Connecting in the CyBear Century with Build-A-Bear

I always knew I liked the Build-A-Bear brand, but my overall impression of the company has become much more favorable after attending a workshop called Connecting in the CyBear Century. This was my first official blogging event and I've got to admit I was quite nervous about the whole experience, as well as super excited. I do have to give a shout out to Nicole of SAHM Reviews who was the first and foremost person to make me feel welcome and helped calm my nerves.


The first night was spent just hanging out at the hotel. As you can see, Build-A-Bear made us feel embraced from the get-go with their hospitality. I had the pleasure of eating a fine meal at J. Buck's with a few people from the group. The company I sat with at the meal was entertaining and comfortable to talk to.


On day one of the actual workshop, we were shuttled to Build-A-Bear headquarters where a tour took place. I know work is work, but you can't help but feel instantly playful and cheery at a place like this. Build-A-Bear animals are everywhere and the place makes you feel like a kid again. Dogs are even allowed to come to work with their owners. Pugs and bull mastiffs can be seen sitting next to their owners as they work.

This particular line of bears were made exclusively for the World Cup. Boo hoo, and my boys would have loved to own these.

Food was served to us all day long. I'm almost positive I gained five pounds! After the tour, bloggers were seated together in a meeting room to learn a wealth of information about Build-A-Bear. We also learned about online safety, with guest speaker Mary Hess of @wiredmoms. Other guest speakers gave information on their expertise, with one of them being Zach Bonner with the Little Red Wagon Foundation. I'll tell all about him and his selfless work in another post, as he is deserving of being known in his own right. The same goes for CEO and Chief Exec Bear, Maxine Clark. Roundtable discussions were also part of the event, where bloggers got to give their input on what they expect from companies and products.

I went home with lots of information and a newfound admiration for Build-A-Bear. It is definitely a top-notch company that cares about its consumers and employees.

Build-A-Bear sent me to St. Louis to participate in a 2-day blogger event. They put me up in a hotel and paid for transportation costs to allow me to attend. I also received products from Build-A-Bear as a thank you for attending the event. All opinions are 100% mine.