Toy Works

Bottom Line: A big toy store with lots of variety and some cool brands.
I was looking for a special gift for two young children so I headed to Toy Works. Here is what I really liked about this store:
— For a local toy store, it’s quite large!
— There was a huge variety of toys for children of all ages.
— I like that they don’t have your typical big box toy brands here. I also like that you can get some classic wooden toys here. Also, they have some really cute brands like Wow and Little Critters.
— They have books and craft kits too.
— The staff is friendly and is good about making suggestions, even within the strictest parameters.
— I love that they gift wrap.
Overall this was a very charming experience.

It isn’t very often that you come across a unique, privately owned, little toy store these days. Even when I was little, you found the majority of your toys at Toys R Us, the mall, Target, or maybe even Wal-​mart. Big stores! Toy Works makes you think of those charming little toy shops you see in movies or children’s books that take place at Christmas time… when «shop» is spelled «shoppe» and a little old grandpa makes wooden nutcrackers by hand. That’s a bit dramatic, but Toy Works has a touch of that old-​timey feeling going on — because first and foremost — it’s not a chain. It’s just a sweet, small store… dedicated to toys!
When you enter, you feel like you’re actually in a child’s playroom. There are toys all about, from floor to ceiling, and they all seem to be played with. There are dolls, dollhouses, dress-​up clothes, play kitchens, paper-​dolls, stuffed pink rabbits, and pretend make-​up and purses. There’s cowboy gear, play-​tools, pirate paraphernalia, and robots. There are horses, dinosaurs, dragons, puzzles, games, little-​tiny-​baby toys, I’m-almost-a-teenager toys, art supplies, bean bags, and educational toys. And all of them seem organically strewn about; tested and hugged. I don’t mean in a super-​messy-​used-​toy way… It’s very clean in here! But it seems like a child has just picked something up and then put it back down. It’s endearing. It makes you think, «kids love this stuff.» Ahh, natural advertising!
When I came in, there were two employees working. One seemed to be doing inventory; packing and unpacking boxes. The other was in a back room — I could see her through a window — working on books, I believe. No computer! That’s something else that makes Toy Works seem old-​fashioned in the best way. There’s no rush. Things are slow and really looked into. Your purchases are totaled with a calculator and you’re given a handwritten receipt! No bar-​code scanning, no googling for the availability of items, and all handwritten price tags… they do take credit cards, however!
As you might expect, prices here are a bit higher than what you’ll find at Toys R Us, but Toy Works is an experience. It’s quality. I definitely want to come back at Christmas time and pretend I’m in «The Story of Holly and Ivy.»