Build-A-Bear (making your own teddy)
Who
Maxine Clark, an American Jewish retail executive
When
1997
Where
St. Louis, United States
Maxine Clark left the presidency of a shoe chain to open a shop where the child does the making: choose a skin, stuff it, put a heart in it, name it. Build-A-Bear turned a purchase into a ceremony, and by 2005 was running hundreds of stores.
Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.