Clemens
Bears was founded in 1948 in post-war Germany after Hans Clemens and his family
arrived there from France.
He had lost
everything in the war but his tenacity and determination allowed Hans to open a
little gift shop in Mannheim, Germany.
He initially started selling glass, porcelain and gifts.Customers continually asked Hans for teddy
bears as during this time, they were very hard to find in wartime.
To please
his customers, Hans offered them teddy bears made from old army blankets.
His sister stepped in to help and both
produced these entirely by hand.
The
demand grew from the onset and Mr. Clemens decided to enlist his first
employees to help out.
To this
day, the quality and care it takes to produce a Clemens Bear has never changed.
Each bear and cuddly critter is handmade by skilled German artisans.
Every Clemens artisan receives at least six
months of training before proceeding.
Many
Clemens teddy bears have been awarded the Spielgut, which is the highest award
for toys in the German toy industry.
In
addition to Clemens classic bears and animals, this company also employees
several award-winning German teddy bear artists to create their own special
lines of teddy bears.
Some of these
artists include Katya Bespalova, Anna Dazumal, and Angelika Schwind, to name
just a few.
This additional variety
provides collectors with even more choices when deciding on their own special
Clemens Bear.
Round the
world, Clemens Bears are known for their unmistakable style and quality. To
this day, each and every step of making a teddy bear is done by hand.
And only after passing a stringent quality
inspection is the Clemens "yellow triangle" attached to the teddy
with his name and country of origin.