Voting Station

Margarete Steiff

Please vote to return to collections.

Inventor

The Resume

    (July 24, 1847-May 9, 1909)
    Born in Giengen, Germany
    Seamstress and business owner
    Founded Steiff GmbH in 1880
    Company manufactured stuffed toys, usually animals
    Credited with creating the first 'Teddy Bear' (1902)

Why she might be annoying:

    They were called ‘Steiff Bears’ until being renamed ‘Teddy’ after Theodore Roosevelt.
    Her nephew actually is the one who sketched the design for the ‘Bear 55PB’ model.
    Her nephew also bears more responsibility for securing the bears a massive following by marketing it at local trade shows, such as the Leipzig Toy Trade Fair (Margarete herself remained skeptical about its potential for years).

Why she might not be annoying:

    She was diagnosed with polio at the age of four.
    Despite immense pain in her right hand, she completed her training as a seamstress at 17.
    She founded her own felt clothing business and managed it successfully.
    She popularized the world's first stuffed toy bears with movable arms and legs.
    Her company first found success marketing stuffed toy elephants, and she had sold over 5,000 within the first five years of running the business out of her home.
    Her company motto was 'Fur Kinder ist nur das Beste gut genug!' (German for 'For children, only the best is good enough!')
    She achieved as a business owner despite a debilitating handicap and the company has continued to thrive a century after her death.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 72 Votes: 51.39% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying