The Great Beanie Baby Bubble

It’s all about the eyes. If you want to move plush, you need to get the eyes right.

Ty Warner, who created Beanie Babies, was controlling and meticulous. In addition to obsessing over the toy’s eyes, he selected every cut of fabric and every tuft of hair that adorned his stuffed animals.

From furry beginnings, Beanie Babies became a fad, then a craze, then a bubble. Like all bubbles, it eventually burst. What started as a children’s toy, ended with speculation. Some profited. Many lost. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.