Information on the 2026 Business Series Classes and Ropp Triplett Business Plan Competition is HERE.

By Alec Keller

Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs (BCE) 2025 grand prize recipient Jenni Staude is bringing a hands-on creative experience to communities across northwest Ohio with eco-friendly stuffed animals created aboard a brightly colored mobile workshop.

Staude, a Findlay native and owner of Furry Tales Mobile Workshop, first launched the business in 2018 as a standalone booth, featuring a stuffing machine and a trunk filled with plush animals. Operations were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and remained dormant for a few years.

In October 2024, Staude reimagined Furry Tales as a fully mobile experience using a retired school bus from Arizona.

As part of that transition, she enrolled in the BCE’s  Small Business Series of classes that are focused on marketing and entrepreneurship. She also completed degrees in communications and public relations, along with an associate degree in digital marketing, graduating at age 40.

About the Small Business Series, “We learned all about making a business plan,” Staude said. “It was nice to have that in-depth learning experience from people who are much more versed in that than I ever was. Being able to put it on paper and see how it could actually work was really impactful.”

Her efforts paid off in 2025 when Staude earned first place in the BCE’s Ropp Triplett Business Plan Competition. She followed that win with another first-place finish at the PitchFest in Lima the same year.

 Prize money from the competitions helped fund upgrades to the mobile workshop, including a new paint job and wheel covers for the bus.

Staude and her husband, Brian, travel to eight towns across eight counties. She described a typical day at Furry Tales as children entering through the back of the bus and stepping into a storybook-themed environment that includes a boardwalk, a Ferris wheel, a small boat and a children’s jeep holding the various stuffed animals available for selection.

At the center of the experience is the stuffing machine, known as the “Tree of Life,” where children press a foot pedal to fill it with fluff and a customized heart before naming it and taking it home. 

Looking ahead, Staude hopes to book more events across the region and expand the business. She encouraged fellow small-business owners to get connected with BCE and noted the value of networking with like-minded individuals.

To learn more about Furry Tales, visit their website www.furrytalesmobileworkshop.com.

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