Vermont
Former Vermont Teddy Bear Clothing Companies Are Leaving Vermont
The owner of the three clothing companies once owned by Vermont Teddy Bear is closing its Shelburne distribution center, putting 29 people out of work by June 5. But the stuffed-toy maker is staying put at its Shelburne location, officials emphasized Wednesday.
“We’re still here,” Katie Langrock, senior vice president of operations for Vermont Teddy Bear, said in an interview Wednesday. “You can continue to have the tours and make the bears.” The complex, which is where most of the bears are manufactured, is a popular tourist destination and features a “hospital” where visitors can watch the bears being repaired.
Langrock said her job is to separate the companies after Vermont Teddy Bear’s stuffed animal operation was purchased by USA Brands of Indianapolis, Ind., the owner of Vermont Flannel.
Vermont Teddy Bear was created in 1981 when creator John Sortino started selling his hand-made bears from a cart on Church Street in Burlington. The pricey bears and other stuffed animals are still made mostly in Vermont and are guaranteed for life.
Vermont Teddy Bear’s owner, the New York City-based Lionel Capital, sold the company April 4 to Ohio-based USA Brands. An affiliate of Lionel Capital , PJ Acquisitions, now owns the three clothing companies, called Pajamagram, Pajamajeans and The 1 For U. Those clothes are made overseas and are distributed from a large warehouse next to Vermont Teddy Bear’s complex on Shelburne Road, Langrock said.
PJ Acquisitions said last week that it was unable to reach agreement on terms for a new lease at that warehouse, and announced the impending layoffs to the Vermont Department of Labor. It’s moving the distribution functions out of state, Langrock said.
Vermont Flannel Has a New Operator
Vermont Flannel Has a New Operator
By Anne Wallace Allen
News
Vermont Teddy Bear described the move in a letter last week to Matthew Lawless, the Shelburne town manager, saying the lease negotiations prevented PJ Acquisitions from giving employees more notice. The layoffs are scheduled to happen between Thursday and June 5, the company said.
Lawless said he had been working closely with the Vermont Department of Labor, which will provide job training and other services to the affected workers.
“Twenty-nine jobs is no small number for us here in this community,” Lawless said Wednesday. “I want to be the best neighbor I can in helping displaced workers. I made sure everyone was aware of the Shelburne food pantry, which has bus passes and lots of other good things.”
Lawless said he thinks the owner of the warehouse will find another tenant quickly.
“There aren’t a lot of buildings like this in the Shelburne or the Burlington region,” he said.
Vermont Flannel and Vermont Teddy Bear employ 70 people in Vermont, CEO Joe Van Deman said in April. Deman’s company, USA Brands, bought Vermont Flannel from its Vermont owners in 2022. Van Deman said Vermont Flannel has six stores in Vermont and two in Maine, and plans to open another in Waterbury this month.
He and Matt Bigelow, the Ohio-based CEO of Vermont Teddy Bear, have been busy dispelling concerns about the future of the teddy bear maker. Bigelow noted Vermont Teddy Bear held a well-attended event on April 8, the day of the solar eclipse.
“With the success of the eclipse event, we’ll probably be looking at the possibility of doing more events and getting more people to campus,,” Bigelow said.
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Born Feb. 16, 1992
Burlington, Vermont
Died Sept. 21, 2025
Tucson, Arizona
Details of services
A memorial service in Burlington will be announced at a later date.
Jordan passed away on September 21, 2025, in Tucson, AZ. He was born in Burlington, VT, on February 16, 1992, where he lived until moving with his family to Tucson in 2003. Jordan graduated from Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson and then attended Denison University in Granville, OH.
From his youth, Jordan was a voracious reader and had an active, wide-ranging intellect. He could be seen, with a travel mug of tea in hand, walking to his elementary school, lost in the book held close to his face. With his ever-curious mind he preferred self-learning over formal education and enjoyed the camaraderie and competition of the extracurricular spelling bee team in grade school and the Academic Decathlon in high school. While at Denison Jordan was pursuing a major in Classical Studies and worked in the Online Communications department.
While growing up in Vermont, Jordan had fun outdoors during all the seasons. He loved camping, alpine skiing, playing hockey on the backyard rink, and adventures with his 4-H club. Memorable trips were ice fishing on the lake and an overnight stay in the mountains in a handmade snow shelter, both in subzero temps. Some months after moving to the Sonoran Desert, Jordan remarked that “Arizona has two seasons, summer and hell.” But he had adapted to the heat by then, having found relief at the neighborhood pool where he joined the swim team and quickly made a new group of friends. Through his Tucson 4-H club and a youth program with the AZ Game and Fish Department, he continued shooting skeet, trap, and sporting clays, a sport he first practiced in Vermont. Jordan found more friends and mentors at the Tucson range and excelled in competitions in and out of the state, ultimately becoming a certified referee. In high school he trained in ninjitsu, outdoors, year round. As a freshman at Denison he joined the sailing team and found a new passion competing in regattas around the Midwest, both for his school and on private boats.
After leaving college, Jordan lived and worked in Vermont, San Francisco, Seattle, Tucson, and New York City. He was employed in administration and sales at several established companies and in startups. He also worked regularly in hospitality, starting at age 14 in the kitchen of a gelato shop and most recently as a bartender. Jordan was a talented writer, a skill he used in his work settings and in creative, expository, and critical pieces that he published online.
From a young age, Jordan was kind, affectionate, funny and loyal. He enthusiastically affirmed and celebrated his family and friends. His warmth, curiosity, and quick wit served him well, both personally and professionally. He was engaging, approachable, and non-judgmental with friends, roommates, and customers. Jordan was a skilled shopper and enjoyed fine things. He eagerly shared his opinions on bespoke clothing (steam, don’t iron!), gourmet foods, chef’s knives (stone sharpen!), literature, and opera (Maria Callas!). He was equally cozy with fast food, dive bars, trendy music, and dented vehicles.
Jordan had a heart-felt sense of justice. He was troubled by abuses of power and was an advocate for victims of systemic oppression. The suffering caused by police brutality, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and civil war in Yemen weighed heavily on his mind. He yearned for a world with more compassion, equity, and tolerance. We honor Jordan’s memory when we embrace these values and act on our moral convictions.
Jordan’s personal suffering was deeper than many of us knew and his death by suicide is a heartbreaking and devastating loss to many. Our immense grief reflects our deep love and care for him. His absence from our lives will be an ongoing sorrow but memories of his universal empathy, off-beat humor, and clever commentary will continue to make us smile and keep his spirit alive.
Jordan is survived by his mother, Michelle Mraz (Rob Backus) of Burlington; his father, Mitchell H. Kurker (Juanita) of Tucson; his brother; his grandmother, Frances Kurker of Tucson, and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. He was predeceased by his grandparents, Margaret and Charles Mraz of Middlebury, VT, and his grandfather, Mitchell A. Kurker, of Tucson.
If you would like to make a contribution in Jordan’s memory, please consider your local library, center for the arts, or agency for mental health services.
Jordan’s family is grateful to those who have expressed their sympathy and provided comfort and support since his passing. Thank you.
(Photo taken by Jordan, April 2022. If you look closely at the signs you will see a message that is helpful to those who are grieving him.)
The Green Mountain State is home to a quaint combination of vintage towns, agriculture, and public land for the outdoor recreator. The state’s tallest peak, Mount Mansfield, offers spectacular mountain views on your journey to the top, and the view from the summit is nothing short of magical. At the trail, natural beauty begins in the dappled light as you wander through northern hardwood forests. The scenic trail then rises through higher evergreen fir forests, until breaking through to rare alpine-tundra where 360-degree views of the state roll out beneath you. Once you’re in the alpine section of the mountain, be sure to only walk on the rocks to protect this fragile ecosystem.
Trails in Underhill State Park start at around 2,000 feet and take you up to Mount Mansfield’s summit of 4,395 feet. It’s one of the most scenic hiking experiences in New England, regardless of the season. Fall can make for soggy boots, but the maple, beech, and birch trees blanketing the mountain’s lower elevations are ablaze in autumn color from about mid-September to mid-October. A selection of hike-in campsites in the park makes for some great fall camping spots this time of year. For those seeking a blend of challenge, beauty, and solitude, heading up in winter provides a memorable experience — you might need snowshoes, skis, crampons, or poles depending on what route you take. Spring is known as mud season in the Northeast, though it can still be a stunning scene as the hardwood forests begin to show supple, bright green baby leaves while understory flowers break through the debris. Summer in Vermont is hard to beat, though, and it’s easily the best time of year to head to Mount Mansfield. Blitz up this peak, rinse off in one of the area’s swimming holes, and stop by a sugar shack for maple soft serve ice cream on your way through the nearby town of Stowe.
Trails to hike up Mount Mansfield
It’s always a good idea to plan and prepare properly for any day hike like this one. Mount Mansfield is a noodle bowl of trails, and you need to spend a few minutes before setting out deciding which one you’re going to attempt. The summit ridge runs north to south, and its ridgeline features resemble a person’s profile on their back (nose, chin, forehead, Adam’s apple). Vermont’s iconic state-long thru-hike, called the Long Trail, traverses the summit ridge. If you start at the Lower Barnes Lot, you can hike the Long Trail to the Adam’s apple and across the ridgeline, then descend via the Hazleton Trail for a hike that totals 7.8 miles.
Approaching through Underhill State Park, on the mountain’s western side, is ideal because it’s the more remote and undeveloped side. Several classic routes lead toward the summit ridge, including the Sunset Ridge Trail, a 3-mile approach that offers a steady climb and some of the best open ridgeline views in the state. Others take the Laura Cowles Trail, a steeper and shadier route that ascends through moss-covered forest and meets the ridge above the treeline. Looped together, these trails create a perfect 4.5-mile blend of demanding hiking and tranquil scenery.
Whichever trail you take, the ultimate reward of hiking Mt. Mansfield via Underhill is the moment you break through the treeline, where the summit ridge opens into sweeping views. Lake Champlain lies to the west, the Green Mountains continue to the north and south, and on clear days, even the White Mountains of New Hampshire peek out over the horizon. Returning via the Sunset Ridge Trail offers regular vistas of the valley below, aglow with sunset colors if timed right. It’s a nice distraction from your burning thighs and achy feet.
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