November 2007

Visit our Favorite Independent Toy Stores

By Beth Geiger

The best toys encourage open-ended, creative play. They are physically and philosophically durable. They won’t annoy you with electronic sounds. And many even look good in your living room.

To find these gems, steer away from big box stores and head for the area’s independent toy stores. You’ll find that these stores generally avoid “passive play” electronic toys, superheroes and playthings that promote violence. Because many of the toys are made in Europe or the United States, it’s also easier to avoid concerns over lead paint, detaching magnets or other recent problems with Chinese-made toys. Visit the stores below to find unusual, well-made toys that will capture your child’s imagination – and yours, too.

Beth Geiger is a Seattle writer and mother of two.

TOP TEN TOYS • GREENWOOD

Top Ten Toys is the largest independent toy store in the area: 7,000 square feet from the “twos and threes” section to advanced science kits. With so much space, Top Ten has a lot of everything, with something for everyone. Sneak off to the spy section, explore the geography and language department or brush through the big arts and crafts aisle. The store also has an unusually large puppet collection. A fun feature is the station for wrapping your gifts yourself, starting with plain paper and adding your own drawings and bows. (“It’s a great way to occupy the kids,” says the staff.)

Owner Allen Rickert says he tries to emphasize environmentally conscious toys with lots of play value. He is also proud of Top Ten’s involvement in the Good to Grow program (www.goodtogrowtoys.com), a national review program of toys for children with different abilities or disabilities.

104 N. 85th St., Seattle; 206-782-0098; www.toptentoys.com.

IZILLA TOYS • CAPITOL HILL

Izilla Toys recently moved from Madison Valley to an airy, modern space at the north end of Capitol Hill. The store is hip, modern and cheery. You’ll find a good selection of active toys and many stylish and fun European toys. One favorite of co-owner Jude Larene is the Yo Baby, a skateboard- inspired balance toy that looks like a skateboard minus the wheels. Izilla is also one of the only stores in the United States to carry Kiddimoto™ bikes, English-made foot to ground balance bicycles.

Izilla features an “allowance day” the last Sunday of each month: kids get 15 percent off, and the store donates 20 percent of sales for the day to children’s charities. “We’re encouraging kids to be philanthropic,” says Larene. This month Izilla will also open an 800-square-foot children’s book store in an adjacent space.

1429 12th Ave., Seattle; 206-322-8697; www.izillatoys.com.

WHITE HORSE TOYS • ISSAQUAH

From Gilman Boulevard you’d never guess how big this store is, with 3,000 feet in a bi-level building. Displays and nooks are stacked high with toys. Stuffed animals hang from rafters. Big wooden barns and dollhouses line the tallest shelves. Besides an amazing amount of different toys, White Horse has an particularly large selection of “create it” kits (including science disguised as make-your-own real perfume), as well as interactive toys, games and lots of puzzles. The science corner is particularly impressive (“We just sold a fuel cell,” one employee says).

White Horse also features collectible lines such as Madame Alexander dolls and W. Britain toy soldiers. If you buy a dollhouse or barn here, you’ll be happy to know that you can have it assembled for a nominal cost.

317 N.W. Gilman Blvd., Suite 13, Issaquah; 425-391-1498; www.whitehorsetoys.com.

TREE TOP TOYS • REDMOND

Tree Top Toys owner Blanche Snipes says her 20-year-old store may have the region’s biggest collection of PLAYMOBIL® toys, down to the oxygen-mask equipped rescue helicopter. “I think we have almost everything they make,” she says. You’ll also find wonderfully simple infant toys, like stacking plastic cups, that can be surprisingly hard to find, and many smaller toys, puzzles and games, including the fun Klutz guides and games. Bigger kids will discover plenty of toys, too. Look for German-made Rokenbok building sets, which are remote controlled and LEGO®-compatible. If that isn’t sophisticated enough, ask about the jigsaw puzzle with 18,000 pieces.

15752 Redmond Way, Redmond; 425-869-9713; www.treetoptoys.com.

ONCE UPON A TIME • QUEEN ANNE

This cozy little shop opened last April. Head up the steps (look for the “Valet Stroller Parking” sign) and into the upstairs of an old house. You’ll find a warren of small rooms, each with a theme. Children will delight in tiny play/display spaces which occupy former closets; there’s even a kids’-size play space under the steps. Owner Janelle McCrackin is a former Montessori teacher, so one room is devoted to Montessori-style toys, with an emphasis on learning.

Once Upon a Time has a big collection of colorful wooden Melissa and Doug® toys, as well as lots of play kitchens and children’s scale cooking supplies. The store also carries clothing, so you’ll find nice infant gifts, including the ever popular Robeez shoes. Don’t miss the Perfect Petzzz®, amazingly realistic little sleeping cats and dogs that even appear to breathe. “I heard one caused a fight at a slumber party,” says McCrackin. “Everyone wanted to cuddle with it.”

1622 Queen Anne Ave. N.; 206-284-7260; www.queenannetoys.com.

TERI’S TOY BOX • EDMONDS

“We call ourselves an old-fashioned toy store,” explains owner Teri Soelter, and that description fits nicely, as you’ll find plenty of classics like tiddly-winks and building blocks. Teri’s Toy Box is also one of the region’s oldest toy stores, having started in the Aurora Village area 25 years ago. The cute storefront in Edmonds’ quaint shopping district is compact. But it packs in a surprising variety of high-quality toys. Teri’s has one of the area’s largest variety of PlanToys®, brightly painted Thai-made wooden toys. Teri’s also stocks WoW, lots of Thomas and Friends and a new line of popular cloth figures called, appropriately, Ugly Dolls. Look for authentic German nutcrackers and beautifully made wooden toys by German company HABA.

420 Main St., Edmonds; 425-774-3190.

MAGIC MOUSE TOYS • PIONEER SQUARE

Just when you think you’ve seen all of the labyrinthine Magic Mouse, you discover another nook. It’s like exploring a fairy book land. No wonder the salespeople are called “elves” (really!) Magic Mouse brightens a corner of Pioneer Square with a multistory maze of toys for every age.

The store is eclectic shopping at its best. Besides the sheer variety of kids’ toys packed in, you’ll find plenty of big and little trinkets for the grownups, such as political satire playing cards, desk top darts and bendables. (“We don’t discriminate against adults,” says elf Pamela Powers.)

Look for the extensive offering of high quality chess sets, as well as lots of plush toys and collectible dolls and a whole room devoted to puzzles. And don’t miss the hot-chocolate mixing mugs.

603 First Ave., Seattle; 206-682-8097; www.magicmouse.com.

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