PlaymoFriends
General => News => Topic started by: kaethe on August 26, 2009, 05:47:13
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i just wanted to let everyone know that a new toy store just opened here in san francisco; it is called "a child's delight" and it is located on the north side of san francisco just a few blocks from the water about halfway between the golden gate bridge and ghiradelli square. i find this amazing, considering the current economy, as it is very well-stocked with high end mostly european toys that includes ten feet x 5 shelves of playmobil. they have about 12-15 large sets (pyramid, hospital, police station, etc) lots of middle size sets, but not very many specials. apparently they are an extension of two larger toy stores in marin ( another expensive real estate area on the north side of the golden gate bridge, so they share a large inventory and warehouse with them, and promise more playmobil, plus special orders for anything as well as add-ons. prices are the same as the playmobil website for most of the items, although the bigger sets are more, ie the pyramid 4240 was $124 and the grave robbers 4247 was $17.99. the interesting thing about this store is that it is located four blocks from my house, and i walk past it every day on my way to work!!! oh this is going to be a challenge on the pocketbook.
i know that many of you are always on the hunt for playmobil bargains, especially since you purchase so many pieces, but i am very excited about a new toy store because it is a place for children to have a chance to see and touch things, start a spark in their imaginations and dream so many dreams.
for those of you who visit san francisco, if you happen to take the bus from fisherman's wharf/ghiradelli square to the golden gate bridge, there is a bus stop right across the street at lombard and fillmore.
kaethe
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I wanna go! I wanna go! :yippee: :yippee: :woohoo:
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That is great news :confetti: I once did an SF tour of the toy stores and was a bit disappointed so a new well stocked store is very welcome to the bay area . What is the store in Marin that you say they are associated with ?
As a side note : If anybody is ever a bit further north ( Novato ) there is a great fun toy store right off the 101 freeway called Dollhouses Trains & More (http://www.dollhousestrainsandmore.com/) My wife even likes going to this one :love:
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I'm moving to SF :woohoo:! Not really, but I want to, now ;D!
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What is the store in Marin that you say they are associated with ?
rasputin, your store sounds better, as the owner is a playmobil collector, whereas the manager of this new store in sf is just getting started on collecting. apparently the two other stores affiliated with this shop have the same name, a child's delight, one being in corte madera and the the other in san rafael (not quite marin). i was excited to see several families in there, today, on my way home from work making some large purchases. kaethe
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Great to hear of new independant stores opening up, but I never understand why they don't stock the small entry-level sets like the specials. A child might receive a big set once or twice a year if it was very lucky, but the small sets make good pocket money toys.
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San Francisco is such a great place to be !!!
I love it to bits and and a new toy store makes it even more addictive now....
Karim ;)
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I do not think i have ever been to " A Childs Delight " Now i will have to stop by and see what they have hiding .
The store "Dollhouses and more" in novato is a must see just for all the train displays with working models . You can switch thing on and off and the kids love it ( me ) . They have a Halloween room all set up in miniature houses and when you turn everything on , well you will just have to go try it . The prices are higher than "Toy Works" in Sonoma county but overall its just a fun place .
Martin most of the stores in my area only have a few specials . I think the store would rather take up room for big ticket items where the profit is higher . I know for my Kids they save up for $20 plus sets and show very little interest in smaller sets .
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A Child's Delights stores in California :
190 Northgate One Shopping Center ( Across from Pier I imports)
San Rafael, CA 94903
415-499-0739
(http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/6400/selectapushtoys.jpg) (http://img253.imageshack.us/i/selectapushtoys.jpg/)
105 Corte Madera Town Center
Corte Madera, CA 94925
415-945-9221
(http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/8379/wagons3.jpg) (http://img253.imageshack.us/i/wagons3.jpg/)
3301 Fillmore (at Lombard)
San Francisco, CA 94123
415-440-1941
(http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/6241/interior22.jpg) (http://img43.imageshack.us/i/interior22.jpg/)
History of the franchise :
After designing her own line of dress-up clothes for many years, Deborah Meyer and her husband Jonathan decided to open A Child’s Delight. Their aim was to provide a range of complimentary toys that would reflect her belief that childhood is a magical time illuminated by the endless wonder of a child’s own imagination. They brought together a fine collection of beautiful, inspiring products from all over the world that would encourage children to give free reign to their natural love of creative play.
A Child’s Delight first opened its doors on October 15, 1994, at the Northgate Mall in San Rafael, California. Since that first opening, customers have been consistently enchanted by the high quality, lovingly chosen products that they can find only at A Child’s Delight. The business grew rapidly, and today there are two stores in the San Francisco Bay Area: Our new San Rafael location at the Northgate One Shopping Center, and at Corte Madera Town Center. Our new San Francisco store is opening by the end of July at 3301 Fillmore (at Lombard).Stay tuned!
Deborah and Jonathan have always maintained their goal of being a true resource for families, providing them with the wholesome, imaginative toys for children of all ages that are so rapidly disappearing in this age of the mass market and alienating “big box” stores. There is always someone at the store available to advise customers as to the most appropriate gift for any particular child, based on age, gender, and interests. Please email or call with any questions you may have, and enjoy shopping at A Child’s Delight!
http://achildsdelight.com/default.asp
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(http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/3821/headerviu.jpg) (http://img32.imageshack.us/i/headerviu.jpg/)
One of these unique toy stores is called Dollhouses, Trains and More. Located in Ignacio, this 12,000 sq ft. toy store is not only a kid’s paradise, but also a hobby shop for adults. If you have never been there before, you will be amazed and fascinated by all the collectables, like the Lemax Village Collections which includes, Christmas, Halloween, and Carnival pieces that are displayed in full motion. If you are into dollhouses, then this is the place for you. They have over 400 dollhouses in stock that range from a basic to unthinkably elaborate. They also carry all the dollhouse gadgets known to humankind. Their model train collection is quite extensive too. Even if you don’t live in Novato, it’s worth the trip to this incredible place. Kids love going there, as well as the bag of popcorn offered on the way out.
More information: www.dollhouses-trains-more.com.
Dollhouses, Trains & More
Call us if you have any questions at 415-883-0388
To contact us by email please use our Contact Form. If you have any questions about orders placed online please read our Customer Service page.
Store Address
Dollhouses, Trains & More
300 Entrada Drive
Novato, CA 94949
Driving Directions
Store Hours
Monday-Friday 10am-6pm
Saturday & Sunday 10am-5pm
The main store of Dollhouses, Trains, & More, in California, is located 20 minutes North of San Francisco, click here for Driving Directions. If you have any problems or concerns the knowledgeable staff is available to answer most of your hobby needs 7 days a week at (415) 883-0388.
There are over 400 dollhouses in stock, a fully stocked remote control parts and services department, all popular brands and scales of model trains and accessories (authorized MTH repair station), and the largest selection of miniatures in the United States.
We have a year round display of Christmas and Halloween. Train tracks are constantly running with detailed villages. Dollhouses are on display to help with ideas. The expert staff is always available to answer most hobby questions.
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May I take this opportunity to present what is certainly the most famous and oldest Toyshop in the world...
(http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/8677/hamleyslogo.jpg) (http://img44.imageshack.us/i/hamleyslogo.jpg/)
(http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/3044/hamleys.jpg) (http://img44.imageshack.us/i/hamleys.jpg/)
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The wide-eyed children filling Hamleys today share something very special with our founder. A love of toys. Let's travel back in time to meet him.
Growing up in Bodmin, Cornwall, William Hamley might have become a tin miner. Or a fisherman. But William had other ideas. He dreamed of opening the best toy shop in the world. In 1760, he did, cramming 'Noah's Ark' with every kind of toy, from rag dolls to tin soldiers.
Over the street-sellers' calls and horses' hooves ringing on the cobbles, you could just make out the delighted cries of children as they approached the window.
(http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/9779/history3.jpg) (http://img150.imageshack.us/i/history3.jpg/)
By the time Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837, Hamleys was already a London landmark. Families flocked to William's 'Joy Emporium', now owned by his grandsons.
So successful was the shop that in 1881 a new branch opened in Regent Street. To cope with the public's growing appetite for playthings, Hamleys added a further five floors of toys.
We can only imagine the spectacle, as toy theatres, puppets, pedal cars and miniature railway trains jostled for space in the largest toy shop in the world.
(http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/6026/history6.jpg) (http://img150.imageshack.us/i/history6.jpg/)
Hamleys faced hard times in the late 1920s, along with everybody else. In 1931, the picture looked bleak. The shop was forced to close and its fleet of horse-drawn delivery vans was stilled.
But this story has a happy ending. Walter Lines, the Chairman of the Tri-Ang company, bought Hamleys and worked hard to bring customers back. In 1938, his efforts were rewarded - Queen Mary gave Hamleys the Royal Warrant.
Even being bombed five times in the Blitz did not stop Hamleys. Wearing tin hats, staff served at the shop entrance, rushing in to collect the toys then handing them over at the door.
(http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/8599/history1u.jpg) (http://img44.imageshack.us/i/history1u.jpg/)
The Festival of Britain in 1951 brought a Grand Doll's Salon as well as a vast model railway to amaze children - and their mothers and fathers.
When she came to the throne, Queen Elizabeth II showed she still remembered the toys her grandmother had given her. She in turn gave Hamleys toys to her own children.
In 1955, her Majesty honoured Walter Lines with a second Royal Warrant as a 'Toys and Sports Merchant'. But it was the children's smiles that truly rewarded Walter Lines and his staff.
Arriving back in the present, we find Hamleys in its famous location at 188-196 Regent Street. Step over the threshold and you enter a world of joy and wonder.
Over the squeaking, bleeping, whizzing and chiming of toys, you hear children laughing excitedly as they goggle at the sheer choice over our seven floors of toys and games.
The toys may have changed, but if he were here today, we're sure William Hamley would recognise the same delighted faces as he guided you round the shop he dreamt of as a boy. Welcome to Hamleys.
Hamleys
188 - 196 Regent Street
LONDON
W1B 5BT
0871 704 1977*
Nearest Tube Stations
Piccadilly Circus
Oxford Circus
Tottenham Court Road
Opening Times
Mon - Fri 10:00 - 20:00
Saturday 9:00 - 20:00
Sunday 12:00 - 18:00
http://www.hamleys.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-hamleys-Site/default/Default-Start
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yay for more independent toy stores!! They are my favorite places to visit where ever we travel! I will have to add these to my list.
too bad I'm not going to California or London anytime soon. sigh!
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If you're ever in SF, I can personally recommend three stores that have Specials:
Growing Up (which also has some add-ons!)
Ambassador Toys (which is just a few stores down from Growing Up)
Standard 5 and 10
I like Growing Up because the proprietor is a Playmobil lover herself, the staff is superfriendly and helpful, and the customer service is unmatched. Once, I purchased more than I can carry in one trip to my car. She said I could drive my car around to the front of the store to load my purchase; she even loaded the purchase in my car for me! Another time, I called and told her I was arriving late to the store to pick up a special order (I live out of town), and she kept the store open after hours just for me! That kind of service makes me a loyal customer.
Nonetheless, I am looking forward to visiting the new store.
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Growing Up Toyshop San Francisco
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Neighborhood: West Portal
240 W Portal Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94127
(415) 661-6304
A 5 star reviews Toyshop...
This little shop is packed with childlike delights for all ages, from little lifelike animal figures to educational games to hard-to-find toys for tiny tots. It is THE go-to place if you just don't know what to get that four year old daughter of your friend, or your cousin's new baby that is now 5 months old. The owner/propietor (don't know her name, but she has beautiful silver hair) knows just the right thing to get. Every time I've followed her suggestion I get feedback from the parents about just how how their little one LOVED what I got them.
I love this little toy store. Unfortunately San Francisco has very little toy stores left and this one is a little gem. They staff is always incredibly friendly and helpful. My 8 year old son loves this store and I have a hard time walking past their doorway without letting him go in for a browse.
I always turn to Jude (the owner) for recommendations before our family roadtrips and she never cease to amaze me with what she comes up with. My kids are happily occupied and mommy can have some "peace".
JUDE, YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jude, please don't be shy, come and say hello to Playmofriends !!!
Karim ;)
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Fancy something exotic ? What about Delhi ?...
(http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/4631/delhi6.png) (http://img133.imageshack.us/i/delhi6.png/)
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Here is the story of India's oldest toyshop in Delhi
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The toy legacy
Nothing about Connaught Place is unfamiliar to me. And yet, this amazing place called CP never ceases to spring surprises. But as I had said in my earlier post, even in these 25 long years, I always chance upon something new in this market.
Our latest find in CP was also thanks to my non-Delhiite husband who loves walking around the inner circle. When he told me that CP has the oldest toy shop in the country, I was sure that it must be one tiny shop, tucked away in some corner of the market. Well, not really.
With a bright red board saying India's Oldest Toy Shop, Ram Chander & Sons stands proudly next to the Odeon theatre. It was impossible to miss the board but still I had managed not to see it for so many years.
And when I finally saw it, I was little curious as I walked in. One look around the shop took me down memory lane, back to the good old days when birthdays always meant how many new toys were added to my cupboard!
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Dolls, doll houses, kitchen sets, cars, aeroplanes ... just about every imaginable toy was stacked here. I guided myself to a small stool kept next to a dignified looking, grey-haired man who was busy working on his computer.
I only had to ask, so this is the oldest toy shop in the country? There was no stopping him after that.
The man turned back chapters and chapters of Ram Chander & Sons and his very own life. "Just like people are given injections to prevent TB etc, I was given an injection of toys, " Satish Sundra, the fourth generation owner of Ram Chander & Sons thus begins his conversation.
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9945/dsc00229g.jpg) (http://img215.imageshack.us/i/dsc00229g.jpg/)
I was informed that the shop was first set up in 1890 in Ambala Cant, at Kasauli in 1928 and finally in Delhi in 1935. For Sundra, it has always been a question of maintaining a heritage.
"When they started renovating Odeon recently, I was worried because the shop is hidden by the barricades surrounding Odeon. But with God's grace, our loyal customers still make it a point to come to our shop," he said.
"When I took over the shop after my father, people used to come and tell me, arre tu kya janta hai, hum tere dada se mal khareedte the. I used to feel little angry but soon realise how much those words meant. Even now I have customers whose famiies have been coming here for generations."
This shop too had its brush with celebrities. "Begum Pataudi used to come here to buy toys for her children." They also claim the Modi's and the Birlas used to at one time shop for toys here.
With this, I glanced around the shop. Somehow, even after all those years, the shop seemed to have an old world charm. Nothing seemed modern and in sync with the contemporary world here.
There were no glass showcases with toys decoratively displayed or sign saying 'Good to see, nice to hold. Once broken, its considered sold.' I could see children just walking in, digging into piles, taking out their favourite toys and just examining them.
It was a carefree world which would seem fascinating for any child. As if reading my thoughts, the old man started talking again. "I have never got this shop renovated from my father's time. Everything here is as it was all those years back. I feel my shop should be like a child's messy room. Children should not feel scared after entering my shop. So here, nobody is ever stopped from opening anything. A child should always go home smiling."
Testing times
Life was not always easy for Satish Sundra and his family. "My father came to Delhi after he had a split with his brother. So when we came to here, we were not rich. For a long time, this shop was our home since we didn't have money to buy a house." I was engrossed hearing the tales of survival.
"My father died when I was sixteen. The onus of running the shop came on my uneducated mother. But even in these circumstances, she didn't compromise on our education. I studied, graduated from St Stephen's College. But I was never keen on joining the shop. I wanted to get into foreign services. God of course had different plans for me," said Sundra.
The business has had various phases. "Since 1969, we used to import some toys but the government imposed a ban. Things being produced were sub-standard. In 1982, we were producing nothing but garbage. But slowly, because of competition, duties have come down. So a water pool which used to cost Rs 1495 some years back is now available for Rs 495," said Sundra.
Times change, people change
Sundra gets philosophical and calls himself a sentimental old fool. "My regret is that the people's involvement with their children is not high as it was 30 years ago. Today, I see them buying expensive toys but somehow they don't have the time to teach their children how to play. We're going to pay a very heavy price for all this," says Sundra with disappointment.
After these words, I wasn't surprised to see that Ram Chander & Sons has a different way of functioning. The customers here seemed more like family as they chatted away to glory with the shop owners.
The fifth generation, Sundra's son now works along side his father. He might not have renovated the shop, but the seventy-year-old man is adapting with the changing times. "See at the age of seventy, I am now learning how to use a computer," is what he tells me as he sees me off with a grin.
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Thank you everyone! I love hearing about new and interesting shops even it makes my area seem so provincial. :lol:
Gepetto
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Martin most of the stores in my area only have a few specials . I think the store would rather take up room for big ticket items where the profit is higher . I know for my Kids they save up for $20 plus sets and show very little interest in smaller sets .
i stopped in to see how "my" new toy store is doing, apparently quite well, lots of high end trikes, play house items and the middle priced playmobil, about half of the original inventory has sold in the $20-$40 sets, none of the $100+ sets, and some of the specials. they are waiting for their next playmobil order to arrive. it is always so nice to hear that a small shop is doing well.
oh, that new house is so tempting, especially in view of the new sets for 2010 in the other posting. however, right now i have to be good, as my old sf house has been in need of projects, and hence, all of my pennies are going that way.
gepetto we are traveling through oregon (wine tasting in the willamette valley for one thing, in october, after we go to seattle to visit our families. we love oregon, spent last year camping our way down the coast in october. where exactly are you?
kaethe
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Hello Kaethe,
I live just outside of Portland, very close to I-5. There several interesting hobby related places in the area if you are interested, both Playmo and dollhouse. What a wonderful hunting trip that would be, from San Francisco up to Seattle!
Gepetto