Build A Bear “Connecting in the CyBear Century” Event (Day 1)

Last Wednesday, my family and I embarked on a 5-hour trip to St. Louis.  I was fortunate to be invited to a Brand Building Workshop at Build A Bear Headquarters.  The event was called “Connecting in the CyBear Century” and was basically about 25 bloggers from within driving distance.

Now at first I was intimidated because I was like “How the heck did I get on the list?” and then I was like ”Wow, I get to meet some awesome bloggers AND hang out at Build A Bear headquarters.”  Most of the women did not bring their families; I brought mine only because either way my husband would have had to stay home from work to watch the kids so I figured he might as well come hang out in St. Louis and explore there with the kids (with my 12 year old sisters help of course!)  So anyways we arrived Wednesday, hung out at Six Flags out there for a few hours and then crashed at the hotel.

Thursday morning I had to be in the lobby by 7:30 dressed and ready to go, and I was still nervous but excited.  I met a few other bloggers right away that I recognized from their blog/twitter pics and we were all curious about the agenda.  First off, when we arrived at Build A Bear Headquarters I was surprised that it is a relatively small building but inside it is jam packed with Build A Bears and happy employees.  So many of the employees have been with Build A Bear since the beginning or close to it.  I must say if I lived in St. Louis I would love to work there!

(My table tag)

(When you first walk into Build A Bear Headquarters – told you it was fun in there!)

(All retired or “hibernating” bears)

(Build A Bears and their condo’s are everywhere!)

(There were cute signs like this all over – this one is the Accounting Department)

(Dress Up room filled with outfits and accessories)

So throughout the day, we heard from Maxine Clark, CEO, some of her employees, and Adrienne Weiss.  Adrienne is a woman whose company helps develop brand strategies such as naming them, re-designing them, and just the overall company impression.  She spoke about thinking small, inspiring, and how to create not just a brand logo, but everything that goes with it.  She was very interesting and helpful to listen to.  I guess I never really thought about my blog outside of my logo and blog posts, but Adrienne taught us about all the possibilities and ways to look at things.  We then broke into smaller groups for some round table discussions, which was nice to sit around and talk about our ideas and suggestions.

We also heard from Matt Oldani and Zach Bonner about how Build A Bear is really into helping wherever they can.  Whether it be a small charity, group, or large organization, Build A Bear really tries to do what they can do help.  Zach Bonner for example is a Huggable Hero, which means he is a kid who is out there making a difference and Build A Bear recognizes that and has awarded him as a Huggable Hero.  I was amazed at how much Build A Bear sponsors and donates.

To end the day we had dinner at Maxine Clark’s home, yes we ate in the backyard of the CEO of Build A Bear’s home.  We had delicious barbecue food, balloon animals were made for the kids, and it was nice to chit chat with other moms and not have to clean up dishes!  I still cannot believe either how down to earth and friendly Maxine Clark is, she is just so nice and you can tell she really believes in her product and company.

Stay tuned for Day 2 at Build A Bear and lots more photos!

(From L to R:  Michelle from Honest and Truly, Nicole from SAHM Reviews, Me, Maria from My Chicago Mommy, and Stephanie from And Twins Make 5)

Mama’s Money Savers Disclosure:  I received accommodations, travel reimbursement, meals, and some product goodies.  This review is 100% my opinion and I was not compensated to write this.