It seems unlikely in an era of digitized toys that an analog teddy bear would find a devoted following, but that’s just what happened with Zylie & Friends, a company that started with a hand-sewn bear and has grown into an “Unplug to Play” mini-movement. Thanks to story-rich marketing and a focus on quality, Zylie is now on the shelves of over 600 stores in the U.S. Ironically, Zylie the unplugged bear has thousands of kids who follow him on Instagram, and counts “YouTube celebrity family the Bratayleys” as fans. (Fast Company)
