…can be really fucking cool.
So, at the Type-A Mom conference, everyone was given a Build-A-Bear upon signing in at registration. I’ve always liked Build-A-Bears, well, okay, but I didn’t really feel much specifically about them or the company itself (although I thought they were a tad expensive).
Tori immediately grabbed the bear and it became her constant companion all weekend. Sadly, the very back seam on the bear came undone so it was leaking a bit. Now, you may know that not only am I not crafty at all, but I can just b-a-r-e-l-y sew. Really. So Tori kept pointing out the hole in the seam and I kept putting it off because I dread sewing so much.
On the Saturday night of the conference, a very sweet woman spotted the ripped seam from across the room and asked Tori to come over. She asked if anyone had a sewing kit, and of course, this being a mom blogging conference, someone did. So this nice woman began sewing Tori’s bear up.
Suddenly, a dozen women were photographing the woman sewing the bear while Tori sat patiently at her side. Some of the women actually began tearing up (I’m looking at you, Casey). I was perplexed until I asked someone who the hell the woman sewing the bear was.
It was Maxine Clark, the CEO and founder of Build-A-Bear.
Yeah.
How cool is that?
Just for the record, this is NOT a sponsored post. I just thought this was a cool moment, the kind of thing that will be a memory for Tori forever, especially because when Tori looked confused I told her, “Honey, this is the lady that MAKES the bears.” Maxine Clark has a fascinating story and is an impressively savvy business woman; just the kind of person I want Tori to connect with.
I just wanted to share that moment. :)
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
That is FREAKING AWESOME.
An awesome moment. So glad you posted it so I could share. (And you rocked your panels as usual Cecily…)
Wow!
What a great story! I would have been all over that kodak moment too!
amazingly cool moment. Chills just reading it.
Crying reading this. What an amazing moment.
Love!!
I’ll admit to a few chills over that one. :)
Sweetest story ever. They just went up about a million percent in my book.
I love love love Build A Bear. And it’s so awesome the found sewed up Tori’s bear!
If I ever have a daughter (and a little more money) I have a feeling she’ll have a room full of those!
That’s priceless!
That is really cool. She’ll treasure that photo & moment for a long time, I’m sure. :)
Thank you for sharing this. IMMD.
Okay, now I’m tearing up and I wasn’t even there.
Fun! That is so cool!!!!!!!
Holy Build-a-Bear, Batman! That gave me goosebumps.
Excellent story – and I teared up over here too.
LOVED this moment, too, and love that it happened to your family! I saw Ms. Clark at the Asheville airport as I was waiting for my plane, and decided to go up and introduce myself (and thank her for such an inspirational keynote). She was incredibly gracious and asked me all sorts of questions about myself and my family (where did we live? how many kids? their ages? etc etc). She is absolutely the real deal. What a neat experience!
That IS freaking Awesome. Now I feel less bad about letting my parents spend outrageous sums on MM’s two stuffed animals from BaB
That is so awesome! and yeah y little sister was in love with bab when she was little. We used to have to physically stop her from running in there.
Just.so.cool.
my mom was chronically ill. at one point she had a nurse. the nurse sewed up my teddy bear. I will never forget her. unfortunatly she was not the CEO of the bear company :)
TORI WILL REMEMBER FOREVER THAT COOLNESS!!!!!
That really is a lovely moment. And quite possibly a saleable story you should pitch to a woman’s magazine, given that you have a shot of it. :)
To be fair I would have sobbed just as hard without all the hormones and lack of sleep. That? Was just stuff you don’t see anymore. Who would have thought that the boss of the bears would be such a lovely lady? Not I.
I knew I loved Build A Bear. This is pure awesomeness!
That is so cool! What an awesome lasting impression!
Y’know, people knock the word nice, like it’s some sort of an epithet, but that? Was nice. Just plain old nice. And that’s always, well, nice to see.
Although, it is kind of like seeing Santa make the toy just for you. Pretty freakin’ cool.
Such a cool moment. I think we might visit the store very soon.
Oh my goodness! How adorable! I still have my Build-a-Bear from ten or fifteen years ago, but this story kinda makes me want to run out to buy another one.
So awesome to have that experience!
I do agree however that they are overpriced!
CBG
canadianbloggergirl.blogspot.com
Yeah, that was terrifically awesome.
So great! Maxine seemed like a really nice lady and hearing her speak was cool. I am so glad you daughter and her bear had such a great time!
I love, love, love, Build a Bear. This made me all warm and fuzzy.
That IS really cool.
And my kids LOVE the Build-a-Bears I brought home. I thought they would be too old for them, but I was wrong.
That is such a wonderful story! Makes like build a bear just a little bit.
How WONDERFUL!!!! AWWWW!!!!
well, crap, now I’m tearing up…
I’m tearing up too. Fabulous moment, great memory, wonderful story.
i teared up too… pretty awesome.
Pretty cool story.
Coolest effin’ thing! What a fantastic story to have for Tori.
I worked at Build-a-Bear for three years. As a former Bear Builder, I probably would have noticed the split seam and talked to your daughter, too. Maxine taught all of us to really care about the kids we meet, and to take good care of their furry friends. It’s just the way she runs things.
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