Stuffed Toy
- Description
- Handmade plush teddy bear made with a gray patterned fabric from a dress belonging to Vanessa Lynn Przybylo Kolpak. The bear has a white and teal ribbon tied around its neck with a tag that reads: "Love, Vanessa."
- Historical Notes
- Raised in Chicago, Illinois, Vanessa Kolpak lived in New York City. After studying economics, philosophy, and theater at Georgetown University, she graduated magna cum laude in 2001. Vanessa started as a financial researcher at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods three weeks before September 11. That morning, she was at work on the 89th floor of the South Tower. Vanessa was 21 years old.
Curator's Comment
A recent college graduate, 21-year-old Vanessa Kolpak had been working at the World Trade Center for three weeks on September 11, 2001. After 9/11, her mother, Vivian, arranged for this teddy bear to be made from the dress Vanessa had worn to her job interview at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, located in the South Tower. The stuffed animal is one of roughly 75 created from Vanessa’s clothing, most of them distributed to friends and family around Christmas 2002. Vivian has said that she hopes holding the bears would be comforting.
- Accession Number: C.2014.86.3
- Dimensions: 10 in X 7 in X 4 in
- Dimensions (Metric): 25.4 cm X 17.78 cm X 10.16 cm
- Source: Paul and Vivian Kolpak
- Credit Line: Gift of the Kolpak family in memory of our daughter Vanessa
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