To be perfectly honest, I had never heard of VT Teddy Bear and neither had Bec, but we are always looking for local vs. national companies, factory tours, and businesses. Our timing was perfect and after just a few minutes' wait, we joined our tour with Mark, who was the number one reason we had such a good time.
One day, a customer gave him a terrific idea. A tourist visiting Burlington wanted a bear, but she wanted it mailed to her home. That gave Sortino the idea to package a teddy bear and add delivery service and other extras to go along with it. The Bear-Gram® concept was born.
Today, more than 150,000 people a year visit the Vermont Teddy Bear Company to find out how a teddy bear is made from scratch, and to make their own teddy bear in the Make A Friend for Life® Cubhouse or select one already made and dressed in the Bear Shop.