Build-A-Bear’s Largest-Ever Workshop Coming to Orlando With One-of-a-Kind Custom Plush Design Studio
Build-A-Bear Workshop is preparing to open its largest and most ambitious location yet at ICON Park in Orlando, with a three-story destination built around customization, collectible plush and experiences that go well beyond the company’s traditional make-your-own format. The new Workshop is scheduled to open in November and will introduce several concepts that Build-A-Bear says are exclusive to the ICON Park location. The biggest addition for collectors is the first-ever Build-A-Bear Design Studio, an appointment-only plush atelier where guests can work one-on-one with a Design Consultant to create a completely customized furry friend.
Rather than selecting from a standard assortment of plush, Design Studio guests will be able to choose from an exclusive library of premium fabrics, textures and materials available only at the Orlando location. Customers can select the animal style, fur type and color, eye color, paw design and other details, then use interactive digital tools to preview and refine the design before it is made. Once the design is finalized, one of Build-A-Bear’s seamstresses will personally construct the plush.
The finished creation will also come with special keepsakes tied to the Design Studio experience. Build-A-Bear says each session will conclude with the company’s traditional Heart Ceremony, followed by the reveal of the finished plush and exclusive extras including a special birth certificate and a Design Studio Cub Condo. That gives the experience a stronger collectible element than a typical store visit, since the finished plush is intended to be a true one-of-a-kind piece.
The ICON Park location will also introduce a new “Personalize Me” station, giving guests additional ways to alter both plush and clothing after they are created. Options will include custom embroidered initials, names and numbers on T-shirts and hoodies, along with patches, selected screen-printed designs and even embroidery on the ears of certain furry friends.
A Build-A-Bear Bakeshop will add another interactive element to the three-story space. Rather than operating as a conventional café, the Bakeshop will allow visitors to decorate their own cupcakes and cookies. Build-A-Bear is positioning the concept as another hands-on experience designed to turn a visit into something more than a traditional shopping trip.
The company says the Design Studio, Bakeshop and Personalize Me station are only the first features being revealed for the Orlando location, with additional experiences and grand opening details still to come. “For nearly 30 years, Build-A-Bear has created memorable make-your-own experiences centered on connection, imagination and heart,” said Chris Hurt, CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop. “Our ICON Park Workshop represents our most ambitious experience yet, a place where families can step into the world of Build-A-Bear, share meaningful moments together and create memories that last well beyond their visit. We can’t wait to welcome guests from all over the world inside this truly one-of-a-kind tourist destination this November and continue our mission of adding a little more heart to life.”
Build-A-Bear partnered with retail design firm Chute Gerdeman on the project. The firm has worked on other immersive retail destinations, including the FAO Schwarz flagship in New York, where Build-A-Bear already operates a shop-in-shop.