Grisly Speilwaren This Teddy Bear company was founded by Karl Theodor Unfricht in 1954 in Kirchheimbolanden, a small German town between Heidelberg and Frankfurt.
The production of their toys started with a collection of teddy bears and soft toys designed by his wife Luise Unfricht. With the active help from all family members, especially from the two children Hans Georg and Hannelore, the success everybody had hoped for was realized. At the peak of the business development in the late 60s and early 70s, more than 50 employees were working for them.
After the death of Luise Unfricht in 1974 Erika Unfricht, the wife of Hans Georg Unfricht, took over, and created new designs. After the death of Karl Theodor Unfricht (1980), Hans Georg Unfricht and Arno Wirth, the husband of Hannelore, succeeded him in managing the firm and the sales department respectively. Even with this change in management, the classical style that was already typical for GRISLY was retained. In 1985 Arno Wirth died and in 1994, in the year of the company's 40th anniversary, Hans Georg Unfricht died.
As there was no successor within the family, Mrs Unfricht and Mrs Wirth decided to sell the company. In January 1995 Daniela Lederle, a passionate collector of teddy bears and her husband Dr. Oliver Lederle, followed in the footsteps of the founding Unfricht family. New life appears to being breathed into the business which had been declining due to the age of its former owners. | 
