toys and animals for over 140 years. Discover the milestones, achievements and challenges of Steiff's history, from the invention of the button in ear to the present day.
Learn how Margarete Steiff's nephew Richard Steiff invented the world's first jointed teddy bear in 1902, inspired by American President Theodore Roosevelt. Explore the evolution of the Steiff Teddy bear over 120 years, from the classic mohair bears to the modern soft cuddly friends.
Learn about the story of Margarete Steiff, the founder of the famous plush toy company, and her legacy of quality and creativity. Discover the 140 years collection of Steiff animals with the special logo and join the competition.
Margarete Steiff. Learn all about the well known company and the history of the teddy bear with the button in its ear. Discover the world of Steiff now!
People also ask
Who was Margarete Steiff?
How did Margarete Steiff die?
What is the first Margarete Steiff teddy bear?
Who was Richard Steiff?
Steiff is a leading manufacturer of stuffed animals, especially teddy bears, since 1880. The company claims to have made the world's first factory-made teddy bear and has a history of collaborations with Disney, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany & Co.
Soft toy animals, delivered to your door. Free UK delivery on eligible orders
