Steiff is a German-based plush toy company known for its high quality and equally high prices. It was begun in 1880 by Margarete Steiff, who was later assisted by her brother Fritz.
Margarete Steiff contracted polio as a baby, leaving her wheelchair bound. Finding employment as a seamstress, she started making stuffed animals as a hobby. These toys began as elephants, which were originally a design Steiff found in a magazine and sold as pincushio...
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Steiff is a German-based plush toy company known for its high quality and equally high prices. It was begun in 1880 by Margarete Steiff, who was later assisted by her brother Fritz.
Margarete Steiff contracted polio as a baby, leaving her wheelchair bound. Finding employment as a seamstress, she started making stuffed animals as a hobby. These toys began as elephants, which were originally a design Steiff found in a magazine and sold as pincushions to her friends. However, children began playing with them, and in the years following she went on to design many other successful animal-themed toys for children, such as dogs, cats and pigs. She designed and made most of the prototypes herself.
The Steiff's nephew Richard joined in 1897 and gave the company an enormous boost in popularity by creating the teddy bear in 1902. In 1907, Steiff manufactured 974,000 bears, and has been increasing its output ever since.
The Steiff company motto, as styled by Margarete Steiff, is "Only the best is...
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