The toy store, it is a changin’….

We’ve been busy over here, with the end of school for Nico & Zoe, plus little sis, and a little summer fun in the sun that has FINALLY arrived to the Pacific Northwest. And, with the arrival of the summer season, we have a little news to share with you.

Nico & Zoe, making funny faces.

Long before Zoe’s arrival, her mom Pam spent her time in the professional world of web design. As they always do, priorities changed, and thus the thoughts of what to give that little girl to play with became much more important. It was there that the first ideas for a toy store focused on high quality, uncommon, and safe toys began.

Playing Together in Downtown Seattle.

Skip forward. Zoe’s an 8-year-old 3rd grader. Nico has entered the picture, and he’s even got a 3-year-old little sister. And, once again, priorities are changing. Pam’s found herself focused on a design job & career path she enjoys, and she’s ready to return, and maybe a little more schooling while she’s at it.

What’s that mean? It means that it has been a thrilling adventure, Nico & Zoe Toys, but it’s time for us to call an end to this period of our lives. It’s time to close.

Now, don’t fret! First, we’re going to have a sensational sale on our entire site. That’s right, every toy will be on sale. Good time to stock up on the gifts you know parents & kids are gonna love. We’re working on it now, and hope to have that sale up & going by Friday a.m.

Lily's Arrival, Nico's has a little sister.

And, the second reason is sitting on my lap right now. Lily, Nico’s little sister, has got my priorities stuck right where Pam found herself 8 years ago, and they won’t be changing for a good, long while. So, while the store Nico & Zoe Toys may be closing, Nico, Lily & mom are going to be right back at it. All we ask is for a little patience while Pam & I wrap the paperwork necessary to close, first. Once completed, we’ll be offering the same well made, imaginative, green toys we’ve always loved around here, just with a little name change.

In the meantime, stay posted for our sale announcement, soon!

-Stacy, co-owner of Nico & Zoe Toys.

They'll always be friends, no matter the changes, our 3.

Oh, You’ll Like This!

Weren’t the winner of the Organic Bunny giveaway? No worries, we’ve got another opportunity, and this one has got a whole collection of super cool small biz goodies for you. Yippee!

Go check out About Heart Photography, a mom-owned business right down the road from us, and enter to win a  jewelry pieces for mom, hand crocheted hat & custom hair pieces for the kids, if you’re local, a photo session for family or baby, and (drum roll please) a $20 gift certificate to spend on whatever you like, from us.

How about this cute bunny? No matter your choice, it’ll be of high quality, unique, and fun. Good luck to you!

Grabbing Bunny Toy by Kathe Kruse of Germany, $20

New Toys are Coming!

March is our month of reorders after the busy holiday shopping season, and we’ve got all kinds of goodies coming our way in the next few weeks.

First up is the ever popular Rubbabu squishy, soft rubber textured balls and vehicles. Not only are these super fun to roll, throw, toss & squeeze, they are always appealing to all ages – we’ve watched toddler to teen pick up these toys & play.

In our box of Rubbabu, we’ll have new colors to our Toddler Mascot Cars – red & torquoise – and will restock all of textured play balls & smaller vehicles.

Toddler Mascot Car - Blue, Red, Pink, Green & Turquoise, $15.

Next, we’re anxiously awaiting the return of a few of our popular made in the US, high quality, small production wooden toys from Camden Rose. We’ll be restocking the ever popular Good Eggs wooden 1/2 dozen eggs set just in time for Easter & spring celebration, along with the Toddler Zoom little wooden push car, and a new edition – the Knitting Tower.

Good Eggs, Wooden Egg Set, $9.

The Knitting Tower enables young children, and even adult beginners, to practice the essentials of knitting. How it works is that the birch wood tower holds your stitches while your fingers freely move the yarn. The tower is made with 6 knots on one side & 4 on the other to give you a choice between a tight stitch 6-pin knot or a stretchy stitch 4-pin knot. Set includes the tower, of course, made of birch wood, with 100% wool yarn & instructions to get you started.

The Knitting Tower, will be $8.

But, this is just the beginning. In April, we hope to bring more Wader, made in Germany, and thus, nontoxic & safe plastic boats & sand toys, plus more of our ever popular handmade heirloom rattles by Mossy Creek. Spring is so much fun around here!

You can view all our new toys here>

You can view our Easter & Spring toys here>

Now, how did I miss that?

Yes, 2011 is here, and the whirlwind of the holidays is slowly coming to a close. Don’t get me wrong, I love how popular our toys get once November rolls around. It just tends to be a blur, and survival is the goal.

Now, the new year has brought us back around to paperwork, reorders, and taxes, and much more time to just sit & look around the showroom. What do we love, what could go on clearance, what was the surprise of the season, and what remained just as popular as ever? In was in this contemplation that I make such a great discovery!

One of our most popular baby shower & new baby gifts are our Wee Gallery Art Cards, which we pair with sleek, modern photo mobile by Kikkerland. Well, there must be a whole lot of baby going on these days, because we are finding ourselves out of the set, again. So, I’m looking through our cards to see just what we’ve got, and notice a little symbol in the corner that I don’t recall ever seeing there before.

Wow! Recycled paper? How did I miss that? Oh, right, our last reorder came in early November, and then I think I ate some turkey, and next thing I know, I’m toasting with some friends.

So, today, I’m so excited to announce that there’s even more reason to love Wee Gallery’s cool, modern art – Art Cards are now printed on recycled paper! Yippee! And, sorry, Wee Gallery if it has been that way far longer….

Off to that reorder – with naturally Black & White Animals and Photo Mobiles back in stock in just a couple weeks.

Art Cards + Mobile Gift Set, $25.