GREEN BAY – A new mobile plush-stuffing business is launching in the Green Bay area, bringing children and families a screen-free, interactive experience as they create their own stuffed friend.
Stuffed With Love was started by Tawny and Forrest Hiatt after seeing how much joy their children got from building their own stuffed animals — and they decided they could turn this spark into a hands-on experience they could share with families throughout the area.
“We just wanted to create something where children can interact a little bit more together — whether it’s at a birthday party, group environment, school event, daycare or anything else within the community,” said Tawny Hiatt. “We love the magic of creating your own stuffed animal, and we realized there weren’t a lot of local mobile options in the area to bring a full experience to families. That’s kind of where Stuffed With Love started.”
Hiatt added that Stuffed With Love is seeking to provide a more engaging experience than simply stuffing a plush animal and leaving — their events are designed to be interactive and memorable from start to finish.
“We have an interactive felt wall that we’ll have up, so the kids can dress up their little plushies on the felt wall. Then, at birthday parties, we’ll have a best friend hotel where kids can store their plushies, with a photo op as well,” said Hiatt. “After they stuff their plushie, they can do a wishing heart ceremony, making a wish on the plushie’s heart and stuffing it in the bear. So, it’s a whole interactive experience more than just going and filling your bear.”
Stuffed With Love will be available to book for events such as birthdays, fundraisers, daycares and family parties starting in September, with price packages beginning at $30 per child.
Hiatt said that starting Stuffed With Love has given her more opportunities to connect with the Green Bay community and put down roots.
“My husband and I moved here six years ago, right after Covid. We bought our home here, had our two babies and have made Green Bay our home completely, and we love it so much,” she said.
Hiatt said that she originally envisioned Stuffed With Love being booked primarily for smaller events — like birthdays and family parties — but that they have now received several opportunities to participate in larger community gatherings, such as the Special Needs Expo at UW-Green Bay on Sept. 26.
“We already have the Special Needs Expo booked at the end of September, which is super exciting — we’re going to be a vendor there,” said Hiatt. “We’ve had a lot of great feedback from the community, and I think that’s been the most exciting thing.”
In the future, Hiatt hopes to expand Stuffed With Love into more community events and bring positive memories to community members of all ages.
“I feel like everyone loves stuffed animals. It’s so timeless, and it doesn’t matter what age you are. We’ve had people send us inquiries about all-adult events or corporate Christmas events,” said Hiatt. “I feel like a store kind of gears it more towards kids, but this is for everyone.”
She added that Stuffed With Love also creates custom stuffed animals, including heat-pressing designs that could feature a company’s logo.
“We hope that when guests take home their plush, they always remember the experience with their friends, their family and the event that they were at,” Hiatt said. “It’s a memory that they get to hold on to and have forever.”
To learn more about Stuffed With Love, visit stuffedwithlovegb.com
Pass It Forward™ editorial is sponsored by Packers Give Back, Nicolet National Bank and the National Trust for Local News.
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