Happiness Essentials
09/10/2018 An interview with Lisa Young, owner of award-winning Doodlet’s in downtown Santa Fe Story by Tina Manzer, photos by Wendy McEarhern from Parasol Productions You are a merchant through and...
View ArticleThe House that Sue Built
11/08/2018 by Tina Manzer Twenty years ago, Sue O’Neil opened the first Hobby House Toy store in a suburban mall near Rochester, New York. Despite two recessions, the growth of Amazon, and the infamous...
View ArticleOn the Rise
01/31/2019 by Claire Sykes It was the last thing they expected: when Yamil Castillo and his wife Sue walked into a Salt Lake City toy store 25 years ago, they not only bought a toy, but also the...
View Articleat the center of success
03/14/2019 by Claire Sykes In the late 1970s, Jim Davis was a kitchen contractor and his future wife Retha was a food editor for a book publisher. While building cabinets and correcting grammar seem...
View ArticleIt Hasn’t Lost Its Luster
05/14/2019 by Claire Sykes Most people only dream about their dream job, figuring they’ll get to it someday. Jack Cohen of Pittsburgh wasn’t going to wait. Fifty years ago, at age 23, he “woke up” from...
View ArticleCustomer Needs Drive Disruption and Innovation
08/09/2019 Conventional wisdom says that technology is propelling the disruption roiling the markets, but business expert Suman Sarkar says this belief is dead wrong. Sarkar contends that disruption...
View ArticleVIDLER’S Shopping Fun for Everyone
10/08/2019 by Claire Sykes It’s billed as the largest independent variety store in the world. From candles and kitchenware to candy and kitsch, tens of thousands of items jam the racks, shelves and...
View ArticleHoliday Magic at G. WILLIKERS
11/12/2019 Story by Claire Sykes, photos courtesy the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce Each year during the holidays, the curtain rises on the delightful walk-in window display at G. Willikers, a...
View ArticleThe Merchant of Venice
02/07/2020 by Claire Sykes Venice, Florida, was aptly named for the floating city in northern Italy’s Veneto region. The two are similar in that the Sunshine State version, on the Gulf of Mexico, is...
View ArticleA Place in the Sun
04/14/2020 by Claire Sykes Out on a Whimsey Toys in Belfast, Maine, operates in an ornate 100-plus-year-old building on a busy downtown street corner. “There are so many cool things about this space,”...
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Survivors of the Stay-At-Home Summer 3 Toy Store Stories
09/10/2020 by Tina Manzer 1. “I think fourth quarter will be bonkers – we need to prepare now for the onslaught,” commented Sarah Evers, co-owner of Dancing Bear Toys in Ashville and Hendersonville,...
View ArticleGrayce Notes
11/19/20 by Tina Manzer Touch of Grayce in Geneseo, New York, is celebrating 25 years in business. The store has occupied the same 2,000-square-foot space on Main Street since 1995. “Things to do these...
View ArticleSir Troy: King of Toys
11/19/20 by Tina Manzer Troy Cefaratti just opened his second toy store; his second 9,000-square-foot toy store. They’re both in Ohio – the original in North Canton and the new one in Medina. But who...
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Good Things Happen If You Play Your Cards Right
02/15/2021 A twist on tradition saved two retailers from getting lost in the shuffle by Sandy Ruben “How can I help somebody today?” Asking himself that question was the way Brice Elvington’s late...
View ArticleSo Many Dolls to Love
05/04/2021 Pattycake Doll Company (BestDollsForKids.com) is an online store only, and its owners, Peter and Addie Laudin, are typical independent retailers. by Tina Manzer Peter gets prickly if you...
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Small Business Big Future
07/13/2021 An Ohio toy-store owner and Comedian Dave Chappelle team up to promote community and small businesses by Melody Burri When it comes to Yellow Springs Toy Company in western Ohio, retailer...
View ArticleFriends in High Places
10/12/2021 by Tina Manzer In 2013, Patrick Holland and his wife Joanna purchased Mountain Top Toys, a then 21-year-old store in Signal Mountain, Tennessee. Small and secluded, the town sits atop a...
View ArticleHot Toys – How Mildred & Dildred Became the Go-To Toy Shop in Tucson
01/12/2022 by Michael Nocella If you happen to find yourself in Arizona’s second-largest city, be sure to stop in at Mildred & Dildred. It’s a toy store on Swan Street, a busy thoroughfare, but...
View ArticleEmpowering Kids Through Play
03/21/2022 by Michael Nocella Pippi Longstocking, the nine-year-old adventurer in Astrid Lindgren’s beloved books, has inspired pretend play for more than 75 years. From her home base of “Villa...
View ArticleThe Pixie of Bixby Knolls
05/17/2022 by Tina Manzer Heather Rasmussen’s toy store in Long Beach, California, began as just four IKEA shelves-worth of toys set up in a local yarn studio. Over the years she slowly grew Pixie Toys...
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