M
y parents said, "You may pick one toy." We let go of their hands and ran around like pinballs, hopping on the foot piano (made famous many years later by Tom Hanks in Big), hugging giant teddy bears, and peering into the cellophane windows of boxes with exquisitely dressed Madame Alexander dolls. Finally we came back, breathless and starry-eyed, each of us clutching one toy—my sister a nurse's kit, me a set of pastels with 64 colors. And then, my father said very quietly, "You know, girls, there are two more floors. This is only the first floor." Our mouths formed astonished little "O's." Since 1862, F.A.O. Schwarz continues to enchant New Yorkers and tourists alike. Today you can decorate your own cupcakes on the second floor, get a glitter tattoo by an in-house artist or have a private tour and breakfast with a toy soldier before the store opens—dozens of independent toy stores all over the city are also capturing hearts and the inner child in everyone. And if you need it, they are the perfect escape from this holiday season's hottest toy, the Rainbow Loom, which makes rubber band friendship bracelets. Ask any grade schooler you know about little Ashley Steph's Rainbow Loom YouTube video tutorials: one of her latest, How to Make a Starburst Bracelet, which she cranked out right before her family's Florida vacation, has surpassed three million views. Some independent toy stores, including Boomerang Toys and Mary Arnold Toys, carry Rainbow Loom. At Kidding Around in Chelsea (60 W. 15th St.), you might feel as if you've stepped into an old-fashioned nursery, with hardwood floors, oriental rugs and tall antique glass-paned wooden cabinets with shelves filled to the brim with stuffed mice tucked into painted wooden beds and a Princess and the Pea doll perched upon a bed piled high with tiny calico mattresses. "What keeps this store special is that it's still a mom and pop shop," says manager Alexis Smith about husband-and-wife owners Christina Clark and Paul Nippes. "Their motto is 'classic with a twist.'" She likes MasterKitz, which lets you paint your own version of Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" or Van Gogh's "Starry Night" and secretly doubles as an art history lesson. For infants, she suggests Djeco's Topanimo set of six stack
and nest blocks, with shapes pictured on the top and numbers on the side. Each block is a little "house" for a color-coordinated plastic animal you can also take in the tub. "Little ones can stack the blocks, but as they get older, they can play house," Smith says. For little hands she recommends Plan Toys' Gears and Puzzles, which encourage creative play and problem solving. The company, known for its wooden toys, wanted to repurpose the sawdust it generated. It developed a way to recycle the sawdust, packing it into a solid material as smooth as plastic, painting it with organic natural dyes and fashioning it into giant puzzle pieces that each have a notch in the center for a gear. The store's "classic with a twist" philosophy also plays out in games like Dr. Seuss' Super Stretchy ABC. A modern take on the old Twister floor game, players are directed to place their hands and feet on letters of the alphabet, each with a corresponding illustration of an object that begins with that letter. Dinosaur Hill in the East Village (306 E. 9th St.) really belongs on a country lane. Its weather-worn, hand-painted wooden sign reads "Handmade Wonderments." Inside, as chamber music plays quietly, I find owner Pam Pier in her lovingly messy loft office that overlooks the store, her Lhassa Tibetan spaniel, Pip, at her feet. A former freelance artist (she made the giant dryad-faced papier maché tree in the window) and preschool teacher, Pier says the store, which just celebrated its 30th birthday, combines her three passions: art, kids and education. "Play is the work of early childhood," Pier says. "I want kids to become effortlessly involved on an intellectual and aesthetic plane and to learn general concepts while working with toys. I also select toys that have enough interesting aspects that adults will not hesitate to jump in and play with children." Some of the most well-loved toys in the store, as well as toys she's excited about for the upcoming holiday season, include alphabet blocks in 17 languages; hand and finger puppets made by a woman from the neighborhood; animal marionettes made in the Czech Republic; sophisticated kits about physics, circuitry and solar energy; classic children's books; and hand-knit sweaters.
H OL I DAY 20 1 3
UA_ToyStores.indd 3
URBAN AGENDA New York City
23
11/11/13 2:21:43 PM