Create Your Own Doll
Build-A-Bear Workshop introduces Friends 2B Made.
By Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 1/1/2005
It's not news that today's tends emphasize personalization and self-expression, with initials, stickers, stamps, and other customizing options. Nor is it news that the most popular dolls with today's kids and tweens have more in-your-face attitude and personalities, from Bratz to the Groovy Girls. The news is that the two trends now have been combined.
Build-A-Bear Workshop, a chain of stores known for its make-your-own stuffed animals founded by Maxine Clark, launched Friends 2B Made — where kids get to create their own dolls. Friends' first stores opened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Columbus, Ohio, last November. There, shoppers can stuff their dolls; choose personality traits, fashionable clothes, and accessories; participate in "the heart ceremony"; and create a "friendship certificate."
To celebrate the store openings, customers were invited to join in the Its Hip to Help initiative, creating a free doll to be donated to Toys for Tots. Dolls are $12, accessories $2–$120, and outfits $8–$15. Learn more at www.friends2Bmade.com.
