Sure, there are teddy bears galore out there. But how about truly personalized ones?

Diane Geraghty, who owns the Teddy Bear Factory in Winchester, customizes stuffed animal toys. "People get to personalize what they make and walk home with it that day. I think that makes a difference, especially to children," she says.

For $10 to $18, customers can choose the type of stuffed animal they want to make from 12 different teddy bears to assorted frogs, rabbits, dogs, and cats. They then gather around a table and stuff the toy themselves with fluffy fiber. Each bear comes with a heart, which has a space for a personal message that can be placed inside the animal before Geraghty hand-stitches the toy together while the customer waits. While the heart can’t be seen once the animal is sewed up, each toy comes with a certificate of authenticity, which includes the date it was created and the message on the heart. Customers can further personalize their creation by adding a $2 sound chip that plays music.

The store is a favorite with children, but has also become a hot spot for birthday parties and Girl Scouts looking to work on their toy-making badges.

Geraghty took over the business after the Gund Teddy Bear Factory where she was working as a manager, closed. The company offered her the business, she says, and she took it. The business has been open about two months and has been so successful, Geraghty is hiring two more people for her Winchester store. She is also planning to open a second store in Williamsburg early this summer. The business is becoming a true family affair. "A lot of families come in after church and sit at the tables and talk for hours," says Geraghty. "The tables are becoming like people’s dining room tables, encouraging people to have conversations that we just don’t take time for anymore."