Guide: Build-A-Bear Compatibility Guide
A lot of confusion surrounds who’s who in the world of teddy bear making and customers also want clarity on the different sizes, shapes and design of teddy bears and animals offered by the main build-a-bear retailers so here are the facts!
Build-A-Bear Workshop
The Bear Factory, a UK based chain owned by Hamleys with its flagship store in London’s Regent Street, opened its first store complete with teddy bear stuffing machine and extensive range of bears, animals and clothing in Milton Keynes in 2000. Be My Bear had launched its interactive make-a-bear experience just a few months earlier offering a range supplied to them by an American company also called The Bear Factory - we said it was confusing!
Six years later Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc., an American company, signed an agreement to buy The Bear Factory and Amsbra Ltd, its UK franchisee. The Bear Factory based in the UK was then incorporated into Build-A-Bear Workshop leaving The Bear Factory in the US to thrive and grow year on year. Be My Bear are still the exclusive suppliers of its products in the UK. Now back to the sizing!! It can be very hard working out if an outfit from Be My Bear is compatible with a Build-A-Bear; luckily we have the answers for you!
Build-A-Bear teddy bears and animals from The Build-A-Bear Workshop generally average around 15" to 18" in size, (although this can differ as new ranges are released) so if in doubt a measuring tape can come in handy! As long as your Build-A-Bear from head to toe measures between 15" and 18" and the Build-A-Bear character is one that stands on two legs, then 99% of the time our Be My Bear clothing range will fit these characters perfectly.
We do advise you to be cautious when buying an outfit for a Build-A-Bear character that doesn't stand on two feet; this is because some of them have odd proportions for a bear such as many of the Build-A-Bear licensed Pokémon, The Lion King, My Little Pony, Despicable Me 3, Paw Patrol and Finding Dory ranges. This kind of Build-A-Bear is NOT compatible with our clothing range most of the time.
It's also worth noting that the majority of clothes from Build-A-Bear are also compatible with our 16" range of bears and animal friends meaning as your collection grows, you are able to mix and match clothes and bears for maximum fun at home.
Build-A-Bear Buddies
In recent years Build-A-Bear Buddies have been introduced. These characters are small pre-stuffed bears or animals designed to complement the main range of Build-A-Bear characters and thus are not compatible with clothes from Be My Bear.
Still Unsure?
If you're still unsure if an item of clothing will fit your Build-A-Bear, then why not get in touch with us. You can send us a picture of your character, let us know its size and tell us which item of clothing you are after and one of our team will let you know if the outfit you are interested in should fit your Build-A-Bear or not.
