Visit one of the 170 Build-A-Bear Workshops in the U.S. and Canada and you'll see how kids can barely contain their excitement. That's got bullish investors turning "bearish," too.

The latest retail trend is to create your own stuffed toy. Build-A-Bear lets you choose an animal "skin" (anything from a bear to a cat to a zebra), watch as it is filled and dressed, and then sign the birth certificate. "Shopping will be more fun if there are more interactive places like Build-A-Bear Workshop," says Maxine Clark, the firm's "chief executive bear."

Build-A-Bear, based in St. Louis, launched its first store seven years ago. Clark, a former executive with May Department Stores, was inspired by a child who couldn't understand why Beanie Babies were so hard to find when they looked so easy to make.

The stock of Build-A-Bear debuted at $20 in October and recently traded at $35. But will interest in do-it-yourself bears fade, as it did with Beanie Babies? "We're not like some companies that have only one leg to stand on," Clark argues. The company plans to roll out make-your-own-doll stores, bulk up to 350 locations worldwide (25 to 30 more in 2005), and expand licensing and franchising.

Analysts expect earnings to increase 25% a year over the next few years, reports Thomson First Call. The stock (symbol BBW) trades at 27 times expected 2005 profits of $1.32 per share. That's either reasonable for a company enjoying a youthful growth spurt, or, in the view of Wall Street's bears, too high a price for what might turn out to be a passing fad.

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