Specialty Toys Network

Toys 2 Learn's new site

2011-12-19T17:17:00.000-08:00

Toys 2 Learn, in San Juan, Puerto Rico is now live with their new site!
This makes the second Specialty Toys Network toy store in Puerto Rico, but I think Toys 2 Learn has more of an educational slant. We really do have to visit...

The Toy Parade's new website design

2011-12-16T17:03:00.000-08:00

The Toy Parade in Salina KS has a new, updated design, featuring her giraffe mascot and newer colors and motifs.Go to www.TheToyParade.net to see it.

It's cute.

Finnegan's Village Toys' new site

2011-12-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

Finnegan's Village Toys in Bridgeport Village has a new website! The other store, in Portland will have its own site next year.

Big Time Operators' new website

2011-12-12T10:34:00.000-08:00

Gorman Associates (Big Time Operators) is a toy rep group serving Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and D.C. We built a Specialty Toys Network site to help her promote her lines, and create a web presence.

She will be putting up all her special offers this week, so check back.

Call Kayleigh at (503) 583-8866 if you're interested in more information on how we can help toy industry reps. You can show prices just to customers, and let them build orders right on the site.

Pufferbellies' new site!

2011-12-08T17:28:00.001-08:00

Pufferbellies just went live with their new Specialty Toys Network site. Great images, great people!

2011-11-21T16:26:00.001-08:00

Lake Forest Toys is live with their new toy website! They are launching with a coupon for 10% off and free shipping on any order over $50.

Dancing Bear Toys

2011-11-21T16:22:00.001-08:00

Dancing Bear Toys in Asheville and Hendersonville North Carolina have been live for a little while with their new Specialty Toys Network site.

the wee loft!

2011-11-21T16:13:00.001-08:00

The Wee Loft have a new Specialty Toys Network site. They have their entire print catalog available on the new site.

From the 4th page of Google to the 4th result - in one day!

2011-10-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

West Side Kids recently went live with their Specialty Toys Network website. They have a new domain name, and Google wasn't giving them the results they wanted or expected - I finally found them on the fourth page of results.

A few simple operations on the site, followed by spreading the URL around the internet, and the next day Jennifer emailed to say...

"We're up at the top now!!! Yay! Guess googles places did it! Thanks!!!"

In less than 24 hours, they had jumped to the first page of Google, (fourth result), and the first Google Maps return for "West Side Toy Store" (Google Chrome, incognito tab, not centered on NYC)

3 things we did on the site (aka "Outbound SEO") - all easy and accessible

Added a block of text from the "About Us" page, and made sure the Meta Description and Keywords were set.
Added some images to the About Us page, with Title and Descriptions.
Pinged the search engines with the site's Specialty Toys SEO Manager

3 things Jennifer did on other sites (aka "Inbound SEO") - also easy

Set the website's URL in West Side Kids' Facebook sidebar.
Added the web site to her Yelp reviews
Registered the business address on Google Places

Ta-Da! That's a long jump, from the fourth page to the top of the first page. I will be checking back to see if it's Google's way of saying "Welcome to the Internet! Thanks for playing our game!" or if the better results stick.

West Side Kids' new site is live!

2011-09-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

The site can be found at: http://www.westsidekidsnyc.com/

Local delivery in their NYC neighborhood is only $5.

Anamalz is now live!

2011-09-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

Anamalz North America recently took their Specialty Toys Network sites live.
They have one site to sell retail, and a B2B retailer site.

If you're a manufacturer, we offer a good deal on the twin-site package, so you can serve your wholesale customers as well as sell directly to the public. Some toy makers only need one or the other, some need both.

If these animals look at all cool to you, get on the website and order some, or apply to be a retailer!

The Perfect Toy's info site is now live

2011-05-13T14:09:00.000-07:00

The Perfect Toy just went live with their "Info-only" website. It shows hours and contact info, and links to the catalog "flipbook."

I like it - it's the first usage of the "colorblocks" template (Info-Only sites have a choice of a few pre-built templates).

"OUTbound SEO" advice for Lollipop Toys... and you!

2011-04-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

Sandy from I Shop Lollipop asked about how to rank better (be more easily found in Google) as a venue for local Birthday parties. The biggest issue was that her birthday party information was presented as a big image that looked good, but Google couldn't read or index.

Here's the advice we gave, which I think could be useful to many of our members. Edited slightly for clarity.

Maximizing your exposure on Google and Yahoo is referred to as "Search Engine Optimization," or SEO.

We have tools in place to inform Google of what your site and your pages are all about, which is called "Outbound SEO." "Inbound SEO" is getting other sites to link to you, including Google Places and Yelp.

To get good results on Google for "Dawsonville birthday party," you would want to make it as clear as possible to the search engines where you are located, and that you offer birthday parties. (You are already the #1 Google return for "Dawsonville toy," which is quite good!)

To maximize your location info:
1. Your Contact Us page should probably have your mailing address
2. Your location page could have your address spelled out, and directions from nearby towns.
3. You could add your location in your Meta Info for each page. Help page: Meta Descriptions / Keywords. Descriptions and keywords are not nearly as important as on-page (visible) content.

To maximize your party info
1. Supplement your image page with Meta Info that has all the same information in it.
2. Make new pages about each party option.
3. Go through the site and add more on-page information about what you offer, supplemented with a Meta description.

For example, you could add a paragraph of explanation to "Open Play Times" page. You might sneak in the words "party" and "birthday party," if it can be done smoothly, such as "open play time may have to be rescheduled if a child's scheduled birthday party conflicts with it." This could put the bait in the water for someone searching for "schedule birthday party."

Generally
1. Change the page titles to be more informative.

Example: for Jumpin' Safari's homepage title, instead of "Home," you could change the title to be "Jumpin' Safari is North Georgia's best place for a kid's birthday party!"

2. Replace or supplement any graphical information with textual info that Google can 'read' and index.
3. Add "alt tags" to your images, that describe what they are. Help page: Insert an image (#7, image attributes)
4. Encourage people who come into your store to post reviews on Yelp, Google Places and Yahoo. You could even print out QR code sticker that take them to those sites on their phones (moderately advanced top-of-my-head idea).
5. Add "meta info" for each page, taking care to sum up the contents of the page, and think about what people might be looking for that that page best delivers.
6. Do you have Google Analytics? It's free, easy to use and lets you see your traffic, where it came from, how it's trending, and what people looked at on your site.

Please visit the tiggys at TheTiggywinkles.com!

2011-03-02T11:28:00.000-08:00

Please drop by Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's Toys in Tucson, and see their new Specialty Toys Network website. David and Nikki are awesome. Nikki's going to make a new header banner for the Wordpress blog we moved over from their old site.

Snapdoodle Toys in Washington has a new website!

2010-12-20T16:01:00.000-08:00

I'm attracted by the free latte for Snapdoodle's shoppers. I wonder if their Americano is worth a 5 hour drive...

Congratulations! A Child's Delight in Marin and SF is live

2010-12-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

The new site for A Child's Delight just went live. They have three stores in San Francisco and the North Bay (San Rafael, and Corte Madera). I (philip) grew up in Mill Valley, and must've seen 300 movies at the Northgate Shopping Center, so there was a nice connection there.

Bambooga! The human puzzle game

2010-12-07T16:57:00.000-08:00

Hey, go check out Uncle Skunkle's twister-iffic human puzzle game. It's called Bambooga!

You put on velcro wristbands in different colors, roll the bambooga-thing to see what colors attach to what other colors, and try to make your tied-up, twistered-up way to the goal.

Possibly the greenest game there is, outside of a mancala set you made yourself, it's all made out of recycled, recyclable and renewable materials, and the package is part of the game.

G. Whillikers went live with thier new site!

2010-11-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

This one is a favorite around the office. Elna put a lot of effort into the "fundamentals," making sure each product was tagged with good play value information, so you can search for toys that foster creative play, or help your child develop motor skills.

The ability to tag products by play value is built into all our members' sites, but few take the time to really leverage that.

The Learning Tree in KS is live with their new site

2010-11-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

Check out their Holiday Catalog, and sign up for the newsletter (you get a 5% discount for doing so).

The Toy Center in Richmond VA goes live with etoycenter.com

2010-11-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Toy Center launched their new website last night. Lots of toys to choose from, and they're already the #1 find on Google for "toy center" and for "toys 23226."

If you see a toy on their site you'd like to buy, or want some help choosing a toy for a choosy child, simply call them at 804 288-4475!

Kaleidoscope Toys goes live with their new website

2010-10-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

Kaleidoscope Toys in Round Rock Texas (kstoy.com) has their new Specialty Toys Network website online.

Ignore the Domain Registry of America letters you may be getting!

2010-10-26T15:43:00.000-07:00

It's a scam.

If you're a Specialty Toys Network member, we're managing your domain (keeping it registered as part of you membership), or you are managing your own domains, and you know not to get involved with these crooks.

Domain Registry of America isn't your registrar. They're trying to get you to switch to them, and pay a bunch of money you don't need to pay.

I just got off the phone with Bebeep in South Carolina, and Katie was asking about the "Renewal Notice" they got in the mail. I got one in the mail today myself. Somewhere on it, it probably says "this is not a bill, it is a solicitation for services." In tiny tiny print.

Since we've gotten several emails from our members asking whether these letters are legit, we'll just say right out: They are not.

They are ILL-legit.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about them.

The Domain Registry of America is an Internet domain registrar and Web hosting service originally based in the Canadian province of Ontario and now reportedly^[1] based in Buffalo, New York, London, England, and Melbourne, Australia. It is best known for sending misleading solicitations for business that resemble legitimate invoices, but with the rather clear intent of trying to catch off guard those who are either naively unaware or else too hurried to notice that they are not their original registrar. The result being more often than not that the domain name holder ends up switching to a company they had no intention of switching to, and perhaps paying far more than they had originally paid.

2010-10-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

Our 2010 Holiday Catalog

Visit Our 2010 Holiday Catalog

Toys Unique goes live

2010-10-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

Toys Unique in Dallas and Fairview took their new site live yesterday. http://www.toysunique.net/

They have lots of GAMES and ARTS & CRAFTS on the site and in the store.

Over The Rainbow Toys gets a site redesign!

2010-09-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

Specialty Toys Network just finished a revamp of the Over The Rainbow Toys site.
Go have a look at it - it's pretty cute! www.overtherainbowtoys.com

World Alzheimer's Day - Build Awareness with Mind Games

2010-09-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

Today is World Alzheimer's Day! MindWare, makers of brainy toys for kids of all ages, tweeted about it (@MindWareToys) and reminded everyone to play word games, puzzles, and Sudoku to keep your brain nimble and sharp. Good advice to share with your friends, family and customers.

Thanks for the tip, MindWare!

Wild Creations Wins Again, and Again, and Again, and Again

2010-09-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

Our hats off to our friends at Wild Creations who have taken home four prizes from
iParenting Media Awards, The National Parenting Center (TNPC) and Parent Tested-Parent Approved (PTPA) for products introduced this year.

Wild Creations are the makers of the popular (and also award-winning) table-top EcoAquariums and many more products that inspire children and their families to connect to the adventure of the outdoors and nature.

Their new products receiving recognition:

Cracking Contraptions Alarm Clock - iParenting Media Outstanding Products Award

Pocket Microscope - iParening Media Outstanding Products Award; Creative Toy Awards 2010 Product of the Year Award

The Water Rocket - The National Parenting Center Fall 2010 Seal of Approval

Jellyfish Lampquarium - Parent Tested-Parent Approved Media Fall 2010 Award in the Educational, Gifts Category

Who designed their fantastic website, you ask yourself? Specialty Toys Network! Ask us about it.

2010-09-13T13:55:00.001-07:00

Happy 75th Anniversary, Schleich! Retailers: read how to get it on the promotion: http://ping.fm/zBLJ4

Toy Industry Making Changes Due to Economy – 5 Trends to Watch

2010-09-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

On Twitter this afternoon, @AuntJeans shared this article as a tweet: Toy Industry Making Changes Due to Economy – 5 Trends to Watch.

Take a look, toy store owners. The author, Mara Kaplan from http://www.letkidsplay.com, says that:
1. Toy makers are releasing fewer new products.
2. Games of all kinds are the hottest thing right now.
3. Eco-friendly toys, games and kits are popular, too.
4. Toy makers are lowering the price point by repackaging and changing the presentation of some toys.
5. Children with special needs are a growing niche for toy sellers.

Do you agree or disagree with the author's take on this year's trends?

Personally, I think she's spot-on.

If you're a toy store owner, consider using this information (if you haven't already) to adjust your toy store inventory and make changes to your toy store website.

In-store, and on-line with your toy website, you could:
1. Emphasize your selection of basics, traditional toys, and toys that stand the test of time.
2. Make sure you have a large selection of games, have a game category (or multiple game categories) on your website, and host a game night at your store.
3. Add to your selection of eco-friendly toys and be sure to have an eco-friendly category of toys on your website.
4. Offer more toys at lower price points.
5. Explain the developmental attributes of the toys you offer, focusing attention on any that have therapeutic benefit to special needs children.

Other ideas?

2010-09-13T13:10:00.001-07:00

Q: What's the perfect gift for a toy maker/seller? A: This DVD http://ping.fm/moWrI

La Toys new site now live

2010-09-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

La Toys' new web site is now live.

Jerry says the "Famous Since 1980" tagline started as a joke... in 1980. "Ha, ever since last week." Thirty years on, it's just a fact.

97% of consumers use Internet to shop in store locally

2010-09-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

We've been telling people for years that "nearly everyone" goes online to look for local businesses.

And it's true.

According to results released in March 2010 from User View Wave VII, an ongoing consumer tracking study conducted by BIA/Kelsey and partner ConStat:

"Nearly all consumers (97 percent) now use online media when researching products or services in their local area."

Where do shoppers go online to find their local stores?

90 percent use search engines
48 percent use Internet Yellow Pages
24 percent use vertical sites (niche websites or engines, such as shoplocal.com)
42 percent use comparison shopping sites

An important trend: 58 percent of the shoppers report that they used an online coupon when shopping for products or services in their local area in the past year.

If you own a toy store, you need to have a website.

It's as simple as that.

A joke a day from Gino the Dino

2010-09-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

Why did the dinosaur get a website?
To tell jokes to kids!

Kidz Enterprise Toys went live with their new website today.

.

Village Toy Shop's Tenth Anniversary!

2010-08-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

The Village Toy Shop in Easton and Canton, MA is having a big birthday bash on Saturday the 4th and Sunday September 5th, with a birthday cake, a hula hoop contest, a sidewalk sale, climbing wall, face painting, and the Red Sox mascot!

The Green Monster will be at the Canton shop from 11 to 1 on Saturday September 4th.

The Village Toy Shop has lots of events all year long, but this looks like a special one.

New thumbnails not showing up?

2010-08-25T11:38:00.000-07:00

A few people have experienced this, so I thought I'd put this up to let you all know how to "hard refresh" Firefox with "CTRL+SHIFT R."

Toymasters of Redbank called in to say they were putting new Razor Scooter parts images on their site, but the new thumbnails weren't showing up. I looked on her site, and I could see the new images fine. The old "no thumbnails" picture was still showing up for her.

The reason she couldn't see the thumbnail changes is because her browser was caching (remembering) the old thumbs. To get Firefox to reload the whole page wtih all new images, you need to do a "hard refresh." There are a couple ways to do this.

Hold down Ctrl and Shift, and hit the letter "R."
Hold Shift and press the "refresh" button on your browser (the semi-circular arrow)
Hold Ctrl and press F5 (a Function key)

I like CTRL+Shift+R, since it seems to always work for me.

Caching the thumbnails on the server and in the browser are optimizations we've put in place to speed up your sites for your shoppers. If browsers only get the images they haven't seen before, all your pages will load faster, and your site will have a lower overall bandwidth.

Definitely an advantage coming up on Fourth Quarter, but the tradeoff is that you have to learn a new habit. I only ever refresh a page "for real" now.

Franklin's Toys is turning One!

2010-08-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

They're having a birthday party on Saturday August 28th, 10am - 4pm. There will be play and prizes, and tips on how to survive Middle School.

Go to Franklin's Toys to see everything they have planned!

Save the Date: Neighborhood Toy Store Day

2010-08-23T13:58:00.000-07:00

What will you be doing on November 13?

That's the day that ASTRA (The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association) has designated as Neighborhood Toy Store Day (read the full press release).

Seeking national news coverage for its efforts, ASTRA is hoping to point the spotlight toward smaller, local, independent toy retailers right before Black Friday and the start of the holiday shopping season.

The aim, says ASTRA President Kathleen McHugh, is to create awareness about what specialty toy stores have to offer their customers and their community, including:

high-quality products
educational products
products with developmental value for children
in-store expertise
excellent customer service

As ASTRA members, we at Specialty Toys Network attended the annual meeting held during the 2009 Marketplace & Academy, where incoming board chair Steve Aarons announced the National Toy Store Day program with these words:

Independent business is big. Your stores are big. ASTRA is big.

Together, ASTRA member stores will be promoting National Toy Store Day to make a big splash on November 13.

To learn about joining ASTRA and connecting with the National Toy Store Day program, visit ASTRA.org. Then, get to work planning your events, press release and promotions for November 13!

Over tthe Rainbow facebook link

2010-08-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

We're doing a refresh of the Over The Rainbow site design. Concurrent with the framework being redone, we're making the homepage and banners exactly how Janet wants them: Friendly, informative and fun.

She asked for a Playmobil School promo on the homepage. As soon as it was up, she immediately linked from Facebook to her site. Google doesn't follow Facebook links, but humans sure do!

Over The Rainbow on Facebook

Barston's Child's Play mentioned in USA Today

2010-08-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Steve Aarons, owner of Barston's Child's Play was quoted in USA Today about the advantages and hardships of independent businesses in the current economy.

"The idea of what we're trying to do is be part of a neighborhood," he says.

It's good to see ASTRA and Specialty Toys Network members quoted in the news. If your store has been featured or quoted in the news, please let us know, and we'll mention it here.

Sonoma Toy Works' website goes live!

2010-08-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

Sonoma Toy Works' new site is up and running.

From the Small World files: Adam, the site designer, was born in Glen Ellen, and I (Philip) lived four blocks from the College Avenue Toy Works location for 7 years.

2010-08-10T12:01:00.001-07:00

Join us 8/11 for a free webinar, "Secrets of Influential Websites" http://ping.fm/WdJSX

Google Analytics

2010-08-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

Many of our members are using Google Analytics, but all of them could be.
It's free, it's good, and Specialty Toys Network will install the code in your* site for nothing.

Here's a great blog article on the Five Reasons Why... You should be using Google Analytics.

To summarize:

It's free.
You can see what your customers are doing on your site.
You can track your marketing campaigns using LINK TAGS.
You can analyze your AdWords campaigns in crazy detail.
You will see who sends you the most traffic.

So go sign up for Google Analytics, get the code snippet, and put in a ticket to ask us install it!

*If you're a member of the Specialty Toys Network. That's obvious, right?

S. W. Randall Toyes' website goes live!

2010-08-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

SW Randall Toyes went live today with their new Specialty Toys Network website. Congratulations to them!

S.W. Randall has three locations in Pittsburgh, PA: Downtown, Shadyside, and Squirrel Hill.

The domain name is www.swrandalltoys.com.

Excel BLOAT

2010-08-04T16:36:00.000-07:00

Excel saves a lot of extra data in those files. Adam, our Excel data wrangler, had a sluggish file that seemed unnecessarily big, at just under 36 megs.

The original file was 35,857k (36MB). He copied all the data and pasted it "As Values" into a new Excel document and saved it.

Guess how big that new file was. To all intents and function, it was the same - all the same data, presented the same.

Guess how big. No, smaller.

Smaller.

Smaller than that. Try 97k.

That's AWESOME!

j.christopher toys - awesome Facebook linking!

2010-07-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

Mary at j. christopher toys is linking products from the toystore's Facebook page to her site.

Excellent.

Relevant Search feedback from Toydango

2010-07-27T12:12:00.001-07:00

Specialty Toys Network member Ed Dodd, of Classic Toys in Anchorage Alaska (toydango.com) says:

I really like the new and improved search tool.

I have played with it quite a lot. I like the auto suggest fill in.

He also says:

I also like the You tube addition. I added a Green Toys dump truck video, at the urging of my wife (prior to knowing it was an option). I made the mistake of popping off and telling her how easy it was. More videos to come.

Click the truck to see the Green Toys recycling truck video:

Thanks, Ed! Your feedback is appreciated.

Toy search improved dramatically

2010-07-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

The programmers here at Specialty Toys Network have built something called "Relevant Search" for our members' toy store websites. It makes a shopper's searches more... well, more relevant. Technically speaking, a match-value is assigned to an item's information, with Name being the most valuable, and the highest-scoring toys are at the top of the list.

Easy finding = easy sales? It's the first step, anyway.

All of our 150 or so members have the new search installed. Go poke around on your site, and see how it works!

If you DON'T have "Sort by: Relevance" enabled in your search results, it's probably because you set up a custom search result ordering for your site, and we didn't want to change it on you.

You can turn it on yourself quite easily.

Log into the back end of your site, and go to "Shopping Cart."
Click the Configuration button, and then the "Site" tab.
Check the box next to "Relevance" in the "Available Sort By fields" section.
Click the Save icon. You just added Relevance as a sorting option.
Choose the "Site" tab again, and now choose Relevance as the "Default product sort order"
Click Save again. You just made Relevance the normal way your site lists results.
Go to the front end of your site and search for toys to see how it works.

Let us know how you like it!

Full bike rack at the office!

2010-07-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

Philip, Linda, Kris, Rowan, Adam and Don all rode their bikes today!

Frog Pond Toys' new website is up!

2010-07-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

Frog Pond Toys is a new toy store in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and a new Specialty Toys Network member.

They're opening their brick and mortar location on September 4th, and they're doing Farmer's Market events during the summer. Frog Pond will also feature a cafe, called the Lily Pad cafe.

You can befriend Frog Pond on Facebook, as well.

Children's Store site live

2010-07-16T11:34:00.001-07:00

The Children's Store in Boise Idaho took their site live right before we went to ASTRA. We were scurrying around like squirrels* at the time, so I'm posting the announcement now.

* Squirrels who make websites and go to toy trade shows I guess...

Toy Shop of Concord goes live!

2010-07-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

The Toy Shop of Concord has a new toy store website at www.ConcordToys.com.

They have a unique service on the site, called the Toy Concierge, where you reserve time to have a personal shopping assistant help you find the best gifts.

The Toy Shop of Concord is located at 4 Walden St., in Concord Massachusetts.

Talbot's Toyland's new website

2010-07-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Talbot's Toyland has a new website! For their non-e-commerce site, they've turned off most distractions, and focused on the store.
The store is in San Mateo, CA, at 445 South B Street.

View Larger Map

Best of Best catalog site

2010-06-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

Specialty Toys Network built a new website for the Best of Best catalog. The Best of Best catalog is a great resource for toy retailers. No minimums, no case lots, just the toys you need, when you need them.

The site shows the wholesale products Best of Best carries. Approved retailers can log in to see the prices and place orders.

It could be considered a sister site to the Best Toys Inc site, but it serves a different purpose. It has its own look, and picks up the colors and layout of the physical catalog. I think it's smart to clarify focus like this.

Best Toys' new rep site

2010-06-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Best Toys Inc. is a toy rep in Illinois and Indiana for about 30 lines of toys. Many toy people know Carle Wunderlich from ASTRA, or the Best of Best catalog, or because his family has been in the toy business since the '40s.

BestToysInc.com is a resume site for new manufacturers to see who Best Toys already reps, and for toy retailers to easily contact their sales and service people.
As they say, "Service is our Priority."

Best Toys sends out a monthly PDF newsletter you may have seen. It's worth subscribing to.

Specialty Toys Network also built a new site for the Best of Best catalog, which also went live late last week.

Kaleidoscope Toys has a new website!

2010-06-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

Kaleidoscope Toys in Falmouth, Massachusetts has a new website. The URL is ktoysonline.com, since Kaleidoscope is harder to spell.

I got to talk to Mark a few times at ASTRA, and they're in Falmouth, MA, so ASTRA was right in their back yard (so to speak). Check out the Falmouth events this summer.

ASTRA Marketplace in Providence!

2010-06-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

Tara and I (Philip) went to Providence for ASTRA, and it was great.

We got to meet lots of members, and did one-on-one training with some of them. We signed up some new members, which is really gratifying.

The Lunch & Learn (promote your website in 15 minutes a day) was a smashing success. We'll follow up with targeted e-mail blasts to help you all promote your sites in bite-sized bits of time.

Franklin's Toys in Severna Park goes live with their new site

2010-05-25T10:38:00.000-07:00

Franklin's Toys' new website has just gone live! They wanted it up in time for the The Capital’s Reader’s Choice Award for best toy store, which came out on Sunday.

Jeff Franklin owned Be Beep - A Toy Shop in Severna Park for almost 30 years, and "after a brief flirtation with retirement," opened Franklin's Toys. Same location, same phone number.

We're honored Jeff chose Specialty Toys Network to build Franklin's site, and wish him all success. We'd like to thank Sally Lesser at Henry Bear's Park for the recommendation; it means a lot to us when our members recommend us to their friends.

In a funny twist, there's a "Be Beep - A Toy Shop" in South Carolina, too. 25 years ago, Ava Allen fell in love with Jeff's shop and hired him as a consultant to open her own store. Their site went live with us just a couple weeks ago.
All these years later, Ava and Jeff signed up for web sites within days of each other, and went through the web design and development process side-by-side!

Small world.