The idea of owning our teddy bear shop came about while we went with our husbands to baseball card shows. Linda had been a bear collector for years and has a strong background in retail. Valerie (who is married to Linda’s oldest son) always dreamed of having a shop – it didn’t matter what kind! So, as we wandered around those baseball card shows we eventually came up with this idea.

As so often happens, when one door closes another one opens up. In 1992 Linda ran into a sales rep while visiting her mother-in-law and the rest is history.

Within a month we opened our shop in the beautiful historic Catlin Court Shops District in Glendale. There is not a more perfect place for our shop. The area is an unexpected treat in Arizona. The streets are tree lined. The lawns are green and there are flower gardens everywhere. The shops are in historic homes that have been converted to house businesses. Our “house” was listed in the National Historic Register in 2007, as were many of the other buildings in the area. When visiting Catlin Court you will not only enjoy all the shopping, dining and friendliness of our home town, you get to see different types of architecture as well. Within walking distance you will find the Historic Downtown District that has retained the town square feeling. And just one block north of the shop is the historic Catlin Court Homes District, which is a joy to explore.

Our philosophy has always been to stock only the best, be it plush or toys or vin