Transcendence-Perfection-Bliss of the Beyond

I’ve wondered about this shop for a while — such a interesting name, I had high hopes that it would be special. I finally stopped by yesterday for the first time (with my 18 month old) and good grief was the shop keeper a toxic person! I will never go back here. Not only does the shop itself live up to its ridiculous name, but the person running it was just so rude to my toddler and I. The moment we walked in I felt like she was going to be an a-​hole. Maybe she was just having a really bad day, or maybe she is like so many people who live in DC and are just rude. As I’m sure others would agree, if a good portion of your shop is dedicated to children’s products, if might be in your best interest to be more kind and tolerant of children and parents. I sincerely hope this unfortunate place goes out of business.

Wonderful independent store
Great selection of cards and papers
And perfect gifts for little kids

While this store has a unique inventory, it is sadly not at all child-​friendly. Or I should say, the owner is not child-​friendly. This is unfortunate given that about 50% of this store is dedicated to children’s toys, books, and craft supplies. We live in the neighborhood and I’ve been in this store a handful of times with my toddler and preschooler. My children are pretty well behaved and we’ve never had any issue anywhere else, but this store owner has made us feel really unwelcome each time we’ve been there. She kind of hovers over you and frets over each thing your child touches. I’m not an absent mom who is turned in the other direction while my children tear toys apart — I watch them very closely. I tried to ignore the first two times she told my child to «be gentle» with the toy truck and «don’t touch that». He was being gentle, I was watching him myself to make sure of that, and her patronizing «reminders» were not really necessary. Whatever, I thought I could overlook it. After all, I like to support local, small stores in my own neighborhood. Mind you, despite her several instructions to my son to «be gentle», she never once asked if she could help us find anything. The last straw for me was when she acted as if we were trying to steal a small truck — my son put it in our stroller basket, which I immediately noticed and I instructed him to take it out and put it away, as we were not buying it. She felt the need to intrude approximately 2 seconds after this happened, telling him that he needed to «put it on the counter if he was thinking about buying the toy.» I decided at that point that this store really was not the right place for my family to shop and informed my son that we would find another toy store where we were not being micromanaged in fear that we would steal something.
It occurred to me after we had left that the last time we were in that store, I actually purchased a small stuffed panda simply because my toddler had put it in her mouth, and I thought it would be the responsible thing to do. I didn’t want to put back on the shelf something my child had slobbered on. So in short, the store has lost a conscientious customer who lives in the neighborhood and buys children’s toys often. Oh yeah, and I have tons of friends with small children, who also aren’t so fond of being treated like miscreants in a toy store.
So, just a warning to other parents of small children — despite the name of the store suggesting a peaceful, accepting, warm aura-​filled space, it is quite unfriendly to children. I see that most other reviewers have given it high ratings, and suspect that it’s probably a fine place to shop if you don’t have little ones in tow.

It’s a little expensive, but this place has a lovely selection of unique, non-​cheesy Hallmark-​y cards. I found some super cute ones for my friend’s baby shower.
I also like their Jellycats choices — for those not in the know, they are THE SOFTEST stuffed animals on the planet. I bought a large, floppy bunny that my friends’ son adores. Service is super friendly and helpful too.
Stop by here and shop local, stat!

Very cool place. Need a buddha board? They got it. How ’bout some silver jewelry with the OM sign? They got it. There’s also lots of other funky gifts and cards and books. Check it out :^)

Ran into this place by accident when I was up in the area. It’s very tiny and don’t have a lot of merchandise but I did pick up a cute little jewelry box for a gift. They just have a variety of different kinds of things you might get for gifts… stationary, mugs, cards, and other fun stuff.
And ok, the name of the store is just funny too.

Very sweet little store near the Cleveland Park metro stop and library branch. One day, while I was browsing in here, I heard the staff helping a gentleman look for a CD of visualizations. They seemed patient and kind. There’s a nice arrangement of toys, books, candles, and fun things. Reminded me a lot of Peaceable Kingdom & Crazy Wisdom in Ann Arbor. Will definitely go back, especially for holiday shopping. :)

I’ve walked by this store many times, but I always kind of brushed it off as «just» a «toy store» and thus never went inside. But, curiosity (and aimless wandering) got the best of me, and I finally stopped in last week. I’m so glad I did! There’s just so much stuff. Everything from cards and stationery, to childen’s toys and stuffed animals, little books, knick knacks, and a lot of really unique items. The holiday card selection was stellar — there were so many goods ones, I had a tough time choosing! I’m definitely keeping this place in mind when I’m in need of a unique card or gift. Some of the stuff is a little pricey but probably worth it. You’re not going to find this kind of stuff in Toys R Us or Pier I. The woman working there (it seemed like she was the only one there, but I don’t know if she is the owner) was somewhat unfriendly, but not enough so as to keep me from going back.

This place has an smörgåsbord of items. Everything from cards, candles, toys, stuffed animals, stationary, jewelry, purses, etc.
I’ve gone here a couple of times and bought a card, stress ball, and baby gift. The baby gift was a play mat with different gadgets to play with, but a little too expensive for my taste ($ 30-​$ 40). But convenient when you need a unique last minute item.
Today, I was in a bind and happy to find Crane and Co. stationary ($ 13.00) especially since CVS didn’t have nice plain/​sophisticated stationary.

No koala bears here, but there are a lot of other cute things in the store.
I came in here one afternoon looking for a stuffed version of the previously mentioned marsupial. All for naught, although there are a number of other stuffed animals along the back wall.
Another third of the store is filled with cards and kids books, all of which have a happy, cheerful tone to them. What else would you expect in a store with this name?
The rest of the store has a mix of lucky cats, candles, and a host of spiritual paraphernalia. Up on the walls are lots and lots of pictures of Sri Chinmoy. They love this guy.
The store is bright, the staff friendly and welcoming. Even if you don’t find what you’re looking for, there’s no harm in visiting.

Evidence that God lives in the small pleasures: perfect, small gifts that won’t spoil your kids; greeting cards that say just enough, and no more; sweet tokens of the seasons. When you open the door you feel a rush of the calm aura that pervades the place.