Press Release

ST. LOUIS, MO (August 2005) — Build-A-Bear Workshop® (NYSE:BBW), the award winning retailer of interactive shopping experiences is opening a new store, friends 2B made®, which is based on the doll-making experience, at Saint Louis Galleria on Thursday, September 1. The company opened the first friends 2B made store in November 2004 at The Mall at Robinson in Pittsburgh, PA and since then has opened friends 2B made stores in Columbus, OH, New York City and Minneapolis, MN. Build-A-Bear Workshop, which opened its first store in the Saint Louis Galleria in October 1997, is thrilled to be opening the fifth friends 2B made store in the country and to offer Guests in the St. Louis area two unique interactive entertainment experiences right next door to one another. To help celebrate the special opening, Rachel Woolard, Miss Missouri Teen USA® 2005, will be signing autographs and meeting Guests from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

According to Maxine Clark, Founder and Chief Executive Bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop, the idea for this concept has been in the making for a long time. She notes, “Nearly eight years ago, we opened the first Build-A-Bear Workshop store in Saint Louis Galleria and we are thrilled to be extending our brand and offering Guests another exciting shopping experience. friends 2B made® has been part of my business plan since the company started. I wanted to take the best parts of Build-A-Bear Workshop® and use these concepts to create a fun place for children to make their very own doll and best friend. Our goal is to open our Build-A-Bear Workshop stores in the premier malls across the county and we will continue this approach as we open our friends 2B made store in the Saint Louis Galleria.” friends 2B made gives Guests the opportunity to make their own fun fashionable friend through an exciting doll-making process while creating an emotional bond with their new doll throughout the entire experience. As Guests stuff their dolls, participate in the heart ceremony, pick out their new friend's personality traits, fashionable clothes and accessories and create a friendship certificate, they will experience the same level of personalized entertainment they are accustomed to having at Build-A-Bear Workshop® stores.

The even more fabulous Build-A-Bear Workshop store will not only offer Guests more shopping space but will include a new line of merchandise. The new line, baby Bear Stuff®, was inspired by research that suggested that kids play with stuffed animals as they would play with baby dolls. Build-A-Bear Workshop has responded to this by offering an expanded section of toy baby bear gear which will include everything from layettes to strollers to fashions and toys for bears and other stuffed animals.

About friends 2B made
friends 2B made is the newest concept launch from Build-A-Bear Workshop, the entertainment mall-based retail leader. The new doll product line offers Guests not only the chance to create their very own fashionable friends but also gives them the opportunity to discover a special personality for their very own doll! Throughout this interactive process, Guests have the opportunity to create an emotional bond with their doll and have fun choosing from hip fashions and accessories. With sparkly eyes, manicured toes, super hair and most importantly a friendship to last a lifetime, these dolls are the most wonderful friends a girl could ever wish for! Each outfit comes with two free charms, one for her and one for her new doll, enhancing their collectibility and stylish fun! With this new line of products, the brand continues to offer the highest quality merchandise, marketing and customer service that the Build-A-Bear Workshop brand established in 1997. The merchandise is also value priced with dolls at $12, accessories ranging from $2-$5 and complete outfits from $8-$15. friends 2B made won the Chain Store Age 2004 Retail Store of the Year Design Competition-First Prize: Exterior-In-Line Store Category.

About Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW), with fiscal 2004 total revenue of $302 million, is the only national company that offers Guests an interactive make-your-own-stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience. The first store opened in St. Louis in 1997; the company currently operates over 190 stores in the United States and Canada. With the opening of its store in Sheffield, England, in the fall of 2003 and the addition of international stores in Japan, Denmark, Australia, South Korea and France, Build-A-Bear Workshop® has become the global leader in the teddy bear business. In November 2004, the company opened two friends 2B made® stores, the newest concept based on the doll-making experience. For more information about the company and its products, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the company's award-winning web site at www.buildabear.com.

TRADEMARKS
We would like to thank you for your interest in covering our business. As you write your story we ask that you use our full Name: Build-A-Bear Workshop® and that when referencing the process of making stuffed animals you use the word “make” not “build”.

Build-A-Bear Workshop® is our well-known trade name and our registered trademark of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. Build-A-Bear Workshop® should only be used in capital letters to refer to our products and services and should not be used as a verb.

Contact: Jennifer Mansell
314.423.8000 Ext. 5402
414.801.1146 cell
jenniferm@buildabear.com

Shawn Bertani
314.423.8000 Ext. 5366
314.452.6391 cell
shawnb@buildabear.com