Build-A-Bear Workshop is poised to unveil a multi-level retail and entertainment destination – its largest and most immersive location to date – featuring one-of-a-kind exclusive experiences.
Opening in November, the three-storey Build-A-Bear is located in Orlando’s Icon Park centre, whose tenant roster includes Madame Tussauds, Sea Life Aquarium and Museum of Illusions. The new store’s attractions range from one-on-one design collaboration to cookie and cupcake decorating to a customisation station.
The space houses three new concepts: Build-A-Bear Design Studio, Build-A-Bear Bakeshop and a “Personalise Me” station where custom embroidery and screen printing bring a final touch to customers’ furry friends. For the project, the experiential retailer partnered with design firm Chute Gerdeman, whose work includes the FAO Schwarz New York flagship, where Build-A-Bear operates a shop-in-shop.
The Design Studio takes Build-A-Bear’s signature make-your-own experience to new heights. It’s designed as an appointment-only plush atelier where customers can collaborate one-on-one with a dedicated employee (“design consultant”) to create a one-of-a-kind furry friend. Every detail, from preferred animal style to fur type to eye colour to paw and more, is selected through a highly-personalised design experience.
Interactive digital tools bring each creation to life before it is built, allowing customers to visualise and refine their design every step of the way. Once finalised, customers can watch one of Build-A-Bear’s skilled seamstresses personally create their new furry friend.
The experience ends with a reveal of the designed bear, the retailer’s signature “heart ceremony” and exclusive keepsakes, including a special birth certificate and “Design Studio Cub Condo”.
