Date: Fri 22-Nov-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A11

Quick Words:

Geppetto's-toy-store-Carlson

Full Text:

(feature on Sharon Carlson/Eleanor MacDonald, owners Geppetto's, 11/22/96)

At Geppetto's, Fun & Family Go Hand-In-Hand

(with photos)

BY SHANNON HICKS

WOODBURY - Toy stores, like fairy tales, are full of dreams. For the children

of all ages who roam the aisles pointing at this, tugging at that and asking

for so many things, seeing toys and dolls up and down every aisle is dream

after dream.

Certainly, it is next to impossible to walk around a toy store - with happy

music in the background, games and toys of all creations surrounding a shopper

- without smiling, at the very least. Most time, shoppers even succumb to

playing with a toy or two during a visit. Imagine working in an environment

like this. Or better yet, owning one.

When Sharon Carlson was younger, that's all she thought her idea of owning a

toy store would ever be: A dream. But then she and her mother, Eleanor

MacDonald,collaborated, formed an equal partnership, and opened Geppetto's

Toys, a specialty toy store in Woodbury's Sherman Village.

And last month, Geppetto's celebrated its ninth birthday, with a huge birthday

party with clowns, popcorn and balloons, giveaways, book signings and sales

reps visiting to talk with customers and answer any questions. When Sharon and

Eleanor went to open the doors to open the store for the party last month, the

customers waiting in line burst into "Happy Birthday." Geppetto's has always

catered to a fun, family atmosphere.

"What's always been nice about our store are our customers," Eleanor said a

few days ago.

"It's been fun watching the kids who were our original customers, watching

them grow," Sharon added. "My own daughter, who was three at the time [we

opened], is now 12. We develop a nice relationship with them."

Sharon, who lives in Bridgewater with her husband and children, and her

mother, Eleanor, a Newtown resident along with husband Elmer, have put

together a store with one of the largest selections of dolls in the area. A

"specialty toy store," Geppetto's also offers toys for infants; a

science/nature section; construction toys and kits; crafts covering everything

from knitting and jewelry to beads and bangles, from card making to chewing

gum; musical instruments and recorded music; puzzles of all styles; and a

large book selection with choices for all ages.

Sharon and Eleanor have always been careful to stock classic toys - toys, they

feel, every child should have in their closet - versus the trendy toys that

come and go within a year.

In 1987, Sharon began seriously thinking about opening a toy store. Friends

warned her it would take a lot more work than they thought she had initially

put into it, but the idea was set in the young mother's mind. Sharon talked

with her mother, then brought her to a toy store in Vermont Sharon wanted to

model her own store after.

Between suggestions from friends, a great deal of help from the Vermont store

owner ("He even gave me one of his toy guides," Sharon said), and what Sharon

calls "women's intuition" and "gut reactions," Eleanor and Sharon dove

headfirst into the toy store business.

"We decided this was a place that needed a toy store," Eleanor said. At the

time a nurse in a doctor's office, Eleanor gave up that job to go into the

business of making people happy with toys. In September, 1987, Sharon placed

the first order for Geppetto's Toys from her living room.

"It started almost as a hobby," Sharon admitted, "We didn't follow any of the

rules!"

A family-oriented store, Sharon's husband Rick and Eleanor's husband Elmer

also supported their wives. The men helped the ladies with installing the

fixtures in the store, and remain, the women say, "very much part of the

store."

"We did our own thing, and of course we were nervous," Eleanor said. "As with

any new venture, there is always a feeling of is this the right move? Is it

going to work? Are people going to buy our stock?...

"But I enjoy it. I love it," she said. Geppetto's opened in October 1987 in

Pilgrim's Mall, just in time for the holiday season. The store's first

location was approximately one mile north of its present location, in a

location position for any new business.

"When we found our location here in Woodbury," Sharon said, "if you had asked

anybody that was in the business world, they would have said we were setting

ourselves up for failure because we were not road frontage - we were in a

little plaza, on the lower level, that couldn't be seen from the road - so we

really just took a chance."

But something clicked with Geppetto's. The business was a success, and within

two years the store moved to its present location. At the time it was a good

move for Sharon and Eleanor, although the store space was not initially as

large as it is today. In 1991, Geppetto's doubled its size, and the floor

above what is now the store's main shopping level has been converted into

office space.

Not bad for something that started as a hobby.

"We try to stay away from TV toys," Sharon said recently, between busy periods

at the store. "We do have a few `TV-toys,' but only because there are a few

very quality products."

The selection of Richard Scarry books and playthings or some Playmobil toys

around the store attests to the quality Sharon and Eleanor are always looking

for. A non-TV toy that has become a huge collectible recently are Beanie

Babies, small beanbag-type dolls kids and grownups are grabbing by the handful

these days. Geppetto's has a fairly sizable selection of these dolls.

"Basically," Sharon continued, "if you see it on TV, we don't have it."

"Specialty doesn't always mean expensive, either," Sharon contends. "An

average birthday present here is going to cost between $10 and $15. That's for

a nice gift, and it includes gift wrapping."

Situated immediately inside the store's entrance is a large table-top - at

child's level, of course - layout of a Brio railroad town, complete with

multiple tracks, buildings, trees and a number of trains. It is an instant

attraction for children.

"Oh yes," Eleanor says, "we're strictly a hands-on store." Hands-on, except

for some of the dolls. Geppetto's hosts an immense selection of dolls, one of

the largest in the area, with some valuable dolls that could be broken if

knocked off a shelf or dropped by young hands. That's when the store owners

tend to keep a closer, but not obtrusive to the enjoyable toy store

experience, eye on children in the doll section.

Dolls are Eleanor's soft spot. Thanks to Eleanor's keen eye, the store stocks

everything from hand puppets to ventriloquist dolls, marionettes to rag dolls,

the hot collectible Beanie Baby dolls to Steiff choices, and all levels of the

Madame Alexander line, including Huggums, a collectible doll meant to be

played with.

"It's a wonderful way to introduce children to collectible dolls," Eleanor

says.

Sharon handles buying, advertising, public relations and payroll for

Geppetto's. Eleanor considers herself semi-retired, and takes care of the

book-keeping (and window dressing) for the successful shop. Right from the

start, the two split the week, with Sharon working Monday, Wednesday and every

other Saturday, and Eleanor took Tuesday, Thursday and the Saturdays Sharon

wasn't working. From day one, they have always worked Fridays together, and

when holiday crowds called for it, they have shared working days together.

Once the business began growing, Sharon and Eleanor were also able to start

hiring help. Geppetto's employs six to seven people, including one full-time

employee.

Three of the current staff members were previously elementary school teachers;

all but one are mothers. Everyone, Sharon and Eleanor love to point out, has

experience working with children of all ages.

"If it hadn't been for our staff, it would have been a lot more difficult for

Mom and I," Sharon said. "We ask a lot of our staff. People come in and say

`Oh this must be such a fun place to work,' and I think they think it's easy

for our staff, and it's not. There's been days when we get 120 boxes, and

everything needs to be opened and priced, and put out on a shelf, back-up has

to be put away and the boxes have to be broken down, thrown away.

"Our staff does not just have the duty of sales help; they're everything.

They've always been above and beyond... even customers have mentioned how

helpful and friendly they are.

"We still get excited when a box comes in and it's something new, a new toy,

and we'll open it up and we're all `Ooooh, look at that!'" she continued. "And

usually the people who are coming in here are having fun, so it's hard not to

be happy. It's an upbeat place."

"Oh, it's definitely a happy environment to be in," said Eleanor. "And the

wheels are always turning... You never know when we might try something new."

Mother and daughter have run the store together for just under a decade, and

the business continues to keep both very happy. With the business of keeping

people happy, the two have been able to remain very satisfied with what

started as a dream.

"The name of our store really fits us," Sharon said. "The name Geppetto comes

from [the story] Pinocchio . If you look at the characters of Pinocchio and

Jiminy Crickett, Mom and I fit those roles perfectly. I'm definitely

Pinocchio, Mom's Jiminy Crickett. Pinocchio's a little mischevious, while

Jiminy Crickett was always with there with Pinocchio, just to keep him in

line..."

"And that's what I have to do with Sharon," Eleanor interjects, with a laugh.

"I have to keep her in line when she's buying."

"She's my conscience," Sharon says quietly, when Eleanor is distracted by a

customer's question."But Mom has always played a double role, too. She could

be my fairy godmother.

"I've always wanted to have a toy store, and she made my wish come true."

Geppetto's is in Sherman Village, on Main Street in Woodbury. Current store

hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 am-5 pm; Sunday, 12-4 pm, which will be

extended after Thanksgiving.

Geppetto's will have a pre-Thanksgiving Secret Sale all day Saturday, November

23, with ten percent off everything in the store. Customers will draw from a

hat when they get to the register, and could pick out a coupon that gives them

an even higher percentage off their purchase price.