More Than Just a Toy Store, Julie Wells

Erin and I came together in 2004 with a passion to build a destination in downtown Franklin where families would love to visit and shop and we could let our creative juices flow! We did it! Over the years Imagination Station has grown and flourished, making Franklin a destination for so many central Indiana families.

We are more than just a toy store! We always said from the very beginning we want people to visit often, if only just to play and have a place out of the house. We knew they would be back to make purchases when the time was right! We quickly became a destination for the mom who needed an outlet for their child. During the time in the store, we bonded with our customers, many of which we had only just met. We grew relationships with them that ran much deeper than surface “hellos”. On many occasions we laughed, cried, and prayed with them.

A welcoming place always led to faithful customers doing their birthday, Easter, Christmas…shopping with us. Who can resist the expert advice and free gift wrapping? We pride ourselves on understanding our products inside and out. We ask questions and listen to learn exactly what stage the child is ready to explore. Then comes the meticulous gift wrapping with ribbons and paper that make anyone say “WOW!” All these things make us smile and bring joy to our hearts.

The same creativity that started our business is what is keeping it alive today. We know we don’t live in a constant world. We know we have to adapt to change to stay alive. We have continued to reinvent ourselves over the years to match economic demands and customer demands. We’ve expanded into parties and classes. We offer book clubs and science days. We listened to what you shop us for and directed our buying to meet those requests. All of this allows us to use our best talents and skills to bring about a place that everyone can enjoy!

Our business has been met with a big challenge, one which I don’t know that we can overcome. When you lose the convenient flow of traffic that brings your customers through the door on a weekly basis, it’s hard to survive. By the time the road construction project is complete, we will have lost 17 months of traffic past our door and 2 Christmas seasons. It’s not hard to realize that Christmas keeps a toy store alive. Those of you who own or manage your own retail shop know what the cherished fourth quarter means to your business all year long. While shoppers look forward to "Black Friday" for fantastic deals, we long for that season when our accounting books are back in the "black". Unfortunately, that didn't happen for us this past Christmas season.

We will continue to fight to stay alive in this community. We don’t feel our time is over. We hope our customers feel the same way and vote with their dollars to #savethetoystore. 

All those in favor, say "aye!"

Fondly,

Julie Wells