|
Hermann
Teddy Originals - those bears with the famous red seal - come from a long line
of family-made European Teddies ° by James van Maanen |

Bernhard
Hermann |
It all
began back in 1907, in the remote village of Neufang, Germany, where a
fellow by the name of Johann Hermann persuaded his family to join him in
making Teddy Bears. Five years later Johann's eldest son, Bernhard, married
and, not surprisingly, wanted to begin his own business. Bernhard and his
wife, Ida, moved to the much larger town of Sonneberg, which in the early
part of the twentieth century was the centre of Germany's thriving toy
industry. There, Ida produced four strapping boys, while Bernhard
produced bears - his own line of bears, under the trademark name BE-HA,
using letters from his first and last name. |
Highly energetic and full of faith in his new business, Bernhard
saw his plans suddenly halted by the outbreak of World War I, and it was Ida
who had both to run the business and raise the children until he returned,
alive and unharmed, in 1918. Soon, with buyers from around the world
visiting Sonneberg and seeing Bernhard Hermann's bears, he began exporting
to England, France, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. From the very
beginning, the firm's Teddies were high quality bears made mostly of mohair,
and having disk joints, glass eyes and filling of excelsior, wadding or wool
mixtures.
With the help of Ida, his sons and a few employees, Bernhard's business
continued to grow, experiencing the usual ups and downs, until 1948. After
World War II, with the partioning of Berlin and the division of Germany into
Eastern and Western sectors, the city of Sonneberg found itself under Soviet
rule. With the prospect of nationalization facing his business, Bernhard
relocated to the company and his family to Hirschaid in Bavaria. Once there,
the firm changed its name from BE-HA to Teddy-Pluschspielwarenfabrik,
Gebruder Hermann KG, a German name that translates into English as "Teddy
Plush Toy Factory, Hermann Brothers"-or, as it is known
in its shortened form in Germany, Teddy-Hermann. The company's trademark
also changed at this time: printed on a red seal affixed to each bear, it
now read " HERMANN
Teddy ORIGINAL." |
 Margit
Drolshagen - Hermann |
After the move to
Hirschaid, Bernhard's three sons (one had died at the age of 18) took over
the management role as equal partners, and the firm continued to flourish.
The next major change occurred in 1986, when Bernhard's granddaughters
assumed responsibility for the business. Teddy-Hermann remains a fourth
generation, family-run operation-but one managed solely by women. This would
be an unusual enough occurrence here in the United States, but in Europe, at
that time, it was practically unknown.
Today, Margit Drolshagen has
taken over sales and marketing, while her sister, Traudel Mischner, has been
the company's designer for many years. Margit and Traudel are both Artur
Hermann's daughters. Marion Mehling, daughter of Werner Hermann, has taken
over responsibility for commercial organization, buying and importing, and
Isabella Reiter, daughter of Hellmut Hermann, is responsible for production
management. |
Teddy-Hermann produces bears that are sought after worldwide and that are
distinguished from all other bears by the expressions on their faces, notes
Margit Drolshagen, Teddy-Hermann's joint managing director. "This is a
serious but friendly look-open and frank-mixed with a touch of astonishment
and knowledge," explains Drolshagen. "With its high forehead, mostly
vertical stitched nose and brown or black eyes, this characteristic face is
a mirror of all the love and joy put into each individual bear in Hirschaid."
While long-time collectors know the Teddy-Hermann bears very well,
Drolshagen suggests that new collectors should always look for the red seal
with HERMANN Teddy ORIGINAL written in gold, which will assure them of the
real thing. Since 1994, the firm also affixes a small version of this seal
to each bear's neck. |
Today Teddy-Hermann employs approximately 100 people who help
manufacture a collection that includes more than 300 different plush toys
and collectibles in various shapes, colours, and styles, with Teddy Bears, of
course, as its number-one staple. The bears are manufactured in the
traditional manner: A funnel is used for stuffing each bear by hand with
excelsior; noses are hand stitched; and only the finest mohair and other
high-grade woven materials are used.
As popular as
Hermann Teddy Originals are today, what is most pleasing to Drolshagen and
her staff is the fact that so many people of all ages and from around the
world continue to appreciate these bears. "Many parents and grandparents
want their offspring to have one of our bears, too, so that these children
will have a special toy to play with-one that never grows old or ugly, but
instead becomes a fast friend. It's not surprising to hear from many
successful lawyers, teachers and other professionals about the Hermann bear
they received as a child, who was there at their bedside after an operation
in the hospital, or went with them on holiday, and perhaps even now sit atop
their desk. That," she concludes, "is what really counts." |
|
|