Children’s Stores and Services

Demographics     |     Current Shifts      |       Children’s Stores      |     Conclusion

Catering to the Children

With a rising population of children in the neighborhood comes an increase in stores and services catering to the kids. We visited several toy stores surrounding Bedford to gather information for a better understanding. We also interviewed an employee from every store and have found that most of the stores we visited have opened fairly recently. Four of the five stores we visited opened within the past five years. The majority of the five stores are flourishing in their businesses.

We decided to ask the employees at these stores several questions regarding each store. We asked for the employees personal opinions of Williamsburg and found the input of the employees who lived in Williamsburg to be quite valuable.

2004 – Flying Squirrel is a toy and children clothing store located on 96^th North 6^th st. It primarily sells second-hand/cosigned clothing.

We were unable to inquire much information from the Flying Squirrel employees because they lived outside of Williamsburg at Bushwick.

2007 – Sweet William sells children clothing and furniture. It is located on 112 North 6^th st.

At Sweet William we interviewed the employee Sofia who has been working at the store for two years. She has been living in Williamsburg for six years since college. When we asked her if there have been more families and customers, she replied “most definitely.” “The neighborhood has changed not just compared to twenty years ago, but even since nine years ago. There are more people and more money.”

2007 – Smoochie Baby sells baby clothing, gear, and furniture. It is located on 110 Berry Street

“but Smoochie Baby could not have asked for a better home. Who knew that this hipster haven would suddenly begin exploding with new babies?” – Smoochie Baby website

Trisha, an employee of Smoochie Baby is around Williamsburg often. when we asked her if she would like to raise her family here, she said “I don’t know if I have the money.” Trisha informed us that the owner decided to open here because of the increase of young families.
2010 – Area Kids is a toy and children clothing store located on 218 Bedford Ave

At Area Kids we interviewed an employee who has been working there for two years. She was a middle age woman who moved into Williamsburg twenty years ago but moved out eight years ago because of the high rent. She intended to raise her son here but the neighborhood has become “too pricey”.  When we asked her what has changed around Williamsburg,  she said that there are more family oriented stores now, a lot of new pre-schools and plenty of more kids.

2012 – Wee Baby sells strollers and toys. It is located on 131 North 4^th st

We visited Wee Baby on their grand opening date, April 30th. We decided to ask the owners of the store why they decided to pick this location to flourish their business.

“We were looking for a walking neighborhood and noticed Williamsburg becoming more vibrant with more families.”

We Also re-interviewed Bow at Wee Baby a few days later to see how the store was being received. (She did not want to be on camera)

“After the approval of building high rise condos, more families should be coming in.” The new builidings allow for a more family oriented condition unlike the old houses of Williamsburg where “it was like carving out space.”

They found that a lot of people are moving out of Manhattan and into Williamsburg, and believe there is great potential for a lot of families to move into this neighborhood.

Williamsburg Northside Preschool located at Driggs Ave, North 5th street.

This preschool opened in 1999. We spoke to an art teacher who told us that the area has become generally a lot more gentrified and an economically more stable area.