Arete LLC

We are a small, family-run startup toy company that created the collection of 18 inch stuffed bears known as The Adventures of Zylie the Bear. The bears are designed to be dressed and played with like dolls, they wear fashionable clothes and star in an exciting series of adventure stories that play out in several beautifully illustrated educational children's books. Mary Beth Minton, the company's founder, designed Zylie because when she was a young mother, one of her daughters preferred dolls, while the other preferred stuffed animals. The daughter who preferred stuffed animals would always try to stuff her teddy bears into her sister's ill-fitting doll clothes. Mary Beth wondered why there wasn't a plush bear on the market that could offer all the cuddly features of a teddy bear, but also the play experience of a doll, complete with clothes, accessories, and a well-defined character. Thus Zylie was born. The company is focused on inspiring creativity in young children, and we strive to keep our design process as open as possible to provide a lens into the world of toys. We try to connect with our customers in every way possible, and keep customer experience as a top priority. We think being small and family-run brings a fresh approach to the children's toy market.