I popped over to the brand new Tiddlywinks yesterday and met up with owner Jeanie Viveros. If you haven’t heard, Tiddlywinks is a back-to-basics, engaging toy store opening up this weekend in Old Towne Orange. Jeanie and her husband Gilbert, along with 10-year old Lucas and 7-year old Miranda, have spent the last decade looking for the perfect family business to open here in OTO. They’ve lived here in Orange for 16 years and are both SoCal natives.
While Gilbert is an engineer at Boeing, Jeanie has spent her previous career in the apparel industry working in merchandising and most recently manufacturing, which required a lot of traveling. Like many of us that have high-powered careers, sometimes having kids changes our focus in life, and in Jeanie’s case, it was time to quit traveling so much and spend more time with the family. She really wanted to do something that was more community involved and right in her own backyard. I can completely relate to this story, which is why my office is now less than a mile from home and just down the street from the Circle. Making a career and life change is not easy, but often so rewarding. (If you haven’t ready my story, you can do that here.)
Anyway, Jeanie and Gilbert spent many years trying to find the perfect business fit for OTO and the right location. They discovered the concept for Tiddlywinks in Colorado and knew it was the perfect fit for our community, they loved it and so did their kids. And this weekend, the Viveros family is grand opening their dream.
Tiddlywinks is filled with fun and games, and I just know that you will feel the same way I did about it. I can’t wait to bring my kids, they will go bonkers! You won’t find any electronics in Tiddlywinks, their concept is all about bringing families closer together through interactive play and games. They’ve even got a whole wall dedicated to science, so kids can put things together, and play and learn outside. I have to say that I’ve been wanting a store like this in Old Towne Orange, I think it’s a perfect fit. People ask me ALL the time if I know where a good toy store is and I don’t. Target is where I usually end up going. I am SO excited to have a toy/game store in town now, it’s going to be my ‘go-to’ for gifts, that’s for sure!!
So, come on out this weekend and find the glory of toys again!
Grand Opening Event Details:
- October 19 – 21, 10am – 8pm
- Official Ribbon Cutting is October 19 at 5:30pm. Our mayor Carolyn Cavecche will be in attendance
- Book reading and coloring time with an appearance by Curious George on Saturday from 11am – 1pm
- 20% discount on Melissa & Doug products all weekend long
- Prize raffles, playtime with cool toys, popcorn, balloons, tattoos and more
They are located at 129 N Glassell Street in Old Towne Orange, California
Follow them on Facebook HERE and Twitter HERE.
I am excited about the toystore. We will try to pop in after we close the Bite Market at 7pm