There's No Place Like Home - Come Take A Virtual Tour Of Richard Steiff's House In America!

What's on your Steiff bucket list? It's easy to come up with a list of great Steiff toys that qualify as truly dreamy acquisitions. But in Steiffgal's case, her list also included visiting the home of her Steiff superhero - Richard Steiff! And dreams can come true, as they did last weekend when she had the absolute pleasure of visiting the Jackson, Michigan home where Richard lived in the late 1920's and 1930's when he resided in America. Come take a tour of this happy, historic home and see if you too can feel Richard's playful spirit!

Richard lived at 610 Harwood Road in Jackson, MI. Steiffgal has a number of notes he wrote on his personal letterhead; that is how she knew his exact address. She penned a letter to the family that lives there now, and asked if it would be possible to stop by for a quick tour with friends. The family was extremely gracious, and said yes. Then, through a series of emails and Facebook chats, the meeting was set for late April. 

Here on the left you can see the exterior of Richard's house. The neighborhood is really pleasant and family oriented, and apparently everyone knows everyone and is quite friendly.  The house, which was probably built in the 19-teens or early 1920's, has a distinctly arts and crafts look and feel to it. The front stairs are made from concrete, and the home features a marvelous outdoor sitting porch that extends the entire length of the house. The building itself may have been a "prefab" house that was ordered from a catalog like Sears and then built on site; this was somewhat common through the 1920's in America. 

The interior of the house is lovely and modern. Clearly, many changes and updates in both its decor and the layout were made over time by the various owners since 1939. This would have been done for practical as well as aesthetic reasons. For example, the original kitchen, which was tiny, was repurposed as a study. However, there are some exciting details in the house that clearly existed when Richard resided there. Perhaps the most obvious is the fine woodwork and paneling which appear in almost every room. You can see an example of that here on the left. The current owners said that the woodwork had been painted an "unnatural" color and that they stripped it to bring this detailing back to its original condition. Can you imagine Richard going up and down these steps? He certainly did about a zillion times when living here.

Another great feature of the house is a number of built-in storage units that are clearly original to the home. They are well constructed, with a charming, old fashioned look to them - earnest and practical at the same time. This storage unit, located at the top of the stairs, looks to be perhaps a linen closet for towels and sheets. There is also a built in china cabinet located in the dining room; the family suspects at one time it had glass doors. Today it is just open and displays a collection of vintage tableware. 

The attic in this house is open, light, and accessible by a staircase from the second floor. Although there are no physical indications today that Richard did work in this space, the room itself is extremely conducive to creativity given its layout, storage potential, sight lines, and window-configuration.  

The home's period details also include more decorative features like knobs, pulls, light switches, and vents. Here on the left you can see a very pretty floor vent located right near where the original kitchen was located. Of course, Steiffgal brought along the "Terrible Trio" of Bitty Bub, Mini Mopsy, and Petite Penelope on the visit. They, like Steiffgal, are batty over Richard Steiff - and that is why they decided to pose upside down on it. 

Richard's house features two laundry chutes. These allowed people on the upper floors to put their dirty clothes down a pipe leading to the basement where the "washing machine" was located - but more about that in a bit. Here you can see the bottom of the chute, which is basically just a large wooden box with a mesh wire door. The wood is quite worn and may have been "repurposed"; i.e., it started out life as shipping crates for produce or something like that. It was very cool to open and close this door, and realize that Richard had done so as well.

Speaking of laundry, it is most likely that the family did its laundry in this big granite sink tub. It is located just a few steps away from the laundry chute. Today it is allocated for storage, but its size, location, and materials perfectly align with 1930's usage. And right above the tub is a series of hooks - a set on one side of the basement and a symmetrical set on the other side of the basement. It is suspected that the family strung rope or lines between these sets of hooks, and used this setup as an indoor clothesline for drying laundry. You can see the tub and half the hooks pictured here on the left. 

Of course, Steiffgal has saved the best for last in this virtual tour. Perhaps the most thrilling part of this visit was to stand in Richard Steiff's workbench area. This is also located in the basement of the house - in the farthermost, back corner. It is a dark space, and the drawers and cabinets are all made from wood, which also may have been "repurposed" like that of the laundry chute receptacle. This area consists of series of drawers, shelves, and a well worn bench top. It is a truly magical space. Steiffgal ran her hands along the bench top, and on the drawers, just to touch something that was also very near and dear to Richard. It is interesting to note that this area has a similar feeling and construction to Richard's workbench area featured in the Steiff museum in Giengen. You can see a collage of Richard's Jackson workbench area pictured above. 

Steiffgal is incredibly thankful to Cheri Valkuchak and her family for opening their doors and hearts to this crazy collector and her traveling companions. Cheri runs a popular day care service for working families out of this house. Steiffgal can't think of a better use of this legacy Steiff space - and can only imagine Richard smiling at the thought of his home filled with happy, laughing children.

Steiffgal hopes you enjoyed this tour of the Steiff action in Jackson!

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.

Care To Take A Tour Of Margarete Steiff's Historic Birth House?

Welcome home! There are no warmer words in any language for sure.  And Steiffgal just had the most wonderful homecoming, of sorts, when she had the absolute pleasure of touring the birth house of Margarete Steiff, the founder of Margarete Steiff GmbH - or the Steiff Company as we better know it.  This important historical building is pictured above. The house is located just a stone's throw from the factory in Giengen, Germany and is open to the public.  It can be explored with a docent or via a self guided tour - or in this case - online!  Come along as we check out the highlights of this most interesting period residence.

The house itself is located on a side street about a five minute's walk from the central factory campus.  The street has houses, apartments, and a few small shops.  On the birth house is the plaque pictured above.  When you walk into the building, there is a small reception area with lockers to store your bags, coats, or parcels.  There you can request the printed self guided tour from the guard; it is available in English and German.  The cover of brochure reads in part...

"Dear visitor, a warm welcome to the house where Margarete Steiff, the founder of the world famous company Margarete Steiff GmbH, was born.  Margarete was born on 24 July 1847 in this house, which was built back in the middle of the 17th century, and lived here until 1889. 

In 2003 the house was lovingly restored and furnished in places with items from the Biedermeier period. It now reflects the character of the 1880 period.  In that year, Margarete laid the foundations of a worldwide company with the first stuffed toy, an elephant made from felt."

The first major stop on the tour is Margarete's workroom, which is located up a narrow flight of stairs from the reception area.  It is a large, open, sunny space.  According to the self guided tour in part...

"This work room was created specifically for his daughter by Margarete Steiff's father, and master builder, in 1874."

(You can see many early white felt elephants in this picture, along with lots of colorful, thick felt material.  The scissors on the right are huge and heavy, it is hard to imagine the hand strength it would take to use them!)

"In the foreground, you will see one of Margarete's wheelchairs. The picture above it shows a photograph of Margarete on a walk with her nephew Paul Steiff, one of her brother's sons."

(It is very interesting to note that the wheels on this wheelchair almost look like "snow tires" with their extremely raised and bumpy surfaces.  Perhaps for better traction on cobbled streets and in bad weather?)

"The sewing machine on the left in front of the window was owned by Margarete Steiff. Looking out of this window, for which her father had to ask special permission from the city of Giengen, Margarete often gazed out over the hustle and bustle of the Lederstrasse." 

("Lederstrasse" means "Leather Street," the address of the house. Seeing this sewing machine was quite meaningful as a Steiff collector and enthusiast.  The Steiff's were the first family in Giengen to own a sewing machine.) 

The next room on the tour is Margarete's tiny bedroom which is literally nuzzled into a small space in the house.  When you look out of her bedroom window, all you can see is the wall to the house next door, which is practically touching her house.  According to the self guided brochure...

"Here in the bedroom, you can see quite clearly how close together the houses were built. The two dresses are the property if Eva Koepff, Margarete Steiff's favorite niece. Right next-door you will find the bathroom."

(This room is literally the size of the bed, plus just enough floor footprint to move around a bit and get in and out of bed.)

Adjacent to Margarete's bedroom is her washroom, which is also quite tiny and basic.  According to the self guided brochure...

"This room looks nothing like the bathrooms were used to today.  In simple households, there was no bathtub. Instead, they used washbowls."  

(On the other wall is a hanging rack with some towels.  But is is not clear if this room had, or ever had, a toilet as we think of bathrooms having them today.)

Next up on the tour is the family's living room.  This room is quite elegant compared to the others in the house, and a bit more formal as well.  According to the self guided brochure...

"In the living room, you'll find an absolutely wonderful table with chairs, and in front of an oven made of cast iron is the matching cushioned bench."

(You can see the tall thin black oven in the upper left hand corner of the photo, it is almost like a chimney.  The table is absolutely gorgeous and made from wood that looks textured, but feels smooth.)

"Cupboards and a desk round off the ensemble." 

(The desk is solid, heavy, and important looking.  The cupboard holds special occasion looking china and glasses.  There are several pieces of art on the walls, including a painting of a man, and an illustration of a bible verse.)

The next room on the tour, and on the same floor as the rooms just discussed, is the kitchen.  This room is quite small and dark, and full of period cooking and baking accessories.  According in part to the self guided tour...

"This stove is the type that Margarete's mother, Maria Steiff, used to prepare the family meals."

(On the top of the black stove, right next to the round pot, is a "built in" waffle maker made from iron.  The recipe for the waffles is cast onto the top.)

"Ceramic molds, milk churn, pans, bowls, etc. complete the picture of a kitchen from the middle of the 19th century."  

(The home originally had these beige and black floor tiles in the kitchen and in the hall corridor; in some places they are still original and in others they have been replicated and laid by craftsmen during renovations.)

Just around the corner from the kitchen is a porch which has access to a garden with flowers and vegetables. On the tour, you can pause and take a rest on a bench which is just outside the door of the porch. You must go down a few stairs to get to this garden. Here you can see a partial view of the garden from the porch.  Unfortunately, the day we were visiting it was raining quite hard so we chose not to go outside to see this garden up close and personal.

Now the tour takes us up a narrow flight of stairs to the attic or top floor of the house.  Here there are a few small rooms, but the most important living space is Margarete's parent's bedroom.  According to the self guided tour...

"On the right you'll see the room in which Margarete Steiff was born - her parents bedroom."

(Like Margarete's bedroom, this living space is also quite compact.  The black item on the night table is probably a hatbox from a regional haberdashery or department store.)

"An extremely beautiful rustic dresser dating from 1849, two beds, and night tables complete the bedroom picture."  

(This is a lovely, hand painted dresser that really is the focal point of the room and measures floor to ceiling.)

The last home space in this house museum was the attic area, which was extensive and quite high.  It appears to run the length of the house, but only a small portion is open to the public for exploration.  According to the self guided brochure...

"Going right, through the door, you will now come to the historic and listed-status roof-truss."

(This appears like it would be a great place for storage but probably quite cold in the winter as no insulation is evident.)

"Here, inside, you can still see the beautiful old half timbered construction."  

(Check out the underside of the tiles that make up the home's great tiled roof.  According to their marks, they were made in nearby Stuttgart, Germany.)

After visitors tour the open living spaces of the house, they are invited to view a small collection of very vintage Steiff items and important Steiff related paperwork and ephemera.  These precious items are located on the first floor of the house.  According to the self guided tour...  

"This exhibition of early start animals, made from felt and velvet, is intended to enrich your impression of the life of our company founder even further."   

Here are some outstanding highlights from this display!

Here we have three documents relating to the company's founding and intellectual property, including their status in the United States.

Also featured are numerous wildlife drawings and sketches by Richard Steiff, Margarete's creative nephew who invented the jointed Teddy bear in 1902.

This is a lovely, early, and delicate felt swan pram toy, which hangs from an elastic cord and is detailed with a bell and pink woolen pom poms. This item was produced in this size only from 1897 through 1918.

This charming turn of last century striped velvet cat glides along on four metal wheels.  This pattern was produced overall in 14, 17, and 22 cm from 1901 through 1927.

And finally, the birth house exhibit featured many wonderful and interesting early felt Steiff dolls.  This early "throw style" baby girl was Steifgal's favorite! This simplified doll toy designed for play was produced in various colors of felt, as well as mohair, in 30 cm from 1908 through 1921 overall. 

Steiffgal hopes this virtual tour of Margarete Steiff's birth house truly confirms, "There's no place like home!"

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more. 

The 2012 Steiff European Super Fan Tour

Better have your passport in hand to enjoy this exciting Steiff travelogue!  Steiffgal just recently had the wonderful experience of accompanying 38 Steiff super fans on a nine day tour of Switzerland and Germany.  Our destinations?  All things Steiff, and Steiff related!  Here is a not so brief diary of some of our many trip highlights.

And we're off!  After a long day and night of travel, the super fans all gathered in Basel, Switzerland.  Our first activity was a fun group dinner, where we all finally met in person and talked about our collections and interests.  The next day, we were off in the pouring rain for a full morning at the Spielzeug Welten Museum Basel, which used to be called the Puppenhaus, or Dollhouse Museum.  This amazing Steiff mecca has perhaps the best and most comprehensive Steiff collection on the planet!  Above is just one photo of an amazing grouping of tiny Steiff Teds - it would be impossible to capture the scope of this museum in even 1,000 photos.  This is a MUST SEE destination for all Steiff fans who find themselves in this part of the world. While in Basel, Steiffgal had the awesome pleasure of spending time with a long-time friend she met online - but never in person. A delightful reunion all around - and made far sweeter by the fact that she provided everyone in the tour group with a giant Swiss chocolate bar as a welcoming gesture to her country!

After our museum adventure, we boarded our coach for a long journey towards Bonn, our second destination.  This leg took us through Switzerland, Germany, France, and then again Germany - all within a few hours.  Very cool from a geography perspective!  Our driver basically followed the Rhine River as it wove around the countryside.  Our hotel in Bonn was lovely and historical, and right on the Rhine.  Many famous, and some infamous, people had visited our hotel, and you could just tell the walls had many stories to tell.  Most super fans truly enjoyed the hotel's authentic after hours biergarten.  Here above on the left you can see a shot of the view from our hotel window, showing the Rhine River and the biergarten with its retractable all seasons roof!  Interestingly, the sun did not set until about 10:30 or 11pm in the evening, so we could enjoy eachother's company over beers in the daylight even though it was clearly evening!  

Our first night in Bonn included a preview of the upcoming Steiff Sommer 2012 auction, hosted by Teddy Dorado.  Everyone loved seeing and holding the precious and rare auction items firsthand, and Carsten Esser, Teddy Dorodo's owner and auctioneer, was there to present the goodies and answer questions.  A few lucky super fans also had their photos taken with Othello, the historically important Steiff Titantic Mourning bear who was one of the highlights of the auction.  

As there is no rest for the weary, our next day truly was off to the races.  Our coach took us to Steiff Shulte, the fabric company that has been making Steiff's outstanding and high quality fabrics since the turn of last century.  It was remarkable to see how simple materials, like cotton and wool, are transformed into glorious textured and colored mohair.  After our tour, we headed towards Koln, known for its famous cathedral which is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the largest facade of any church in the world.    In Koln, many super fans enjoyed an hour long boat cruise on the Rhine, a self-tour through the Lindt chocolate museum (yes, samples were included!), a visit through the awesome cathedral, and a stroll through the city center.  One of the trip highlights for Steiffgal and Steiffguy was enjoying a few rounds of ice cold pils beer with new and old friends in an urban biergarten right in the shadows of the city's most famous landmark.    

Our next day was primarily dedicated to travel, where we headed off from Bonn to Heidenheim.  The five hour journey was bisected with a stop at Rothenburg, an ancient walled city that really had the look and feel of times past - way past. This wonderful destination featured cobble stoned streets, century-old buildings, majestic gardens, and spectacular views of the surrounding areas.  Here on the left you can see a "typical" Rothenburg house with its interesting, aged, and historical facade. When the super fans finally arrived in Heidenheim at our final hotel destination, the group had the pleasure of enjoying dinner with Inge Zinnecker, who runs the Steiff club, and Ralf Fahrig, who is in charge of events for Steiff. 

The next two days of the adventure were truly dedicated to Steiff fun 24/7.  The group arrived early Friday morning in Giengen and was given first access to the Steiff sales tent area at the 2012 Steiff Sommer Festival.  It goes without saying that the super fans had a wonderful - and successful - time scooping up bargains and favorites by the armful.  Other festival highlights included a dealer's area which featured new and vintage treasures from around the world; a "flea market", which sold Steiff accessories, parts, and pieces; a community area which highlighted local craftspeople and their high quality wares; a food pavilion; and a stage area for singing and dancing performances.  (The photo above on the left shows one vintage dealer's incredible collection of Steiff treasures for sale!) The group was also given private guided tours of the Steiff Museum and Margarete Steiff's birth house.  Some super fans participated in a Teddy bear making workshop while others took side trips to the city of Ulm and the fairy tale village of Braighausen, a remarkably detailed miniature medieval village created by one of Steiff's legendary designers.  

The second evening of the Steiff Festival featured the 2012 Steiff Sommer Auction produced by Teddy Dorado.  This standing room only event was held in a town-hall style building just a few hundred yards from the Steiff campus in Giengen.  For many of the super fans, it was their very first live Steiff auction, and you could feel the energy and excitement in the room.  The auction featured almost 90 museum quality new and vintage items, including Othello, the 1912 black Steiff Titanic Mourning bear.  Steiffgal had the once in a lifetime experience of presenting many items for sale, including Othello, to the audience from the stage.  Other interesting items included a very large, mechanical Steiff rabbit from the 1920's; a sweet 1920's large eyed, tipped mohair bear; a lovely white Dicky bear in wonderful condition, and a velvet Steiff Peter Rabbit from around 1909.  You can see the online catalog for this July, 2012 auction event here by clicking here.  100% of the item sold at or significantly above the opening price - a wonderful sign in terms of the state of the marketplace for lovely Steiff collectibles.   And yes, Steiffgal did win an auction treasure... a set of 1960's-era "Jumbo" elephants in 35 and 15 cm... a delightful souvenir from one of the best days of her life!

Our last day abroad found the super fans on the road again, this time to Stuttgart.  There we all toured the remarkable and contemporary Mercedes Benz museum, which tells the story of the creation of the modern automobile as we know it today, as well as features pristine examples of cars from the turn of last century onward.  The museum itself is located on the Mercedes Benz headquarters campus.  It is eight stories high; its interior is constructed somewhat like the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.  Visitors take an elevator to the top floor and simply follow a gently sloping downward walkway to each lower floor.  Displays feature hands on exhibits, videos, newsreels, and accessories, and follow a timeline tied to well known global historical events.  It was so exciting to see Princess Diana's maroon Mercedes, the "Pope Mobile," and other famous Mercedes cars that were featured in well known TV shows and movies.  

Our final evening was spent enjoying a tour and dinner at Castle Katzenstein, a castle whose history dates back 900 years.  The super fans enjoyed an authentic medieval style meal, complete with tunics, a singing and storytelling mistrial, snuff, and honey mead.  Here on the left, you see the mistrial "demonstrating" a wooden period disciplinary device, which Steiffgal was forced to wear as well after declining some after-dinner snuff.  Luckily, Steiffguy was there to rescue her!  After this late night, we all boarded the coach back to our hotel in preparation for a 6am departure to the Stuttgart airport for our voyage home the next day. 

Overall, the trip was a magical, once in a lifetime experience.  The super fans came together as strangers and left as friends.  Many of us also met other colleagues and "Facebook friends" - sometimes for the first time - at the Festival as well, adding to the fun and universality of the event.  Everyone contributed towards the success of the trip in their own way, and all efforts were sincerely appreciated.  And given that each person on the trip "adopted" at least 10 new or vintage Steiff treasures over the course of the 9 day journey, Steiffgal guesstimates that the adventure netted close to 400 new Steiff items "crossing the pond" and entering America on July 9, 2012 - the day we all returned home from our fairytale adventure.

Steiffgal hopes this Steiff travelogue has been just the ticket you needed to consider seeing these remarkable sights and attending next year's 2013 Steiff Sommer Festival in person!

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.