When you first enter the store (possibly after waiting in a LONG LINE), you choose a skin. There's a variety of cute bears, of varying sizes and fuzzy factors. Some are seasonal, and some aren't bears at all. There are horses, cows, rabbits, frogs, turtles, dogs, and cats.

The next step is to choose a sound if you wish. These are basically the annoying sound-making electronics that become musical socks, greeting cards, or refrigerator magnets. They make music, animal noises, little voice samples like "I love you!", or a message that you record.

Once you choose your sound, you have to stuff your new friend. A "bear technician" will use a very large, surreal machine to fill your bear with fluff. During stuffing, the technician will make you pick a heart for your bear. You have to do a silly ritual before your bear is "alive":

1. Warm up the heart in your hands.
2. Tap it rhythmically to give it a heartbeat
3. Make a wish.
4. Kiss both sides so that your wishes come true.
5. Hug your hearts and turn around once

Now your technician will stitch up your bear, putting part of the tag inside so if he gets lost, someone could rip it open, take out the tag, and get the bear back to you. You can dress her up if you want, or you can go right to naming him. To name your bear, you sit at a computer and scan the bar code tag attached to your bear's ear. You can print out a birth certificate with important information like your bear's name and who she belongs to, or you can make up a story.

Now comes the tough part. PAYING FOR IT.

Build-A-Bear Workshop is a store where you can customize your very own stuffed animal, from how stuffed they are, to the noise they make, to the clothes they wear. The first store opened in the fall of 1997 in St. Louis after almost a year of work by Maxine Clark, the CEO of Build-A-Bear. To date there are over 150 stores around the world and the chain has won numerous concept awards.

First, you need to choose a skin for your fluffy friend. At any given time there are usually 15-20 different options, including:

• Various colors of teddy bears
• Giant Pandas
• Cats and Lions
• Dogs, ranging from Beagles to Golden Retrievers
• Various holiday themed animals, seasonally

Next comes picking a sound. You can either pick one or two pre-recorded sounds, such as "I love you," or an Elmo noise, or you can pay a bit extra and go to the bathroom to record your own 10-second noise. After you pick a sound, it's time to pick a heart and stuff your new friend. There are pink, red, checkered and other special hearts that you can write your name on. The "bear builder" will have you go through a routine of touching the heart to various places on your body to ensure intelligence, love, happiness, etc. Then comes the stuffing. You pick where you want your noise to reside in the animal and its stuffed to your satisfaction. The skins have pre-installed strings in the back so it can be easily tied up after stuffing and given straight to you for fluffing.

An air blower resides near the back of the store and you can fluff the furry creature up before taking it to be dressed. There are bear-sized prom dresses, angel outfits, Limited-Too jeans, boxers and just about anything else you can imagine. They're obviously interchangeable, so you can take home a few or give extras as gifts when new ones are designed. There are even mini dogs so your furry friend can have a pet or their very own. Once you've picked out an outfit, it's time to name the bear. You can go to the computer and make up a birth certificate and even a back story for your animal if you desire. Also, you can register the stuffed animal, so when it's lost it can be returned to any Build-A-Bear Store or mailed to the company and it can be returned to you. At the register the paperwork will be waiting for you, along with a sturdy cardboard apartment for your friend to live in.

Of course, even assembly line customization doesn't come cheap. The base prices range from $18-$25 (the upper end being for animals which are sponsored by some organization and the proceeds benefit them, like the WWF) and this includes the bear (with stuffing and fluffing), heart, birth certificate and apartment. One pre-made noise is $3, two are $5 and a custom noise is $8. Outfits are usually about $10, with accessory prices varying.

Build-A-Bear Workshop hosts birthday parties and is quickly becoming a hit among the younger set, and is also a nice place to pick up a cute gift for a lover or close friend. Provided it's not too crowded it's a fairly fun experience and the personalized result is worth the extra money.

Sources:
Personal Experience
"Build-A-Bear Workshop" Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. 2 Dec. 2004 <http://www.buildabear.com/>.