Kösen takes its name from Bad Kösen, the picturesque German spa town, situated on the banks of the River Saale, in which it was founded.

The business was started in 1912 by the German doll designer, Käthe Kruse, who created the company just to make her dolls. She remained running the business until 1949 and, after her departure, the workshops continued to make dolls until 1964. During this period Kösen decided to expand their repertoire and started to make soft toys.
	Kösen soft toys from the 1960s

In 1992 the company was bought by a local family, the Schaches. This enabled the Kösen brand to be preserved and allowed further development of the business. It was then that the company started to create the first extremely life-like bears and other soft animals for which they are now so well known. In 2000, Kösen acquired the Silke Collection – a range of educational dolls and animals and, since then, once again, both dolls and animals have been made in Bad Kösen.

Since the Schaches bought the company, things have gone from strength to strength for Kösen, with new manufacturing premises being built in 1997. These are on the same site as the original workshops Käthe Kruse established some 85 years before, showing the company’s continued commitment to Bad Kösen. Even though the new premises allow the testing of new technologies and the perfecting of proven ones, this does not change the fact that, ultimately, all ranges are handmade by a dedicated and skilled team of artists, just as they have always been.

Because of their outstanding design, Kösen has won a number of awards – in 1993 the Design Centre of North Rhine-Westphalia presented them with an “Excellent Design” award for their Africa series and in 1996/97 they received a Marianne Brandt Award for Design for their standing brown (Schnuffel) and polar bears. In 2001 their lying Husky received a TED Worldwide design award, which they were presented with again in 2002 for their limited edition Polar Bear and in 2003 for the Grizzly.

Huskys		Grizzly Bear

The popularity of Kösen is far reaching with the company exporting to 12 countries worldwide. One way they have found to “spread the word” is to attend Toy Fairs and one of the most important to them has been the International Toy Fair in Nuremburg. They have also been to other fairs around the globe and recently started exhibiting at the Autumn and Spring Fairs in Birmingham. Not only do they show at international exhibitions though, they still find the time to attend a number of “local” handicraft fairs.

Kösen also recognises the importance of having a base outside Germany, which is why they opened the UK office in 1996.

Kösen’s animals have a very distinctive style with their realistic look. This true to life appearance is thanks to their extremely thorough design process, which is carried out by their own, small, design team.

Kösen’s chief designer, Annekatrin Mehlan, starts the process by visiting zoos every week, where she watches, draws and photographs the animals. She has also made several trips to various large national parks, which has enabled her to observe animals in their natural habitat - black bears in Canada, lions in Kenya, orang-utans on Sumatra, rhinoceroses in Namibia and many more besides. Indeed, Kösen pride themselves on basing their animals on those who originally come from all continents of the world.

Wildlife study

The drawings and photos are then used to produce clay models from which patterns are made. With Kösen’s usual eye for detail these are adjusted again and again until such time as they are happy that the soft animal has just the right naturalistic look.

Buffalo sketch	Pattern production	Panda sketch

The production of the pattern pieces is only the start, as without the right materials all this hard work would be wasted. The characteristics of the various animals are brought to life through the use of different colours, pile lengths and textures. In many cases more than 10 different fur fabrics and up to 75 different pieces are used for one animal. The next job for the design team is to ensure that the materials selected are able to make the final appearance as life-like as possible. Indeed, if Kösen are not able to find those that will guarantee the result they want, they will have them specially made to their own specifications.

All this care and attention to detail does not stop on the outside either – even the stuffing has to be just right to make sure that the animals are soft and cuddly and that they keep this feel, whilst also maintaining their shape, over a long period. To ensure all parts of the process comply with Kösen’s strict guidelines, the quality of the work is controlled closely each step of the way. Because of all of this hard work, Kösen have been able to meet and even exceed the European safety norm EN71 for all their soft animals. The animals are regularly tested by the German TÜV and are even surface washable at 30°C! Also, because they are beautifully soft and movable and optimally designed for children’s play, many of Kösen’s animals have received the “Good Play Characteristics”(Spiel Gut) distinction in Germany.

Schlaffi

All these points obviously make the Kösen range very suitable for children. This is extremely important for the company as they want to be able to help children gain an understanding of the animal kingdom – from small to large. Some of their designs depict animals which children may never have seen – even in a zoo – and the fact that the animals are true to life and not “stylised” means that they are being seen in their natural form.

Kösen hopes that children will love their soft animals and that, in turn, this may mean that the children will develop a desire to protect wildlife.

Kösen has been proactive in helping the cause of animals by getting involved in various projects. These have included the supporting of the Conservation in Action programme of London Zoo. Kösen donated a share of all their UK sales, from 1996 to the end of 1999, and were able to raise substantial amounts by doing so.

	The company still continues to support the work of London Zoo in other ways. Since September 2000, Kösen has been supporting the Friends of Galapagos in their conservation aims. Each of the Kösen tortoises now carries a special label with further information about the Galapagos Conservation Trust and the Charles Darwin Foundation.
Tortoises

Kösen’s animals are not just aimed at children. Once a year, in addition to their standard range (which is regularly expanded), they produce limited editions for serious collectors. These are released under the name “Annekatrin Mehlan Collection of Kösen”, after their chief designer, and will usually include 2 or 3 bears or other animals.

The number of animals within each Limited Edition Collection ranges between 85 and 1,000 worldwide and they are supplied in a presentation box with a numbered certificate. Customers who register their limited edition purchase also have the added bonus of receiving a free Kösen soft animal!

Kösen decided that they wanted to do something very special to celebrate the centenary of the teddy bear in 2002. So, when they launched their Gold Collection that summer, the very first animal in the range was the Gold Bear, limited to just 100 pieces worldwide. It was made from very long, high quality mohair plush and stuffed with poplar down and glass balls. It had a 14 carat golden logo, onyx eyes, leather paws and claws and the soles of its feet were embroidered. The Gold Bear carried a numbered and signed certificate and was presented in a wooden box with a glass door, featuring an edged Kösen logo. The Gold Bear is probably the company’s most popular animal to date, due to the extraordinary quality of its materials.
				Gold Bear

Before the launch of the Gold Bear, the 20 inch tall standing brown bear “Schnuffel” had been the top seller for a number of years, only recently overtaken by its slouching and granule filled cousin of the same size called “Schlaffi”. The Teddy Bear Centenary year saw the popularity of Kösen bears grow enormously, naturally helped by the Gold Bear, and this trend seems to be continuing. Another project that Kösen has been involved with (this time specifically for the Centenary) is the sponsorship of “The Teddy Bear Story”, an exhibition that has been organised by the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood. It originally opened in Liverpool Museum in Autumn 2002 and has now moved to Bethnal Green where it will be for the remainder of 2003.

Schnuffel