There’s a new neighbor in East Rock. Pebbles Toys and Gifts celebrated their grand opening in late May, bringing the only dedicated toy store to New Haven. To help make the introduction, we sat down with Owner Alex Kleiner to talk all things Pebbles, New Haven and the toys of the year. Kleiner is a lifelong New Haven native and Pebbles’ General Manager Lauren Coleman, a retail professional with years of experience in children’s books and toys. Read on to learn more about the business, the humans behind the toys, and how Pebbles will fit into the New Haven community.
On the inception of Pebbles…
“Despite being a city full of young families, many of whom want to shop locally, New Haven has not had a toy store in the community for years. We teamed up to open Pebbles to give that store to the community. Pebbles’ mission is to be much more than a toy store. Through programming events like story times and craft activities, we want to create a central gathering place where both kids and adults have fun. We want to give back to the community by working with local non-profits and other small businesses. Since our opening, we’ve already supported and partnered with several local schools like Hooker, Leila Day, and Bethesda Nursery, as well as local non-profits like New Haven Reads and Horizons at Foote.”
On the East Rock neighborhood…
“East Rock, and Orange Street in particular, is one of several important areas in New Haven where residences and businesses are intertwined, side-by-side. Many of the local East Rock businesses, like ours, have apartments above the store, or as close neighbors. We wanted to be a neighborhood store, literally living among its customers so that we could get to know them and design our store experience around them. New Haven is such a vibrant community full of young families from diverse backgrounds. Many of the children who visit our store were born here, but many others have relocated to New Haven with their parents from all over the world. We love being a central hub in the community for all of these children and families to come together in the common language of play.”
On Pebbles’ best products…
“When we designed the store, we wanted to carry both staples like LEGO, Brio Trains, Pokemon, and lesser-known brands that you might not find anywhere else. We’re proud to carry products from toy makers throughout Connecticut, including makers as close as our own neighborhood, as well as some of the finest toy makers from Germany, Finland, and most recently, Australia. We even created some of our own custom products including Pebbles the Snail, who has become quite a popular dude in East Rock! Although there’s no substitute for coming into the store, you can see and purchase everything we offer in-store, on our website. We’re very focused on making our customers’ lives easier, and you can order online and pick up in our store (with free gift-wrapping), or we will ship it to you.”
On the future of Pebbles…
“One of our goals at Pebbles is to always stay top of mind for our customers and provide them with what they need throughout the year. We’re very focused on frequently rotating our product each season and within the season; think outdoor games and pool accessories, summer camp items, on-the-go toys for vacations and weekend trips, and back-to-school supplies. We are so excited about what’s in store for the next few months!”
photo credit: Liam Coleman @mailmanmedia
