Fran can be admired in the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws of May 14, 2020:
Ten-year-old Fran from Leopoldsburg has a heart for entrepreneurship from an early age. She started the Internet store “TeddyBeer,” through which she helps other children (and their parents) stuff teddy bears. “I thought it would be a nice idea in these difficult times to help people make a hug, since they are currently unable to give a physical hug,” explained the cheerful young lady.
The principle of ‘TeddyBear’ is simple. First, you choose one of the seven possible cuddly toys. Fran’s cheerful zoo includes: ‘Bennie, the Bengal tiger’, ‘Bubbles, the dolphin’, ‘Fearless, the friendly dragon’, ‘Flopsy, the rabbit’, ‘Gerry, the giraffe’, ‘Goldie, the labrador’ and ‘Trunks, the elephant’. Then you can fill the cuddly toy with wool. For convenience, the head and limbs are already pre-filled.
For the children it is fun to add a special wish heart and put it in the belly of the teddy bear. The idea is that children make their wish in silence and then carry it with the teddy bear, in the hope that the wish will come true. “I hope I can see my friends again soon”, for example, is a possibility in this spirit of the times. The teddy bear is then closed again with velcro. To complete the story, you can also fill in the birth certificate of the new teddy bear.
Videos on TikTok
When ordering, the wool and the wish heart are included as standard. The cuddly toys cost between 15 and 25 euros. You can also purchase extras such as clothing and a backpack via the webshop. There is also a current promotion where you can put together a cuddly toy of your choice with clothing for 25 euros. Fran – as is customary with the youngest generation – already made some nice advertising via a striking video on the social media channel TikTok.
Need for warmth
“I came up with the idea to start this webshop because I once made a cuddly toy like that one weekend. I was completely crazy about it,” says the small entrepreneur. “I liked it so much that I wanted to give others the chance to share my hobby. I am mainly thinking of peers, but a cuddly toy like that can also be nice to give to people who are sick or people who live alone in a residential care center. Everyone needs a bit of warmth right now!”
Sales are going well for now. “We have already been able to send out quite a few cuddly toys, the rabbit is even sold out,” Fran adds. Mom Liesbeth and stepdad Ruben watch to make sure their little darling is doing everything right. “We hope that other children will have as much fun filling the cuddly toys as they do,” they laugh.
All information can be found at www.maakeenbeer.be .