ABOUT US
Since its opening in 1999, Ted E. Bear's Toy Factory has been dedicated to providing interactive, family fun. We have been always committed to providing a fun, educational place where children can learn through hands-on activities.
Paul and Sheryl Jones, from Springfield, Missouri, started up Ted E Bear's Toy Factory, after becoming aware of the retail toy stuffing concept in 1995. It took several years to create their vision of Ted E. Bear's Toy Factory, in an effort to offer an unique store that would be completely different from any others in existence at that time. The Joneses began working with Country Critters, one of the last plush toy manufacturing companies that mass-produced their animals here in the U.S., to learn all the actual steps that that factory did to complete its animals. Those same steps have been replicated at Ted E. Bear's Toy Factory, but in a fun way. We didn't just copy the concept from another stuff-your-own company -- We actually learned how to do each step from a REAL toy factory!
Ted E. Bear's Toy Factory first opened in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. This Victorian town has a distinct historic downtown, where the Toy Factory was located on a unique street, Basin Spring Avenue, which was actually a set of stairs! The building in which we were located was even more special -- it had three different street addresses, due to the fact that there were store entrances on three separate sides of the building, and a different street on each one! The Joneses enjoyed creating the beginnings of their business there, but soon it was time to move the business "back home" to Springfield.
The Springfield Toy Factory opened August 24, 2001, just a couple of weeks before 9/11 occurred, and has been in continuous operation since then. Throughout all the years, tens of thousands of stuffed "New Friends" have left the Toy Factory or our Mobile Stuffing Machine to go to new homes all over the world!
Ted E. Bear's Toy Factory is a division of tHIS Way Up, LLC. We are a Christian based company, although we respect all religions. Since its inception, Ted E. Bear's Toy Factory has always given back to the community through fundraising (approximately 25% of all our business is involved in fundraising!), community service projects (such as being involved in "Make A Difference Day" projects), and donations to schools, churches, and other non-profit organizations. We are locally owned and not a chain, so the money received here, stays here.
In the store, our main focus is on customer service and making sure your experience is extremely special, no matter age or physical or mental abilities. We adapt our process to you!
We care about each of our customers, so don’t be surprised if we treat you like family while you’re here, as well as remember you when you return! And, if you're visiting via the Internet, then, "Welcome to the family!"
We look forward to serving you, no matter how you get here to visit us!
