Alright my darlings.
Here’s the situation.
At the Playground, we have a Toy Shop.
The Toy Shop is beautiful and sparkly and everyone loves it. Everyone.
The Toy Shop is full of toys. And things that aren’t toys. All of which are for sale.
For example…
For example, we have:
Playground mugs.
And sets of gorgeous cards for stone skipping.
Lamps. Yoga blocks. Postcards. Notebooks. Jewelry. Wearable spirographs.
Butt-monsters and Pouncers and Yowls and other adorable creatures.
It has been scientifically proven that if you are feeling sad and you touch the butt of one of our butt-monsters, you will immediately feel better.
Magic wands. Bottles of Playground spray. Heidi’s potions for mixed-up emotions.
Pirate monkey meditation cushions.
And so many other special things.
Except.
Except for some reason it is still not entirely apparent that the Toy Shop is a store. Where you can buy things.
Invariably someone will ask me on the last day of Rally if there is any way at all that they can purchase a Playground mug to take home.
So I say: Uh yeah, they’re in the Toy Shop. With price tags on them!
This person is then delighted and goes home to drink tea.
Or if I mention at the end of a class that the things in the Toy Shop are for sale, everyone goes Ohboyohboy zooomygaaaaaaaaawwwd really? Yay!
And then they buy toys from the Toy Shop and they are happy.
So I’m looking at this. Here’s what I’ve got so far.
1. The name.
Unsurprisingly, the Toy Shop got its name from metaphor mouse.
And my definition of toys is probably wider than most people’s.
Maybe if we’d called is something boring like “The Gift Shop” or “The Store” or “The Souvenir Stand” or “The Place Where You Can Buy Stuff”, we wouldn’t be dealing with this.
But I like the name. For me, toy shop contains [+glee] [+excitement] [+childlike wonder] [+possibility] [+magic] [+anticipation] [+happiness].
But maybe it needs a subtitle for the sign? Okay!
2. So we could add onto the name…
Like:
The Toy Shop. How you can take the Playground home with you.
Or:
The Toy Shop. Hey, this stuff is actually for sale.
Kidding with that last one. But only slightly.
3. Speaking of signs…
What would a useful sign say?
We already have a sign above the door that says it’s the Toy Shop.
And we have a small framed sign inside the Toy Shop that says something like this:
How to get stuff from the Toy Shop! Talk to Havi after class.
Except it’s pretty small. Maybe too small? And the Toy Shop is pretty overwhelming and sparkly and packed with goodness, so maybe people don’t notice the sign?
And there is also a sign that explains that we take cash, checks or we can set up payment by Paypal.
But maybe we need different signs or bigger signs or different wording.
4. Price tags.
Much of the stuff in the Toy Shop is price-tagged.
But some things (like the pouncers or the butt-monsters) don’t really tag easily.
We do have giant chalkboard signs that say how much those cost. But still.
5. Displays.
Maybe more displays. Or posters?
Or pieces of information?
Hi. I am a pouncer. I look like this. I am cool because I pounce on things. Also you can hide secret notes in my mouth. This is how much it costs to take me home.
6. Or displays in other parts of the Playground.
Maybe a shelf at the entrance to the Playground or by the sign-in desk.
We could feature different neat things and have a little sign that says, Hey, I am for sale. At the Toy Shop!
7. In the soft.
We know — of course — that 99.9% of biggification is really about destuckification.
So that means I need to look at my stuff.
Are there places of discomfort? Parts of me (fuzzball monsters or sad, scared selves) that do not feel safe having stuff for sale?
Where is my resistance? What does it have to say? What do I know about it?
And then I can practice destuckifying. Using things like how now is not then or talking to slightly future me.
8. Undoing the spell.
Maybe me-from-then cast an accidental spell on the Toy Shop. Keeping it invisible or small or quiet in an effort to try and keep me safe.
It is my job to undo that spell.
And you can help.
How you can help!
First, what I don’t want.
I don’t need help in the soft. I can work on that myself using Shiva Nata and all the other destuckification techniques at my disposal.
And I don’t want to be psychoanalyzed or given advice about how to work on my stuff. I’m good.
And then what I do want.
What I’m interested in is steps in the hard.
Specifically, suggestions for signs. And things to say on them. And subtitles for the store.
Other ways to make it more clear and obvious that the Toy Shop contains things that someone could buy, if that person were so inclined, and that this is lovely and exciting.
How do we make it clear that the Toy Shop is, in fact, a Toy Shop? While still staying congruent with the bigger Playground culture of play, light-heartedness, safety, amnesty, permission and spaciousness?
I want reassurance (one day the Toy Shop will be all the magical things it can be), and rejoicing (for all the work I have already put into making the Toy Shop a beautiful, peaceful, restful, loving space).
And I want snacks for my iguana pen, because I have a giant iguana that needs some love, and it’s feeling a little anxious that I’m spending time with the Toy Shop instead of talking to it today.
So iguana snacks are appreciated. You can just toss them into the pen. Thank you!
Follow
The Toy Shop, Toy Shop… Shop
Awesome. I love it. It’s not just a shop, it’s a shop-shop! You know….
I think if I were coming to Rally (which I totally will one day — it’s on my Gwish List!) I would love having a heads up on what’s available in the Toy Shop (with prices!) along with whatever other YaY You’re Coming to Rally! stuff the first mate emails out.
Then I could think ahead to how much shopping money I need to bring, it would be uber clear that these things are for sale, and when I saw the Toy Shop I would think “Oh YaY! Toy Shop!” not “hmmm…what’s that?”
*tosses snacks to the iguanas*
For me, “How to get stuff from the Toy Shop! Talk to Havi after class.” feels like.. there’re all these steps between me and ‘it’.
Like ‘get stuff’ doesn’t convey ‘YOU CAN BUY THIS! WITH MONEY!’ I guess the problem is with the verb ‘get’? (Just how it sounds to me.)
‘Talk to Havi after class’ sounds like something I would tell kids I used to teach. I would scribble “come talk to me after class!” on their badly written essays because I wanted to coach them through some basic writing concepts in person instead of writing in a bazillion comments, but they never came. Even when I included smiley faces after the message. Maybe it’s that going to ‘talk to’ someone [at a specifically designated time] might feel too distant. Is talking to Havi the only way to buy stuff? Does it HAVE to be after class? Could you accost her at any point to ask about the products? Does it HAVE to be Havi? Could you ask her assistant?
How about specific information about how to buy? “The Toy Shop: where you can buy stuff! With check/credit card/paypal! Ask Havi/[whoever else could be asked]” followed by contact info of whoever is actually in charge of the transaction-y aspect of the sale.
Sorry, I’ve never even been to the Playground (sad face) or felt the vibe of how the space is laid out, so I apologize if all my reactions are totally ‘off’.
Peruse. Purchase. Play!
perhaps you need a super lovely rather antique but slightly mad cash register, specially modified with pictures of said toys on the buttons. which would be fun, and beautiful but also shoppish.
That would be a subtitle suggestion.
Also, I want to buy the Toy Shop stuff online!! *wahhhhh*
Just, if it was me, I’d feel a bit, weird having to talk to you about buying something after the class.
What about maybe something like a fancy post-it note, or a piratical sticker that says something like “Linda (or who ever the lucky rallyite is) has swagged…. a mug and a butt monster” People could stick them on a board with a picture of a treasure map on it? Then you could collect them all up and go talk to the people about paying for what they want.
Things could have signs that say “Add me to your swag on the treasure chest” and a pile of stickers next to them.
Something like that might help.
As a proud owner of a magic wand from the Toy Store…
Some ideas:
1. Pathway on the hallway floor with footsteps/images, etc to the store with signs or words leading me there
2. A handout we get (like the destuckification strategies) that shows a store inventory list
3. Maybe having a set “shopping time” on the last day of rally
4. stickers on items around the playground which are also sold in the toy shop: “Take me home with you- Buy me at the toy shop!” (oops just saw this is kind of like your #6, YES)
It sounds like people are very excited when you announce that they can buy things at the Toy Store. It sounds also like you are making this announcement when people are about to leave. Have you considered making the announcement sooner? I’m not sure exactly what your schedule looks like for the event, but maybe during your “introduction” piece, or toward the end of the first day?
For me, if I have to talk to someone about buying something then I never will because I am scared of talking to people… even awesome Havis, I suspect. So I would need a sign that says “Or you can put your monies in this handy Treasure Chest here and take your loot home with you.”
That would be helpful to me.
I like the second thing in #6.
I like Oliver’s suggestion for an announcement at the beginning of class.
“Fun things to buy!”
“Take some magic home with you. Buy at the Toy Shop.”
I agree with what others have mentioned: for me, it takes a lot of courage to approach the person who owns a space and ask to purchase something. It’s kind of like, it feels really easy to me when I’m in a store, because that’s a setup and a paradigm I’m used to. This is different. I’d imagine I’d be afraid of “bothering” or interrupting you with my request to buy something.
With that in mind, I think it would work for me if there were a subtitle that said something like, “open between x time and x time on x days.” Perhaps with a nearby sign that said how the purchase happens (like, you point out or pick up the item you want, then give the cash/check/PayPal info. to Havi at the sign-in desk, then walk away with your new toy).
Or maybe some way of creating safety for people, so they’re less afraid of being a bother when trying to make a purchase. I’m not sure what this would look like, though.
Welcome to the Toy Shop! Where you can buy things, if you want to.
. . .
Can there be guidance on how to buy things? Practical information like, “monies go here,” or “fill out this form,” or “3pm is when the shop-keep comes to sell things.”
And now: Hooray and rejoice for the Toy Shop! Moreover, one day it will be all the magical things it can be.
Having been at Rally, the ‘thing’ that kept me from buying was ‘knowing how to buy’…. there was no clear path to help me understand.
Somewhere along the Pacific Coast Highway is this really wonderful fruit/vegetable stand with a gift shop where you can buy PIES!, COBBLERS!, and other wonderful stuff made from their produce.
They have an honor system for purchasing.
Everything clearly marked – just like you already have.
And a basket for putting your money/check in…
Maybe something like this would work for the Toy Shp?
Maybe add a clipboard where people write down what they bought, the price and the total (a calcualtor would be welcome I imagine). To help track inventory sold.
Then a place to capture the payment. (Cutely decorated showbox with a slot in the cover?) The only blank spot here is if someone wants to use a credit card…
Until now, at our shows, we write down all the CC info, and then process via Paypal when we get home. People might be comfy doing that, knowing it’s you.
We just signed up for ‘Sqaure’ – which is really cool because we can now swipe the cards in real tiem w/my Iphone. Cost is really competitive if you do the swipe.
Maybe your awesome techies could figure out how to do that for you.
I like your second subtitle option, the one that is a joke but not really “Hey, this stuff is really for sale”
I think it definitely resonates with the qualities of fun and play.
I also like some of the things others have suggested, including being more up front about it in your pre-rally communications. And making it easier for people to pay.
If folks find “talk to Havi after class” a bit intimidating can you try a version of the farm stand honesty box. You know where folks have vegetables for sale at the end of their driveway but no one is actually sitting there. Prices are marked, and you put your money in the box. Maybe you add a sheet where they can write down what they bought.
When I was at the Playground, there never seemed to be a time that felt “right” to make a purchase. Purchasing is so definite and transactional; time and space at the Playground/Rally were more flowing. There was no good time to shift from flowing to transactional. I also identify with Kylie’s comment about not wanting to interrupt you and your Rallying.
I might’ve liked:
– to know what might be available for purchase in the Toy Shop and the pricing for these treasures before I arrived.
– to know ahead of time that cash and checks are the preferred method of payment. I never travel with either but I would if I knew there was something I might want to buy.
– an option to pay to have my purchases shipped to me. As someone who travels only with a child’s bookbag for luggage, there’s no room for destination purchases.
– to have a designated time for the transaction part with an option to make other arrangements if it didn’t work for me.
– riffing off Linda’s sticker idea, a little form where I could tally up my purchases and paper clip to my check or cash which I’d then deposit into a Treasure Chest. If you found one of those gypsy fortune teller machines that takes the money from you that would be cool, too.
– an option to pay for my purchases online and pick them up at the Playground. This gives me spaciousness and non-urgency to handle the transaction on my own time.
Toy Shop!
My only ‘stuck’ with the toy shop was not knowing how/when to pay you. Because I didn’t want to *interrupt* lovely you! So maybe everyday, just when you come back from lunch say “Hey, if anyone wanted to get something from the toy shop, we could do that now? If not – you can also catch me at the end of the day.” And if you did it everyday, then people would get used to the rhythm of it.
That would remind me of camp as a kid – every day the “Canteen” was open for just 30 minutes after swim time and we could buy stuff (candy, cokes, t-shirts, hats).
My dears! I am hugely appreciating the time and effort you are putting into helping me figure all this out. And your ideas are helping me realize that I totally didn’t give enough context or explanations, so THANK YOU for that as well. That’s huge!
Let me see how I can use your wonderful wisdoms to create more clarity around the the thing I am asking for that I didn’t realize I was asking for. 🙂
So. What do I know now about what I want that I didn’t know before?
Re: honor system
The honor system box that many of you suggested is an absolutely LOVELY concept, and I also can’t see how it could work for us.
We need to rigorously track inventory. This means marking down code numbers on products as well as full name and size, color, etc so we can order more. We also have to note if something is wholesale or consignment. Basically one of our people needs to be there for the checkout practice. Otherwise we’re making a lot of work for customers *and* trusting that they’re going to get it right.
Also, while I’d feel comfortable doing an honor system thing at a Rally where I get to know everyone, that wouldn’t be true for a random Shiva Nata class where there are 25 people and I don’t necessarily know them.
Re: me talking to people after class (they leave notes and I find them)
That definitely takes the burden of approach off of people, which is lovely.
Again, if there are 25 people in class and I haven’t met most of them yet, that creates uncomfortableness for me.
[Me: “Hey! HEY! Guys! Is there a Mary here? Or a Merv? Or maybe this is a Marv? Not sure? Did someone want a potion and a yoga DVD? Where are you?”]
Whereas everyone knows who I am, where I am (sitting on the stage with Selma) and what I look like. So it’s much easier if they come to me.
I think that if we make it a clear thing that this is the procedure, it could work. But we need ways to state that very clearly so that I don’t have to be the one announcing it.
Re: announcements & timing
Making an announcement sooner that people can buy things is good, if we’re at Rally.
At a Shiva Nata class, there isn’t going to be time for people to visit the shop during class because we’re *in* class the whole time, so the end is kind of the natural place to do it.
I suppose we could say something in the welcome email once people have signed up (“We have a fabulous toy shop that you’ll want to visit after class! Or before — if you arrive early…”).
I don’t know about sending people a list, because Toy Shop items change pretty regularly, so updating that list then becomes an annoying task that I will dread. Plus we already have a list up on the Toy Shop page.
At a Rally, the time to buy is ALWAYS before the morning Shiva Nata or during lunch or after the Evening Chicken, and I ALWAYS tell people that these are the times to do it. But again, I could put that on the Rendezvous page too or remind people each morning. Or put it on the sign too.
Re: having my assistant there to handle payments
I have a number of people who work for my company but I don’t have an assistant at the Playground while I’m doing events. Though I do hire someone to stand near the door and make sure people are able to get in with the building code thing.
The Playground is small. We have several rooms but they all share one ceiling.
It would be both kind of weird and also expensive to pay someone else to be there while I’m teaching. Plus the Toy Shop itself is super tiny, so there isn’t room for a checkout area there. We use the main desk for that.
Thank you to Simone for the excellent and very useful questions:
My answers were: Yes. Yes. No, because I’m teaching or working. Yes. No.
And I really hadn’t thought specifically about any of these, so this is great! Thank you. 🙂
Re: having regular shop times
The idea of having the shop be “open” (like, more open) at X times is also a fun and creative idea!
Still, a few challenges with this:
— During a Shiva Nata class there is no clear time to have the shop “open”, other than after class. Which is what I’m currently doing anyway.
— During Rally, people are not that aware of what time it is. For example, we break for lunch at 12:30 but no one ever does because they don’t remember. We have to actively give someone the job of ringing a bell at 12:30 or lunch doesn’t happen. So if we said, hey show up at the toy shop at 3 if you want to buy something, no one would show. Not because they don’t want to but because they won’t remember that it’s 3. Plus then I have to stop what I’m doing and show up. It’s much easier for me if people just pay for things after the Evening Chicken.
— Also if someone has already spent a couple days hanging out with me, eating meals with me, napping next to me, singing pirate shanteys with me, it’s pretty unlikely that they’d feel weird about saying “hey, I’m buying X” if I’ve already made clear that this is how the culture of the toy shop works.
I totally get that some people could be terrified of talking to me at the beginning of a program — I’m guessing though that if you’ve already flown there and spent Rally with me, that’s probably not going to still be an issue by the end of our time together.
Re: Square.
We can do that! It still requires that someone actively tell us they want to buy something.
That’s what I’ve got for now!
This is giving me lots and lots of great ways to go, so THANK YOU ALL for your smart thoughts and all your loving ideas. Keep it coming. I appreciate all of it. Mwah!
@sweetness & light — Love that! A toy cash register! We could even attach it to the wall somehow and make it fun and playful art! Yay.
@Chris – we definitely ship. Thank you for reminding me. That should go on our sign for sure. And the idea of having people pay online and pick up at the Playground (during Rally or class, not at random times obviously) is AWESOME. Love it. There’s definitely stuff we can do with that. Hug!
somebody might have said this, but a cash register might be the symbol that will click the fact that the Toy Shop is a store into the minds of the potential customers. Maybe and old fashioned one with a bell. You could paint it sparkly gold.
@Sami – A sparkly gold cash register would be PERFECT! I know what my next Sunday Very Personal Ad is going to be…
Oooh I love inventing answers to questions like this, how nice of you to ask 🙂
* I liked “The Toy Shop. Hey, this stuff is actually for sale.”! Or maybe something similar like “Yes you really can buy this stuff and take it home!”.
* But some things (like the pouncers or the butt-monsters) don’t really tag easily.
Well I haven’t seen them, but I wonder if maybe they could have a bracelet or collar with a little label on it, the old fashioned kind with one end pointy and a hole through it. And then on the label could be the pouncer spiel from your number 5, or other spiels as appropriate. If people didn’t think their pouncer needed to go home with a bracelet and label, then it could be handed on to the next pouncer which needed one. (I’m imagining the bracelets being crocheted out of bright coloured wool 🙂 )
* If you do an honesty box then maybe it could be treasure chest shaped! With a big sign, so people notice it and don’t think it’s just one more thing to buy in the shop, saying “Treasure goes here” and underneath in little letters “I.e. money for buying toys” so they know what it is “in normal terms”.
* Sidetracking slightly for a moment: I make button badges (a.k.a. tiny works of art!), and if I’m selling them at an event (as opposed to on the web site), then I always have a moneybox and just let people put their own money in. Sometimes, depending on the event, I’ll leave the stall unattended; other times, I’m sitting right there, but it’s just simpler, esp if there are lots of people crowding round the stall all at once.
Well, something interesting I’ve noticed from doing that is that a few people don’t seem to believe that can really be how it works and that I can really be trusting them that much. Even though it’s written down on a sign right in front of them that they can put the money in the pot, they want to hand it to me into my actual hand. So I agree it would be good to “open” the shop sometimes so it can feel more like normal shops, for the people who feel more comfortable with that – even if you also do an honesty box or some other scheme for people to pick things out when the shop’s not “open” (in that sense).
* Unless you really love the interaction of selling things from the shop, I’d recommend letting a hench person to do that bit, partly because some people will (for whatever reason) feel awkward about doing that transaction with you personally, and partly just to not give yourself another thing to do. I.e. I’d have a friendly hench person actually sit in the shop sometimes, behind a table with the treasure chest on, so they can answer questions and make the place feel more traditionally shoppified.
If the sales justify paying someone to do that, if it was me I’d probably have the shop “open” for a little while every day, same time every day, maybe towards the end of a meal break so that the people who are back early from the break can do their shopping (if that happens – obviously if no-one’s ever back early from the break then that wouldn’t be a good plan ::haha::). Or if that would be overly extravagant, then maybe just for an hour on the last day and (if people are at the Playground longer than a couple of days) an hour on say the 2nd or 3rd day. Of course the opening times would be on a big notice. Actually I think the very idea of a shop that’s open so rarely is rather reminiscent of children’s books about magic 🙂
well those are my thoughts today anyway, h.t.h.
As a retailer and a customer both, I’ve repeatedly experienced the very sad fact of life that people don’t read signs. Even Sparkly ones.
That said, I think some of the other suggestions are awesome ones, and adding some extra signage might help the rare readers among your Rallions.
I especially like the combo of making an announcement at the start, along with putting a list of Things Which May Be Available in the Toy Shop (with Prices!) in the welcome kit is a great idea, especially if at the bottom of the list you say something like “And maybe more!” This gives you the out that you haven’t guaranteed that there will be Butt Monsters in case they’ve butted out for a time, but does give Rallions an idea of how much things are. For instance, I’d love to get some cards if I ever manage a Rally (Great Ducking Out, I’m looking at you!), and it’d be nice to know how much they’ll be so I can budget for it.
Plus, there’s a special joy in mentally window-shopping all the cool stuff at the Rally (Rally!) before you even get there!
obviously our comments “crossed in the post” 🙂
Re honesty box:
Yes totally get what you mean about the difference between Rally and a one-off class. (though I guess if they were going to steal things from the class they could just sneak off with the thing anyway! or maybe not)
I want to noodle a bit with your other obstacle, though:
We need to rigorously track inventory. This means marking down code numbers on products as well as full name and size, color, etc so we can order more. We also have to note if something is wholesale or consignment. Basically one of our people needs to be there for the checkout practice. Otherwise we’re making a lot of work for customers *and* trusting that they’re going to get it right.
Well. It depends if this is more trouble than it’s worth. But what I think could possibly work is make little cards with all the information on for a product (either printed out, or the format printed and then tickyboxes etc filled in by hand). I mean IIUC you’re saying all this has to be recorded at some point anyway (?) – so it might not be additional work to do it up front.
And next to the honesty box would be some of those little transparent plastic bags that seal at the top (or nicer equivalent). They could have “Card goes in here with your money” written on them.
Then if someone was buying something, they would write their name on the card, and put the card and the money both in the plastic bag, and then put the bag in the box. They wouldn’t have got the stocktake info wrong, because you’d have written that down for them, and if they’d got the money wrong then you could catch up with them later via the name on the card. Except on the last day, and then the shop would be “open”.
That’s certainly no substitute for “opening” the shop, but it might be a handy addition for Rally times etc.
One catch is it would mean everything had to have a card attached to it, and if the card fell off then nobody could buy the thing!
A possibly more serious catch is that people might think that was too complicated, or get confused about it. I don’t know.
Or indeed it may be useless for other reasons I don’t know, but I enjoyed inventing it ::haha::
must tear myself away now, it’s bedtime here 🙂
Well my idea for an old fashioned cash register has already been suggested and approved so i’m just thirding or fourthing that symbol/code idea, and I actually really like your second sub-title because we all know how flexible meaning is on the good ship FS and maybe saying ‘a shop, not a metaphor’ would take away any ‘yeah-but-we-all-know-that-a-shop-is-highly-unlikely-to-just-be-a-SHOP-here’ sub-conscious over-complicating of the name. Besides the Playground is a preschool for GROWN UPS so of course the toys are going to be a little different, the Toy Shop sounds like a very good strong literal name. Am I repeating myself here? Anyway, Toy Shop!! Yaaaaay!! Xoxo
The Toy Shop for me was like a costume shop for trying on the aspects of the Playground that I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO BRING HOME.
Clues to your own personal treasure map when you go home and create your own Playground?
Popsicle order forms?
I like the idea of an order form. Or even a piece of paper that’s part of rally to write down all the tools you’ve used, and if they helped or not. That way you don’t buy a butt monster when you really need stone skipping cards.
Instead of prices why not colored stickers for a price range. Green could be 5-10 dollars so you only have to put a sticker on it and people have a general idea of how much it is without attaching a 6.75$ sticker.
Ideas that “clicked” for me while I was reading this post and the comments
– I like the sparkly cash register idea, especially if it was near the front of the Toy Shop and/or near the “Here’s how to buy stuff” sign
– If the problem is that people go in the Toy Shop, but don’t know it’s for sale, I’m imagining friendly colorful signs on each display written by the toys themselves. “We are the Playground Mugs, and we want to go home and have tea and coffee with you every day!”
– Having the information about shopping ahead of time in addition to set time at the event sounds good. Maybe a fun “wishlist” type shopping list with the regularly stocked items and some blank lines to fill in other things while shopping, with the “how to buy” notes on the back?
In my mind, the Playground Toy Shop is as magical and colorful as Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium 🙂 Maybe there’s inspiration to be found there?
Extra thought: For things that stickers don’t work well on, what about colored ribbons that correspond to the prices (or you could write the price on the ribbon)? A monster that does not want a sticker stuck might be more ok with a pretty ribbon around its waist or wrist.
How about adding to The Toy Shop sign with –
The Toy Shop – the place where we play “Store”, with Real Money and Stuff to Buy!
I also agree that fluffy butt-monsters would surely look divine with a ribbon tied ’round their butts (?) or wrists or waists with all the info needed attached to it that way. I often find that if the price or info isn’t somehow attached to the item, I don’t or won’t see the unattached sign that tells me all I need to know about them.
I am mightily impressed by all the ideas flying around here! I’m dreaming of Monster Notebooks and wearable spirographs.
Also, I have cheese and crackers for your iguana. Hugs, and bon appetit!
I was going to throw my hat in the ring for the register or the cashbox, Havi, but after hearing your explanations about how Rally flows, I’m thinking that likely won’t do the trick. If I’m understanding it, the whole spirit of play and free experience there might just be anathema to a transactional experience, and so accommodating the existing natural flow of acquisition – that is, at the last day of Rally – would be best. That you keep your existing model but add a point at the end where it’s all “Okay, last chance to purchase anything you want from the Toy Shop!”
While I’m on the other side of the world and unlikely to attend a class or Rally any time soon, I thought I would imagine myself at the Playground, with all my own assorted baggage, stuff and monsters, and try to figure out what I would need to understand that stuff was for sale and that I could buy it and take it home.
First, I would probably be so overwhelmed and amazed by all the stuff that I learned about myself and my stuff and my stucks that I would have no focus for something as mundane as shopping. So I would need something that speaks to me or calls to me, personally.
Then I thought about Paddington Bear. He has a note around his neck that says “Please look after this bear. Thank you.” Here is a price tag-like thingy that could say “I’m so and so. You can take me home. Talk to Havi.” So when I wander into the toy shop and pick something up, I immediately know that this thing that I’ve picked up is available to me to take home to keep this magical experience current.
Of course, there would be a certain amount of stuff and monsters that say that you’ve done this amazing thing, but you don’t really deserve to take something home and continue the magic. A money monster might show up and say that I spent so much money to get here, is this additional thing really ‘worth it’? If there was a way to meet and neutralize my monsters in the store that would just be awesome.
So that is how I imagine I would interact with the store. I hope it’s helpful even though I’ve never been there.
I don’t know what the Playground looks like, but maybe after class, or at the right time during Rally, you could say “I’ll be at the front desk to check out purchases you want to make from the toy shop.” That way you are in the natural place for people to pay you for things, and they won’t feel like they are interrupting you.
The “talk to Havi after class” would definitely be a barrier for me (especially after reading that during certain times of the Rally you’d have to stop what you are doing if someone wanted to buy something). I got squidgey just reading it. And no prices on things would be a barrier, too. It sounds like an antique shop I went to once and there were no prices and the guy was chatting with his friends and he said “just ask if you have questions on prices” but really I felt like I’d be interrupting so I left without buying things.
I’m British so I say ‘shop’ all the time, but I’ve found that in America the normal word is ‘store’, and ‘shop’ is seen as a bit… quaint? Cute? Old-fashioned? So I’m wondering if just changing the name from ‘Toy Shop’ to ‘Toy Store’ might make people more aware that you can buy things there.
Can you get a big banner or sign that stands up by itself for the Toy Shop – with a subtitle like “take some magic home” or “retail therapy this way”?
Oops that’s not my twitter name above – Darn those auto-completion pixies had a little to much coffee this morning
Do you sell anything that’s sort of not special? Things that people might be in need of at the Playground and don’t want to run out for and couldn’t possibly be mistaken for anything other than goods for sale – like, perhaps lip balm?
I’m thinking maybe a little commissary-like corner of the shop would make it more clearly shop-y. I half-remember some Charles de Lint story about a shop that has many ordinary things in it but is a completely magical space…
And I’m also remembering your experience with the neighbor shop that closed, and your noticing what they were lacking that led to their closing, and so I offer this reassurance: this seems like the kind of problem you’re really good at fixing.
I love the Toy Shop!! So much!!
Like others, I never had any doubt about it being a store-store, but struggled with the how-to-buy/don’t-want-to-bother-Havi aspect of it. To play with that, what about having a flag or a funny hat or some other visual cue that would say “Hi! I’m ready to buy something!” on it — so people could wear it or wave it as they approach you, and it might be funny-awkward rather than scary-awkward. It could live on a hook by the Toy Shop door and be introduced as an optional part of the Toy Shop culture.
Throwing the iguanas some snacks! snacks, guys!
xo
Throwing snacks to the Igauanas!! Here boy!
I really like Elizabeth’s suggestion of “a piece of paper that’s part of rally to write down all the tools you’ve used, and if they helped or not. That way you don’t buy a butt monster when you really need stone skipping cards.”
And there really needs to be some way that we can know when we’re not interrupting you. If you’re in your blanket fort, for instance, or doing Old Turkish Lady Yoga, is it okay to ask you to sell me something? What if you’ve retreated to your Pirate Queen Headquarters? Can I knock on the door?
Maybe Selma could help with that? If she’s out there flaunting her pirate hat or a scarf or whatever, we can ask you and if she’s not visible it’s because you are both deeply into what you’re doing and shouldn’t be interrupted.
Oh, my iguanas and monsters are enjoying orange sherbet with Kahlua right now. If I get them drunk and giggly, they’re a lot more fun to deal with. I have to watch it, though, because a hungover iguana is even worse than a hungover monster.
Do you want me to send some to your iguanas? Or would they rather have some lemon cookies?
ohhh. all these comments from such lovely people with such lovely ideas!!
I really love pearl mattenson’s ideas, like a pathway on the floor, or a set shopping time during rally if people would like a guided shopping experience, etc.
also am liking the comment earlier of online buttmonster purchases – I would love this!! Still hoping to make the money up somehow to come to a rally in the future though.. gives the iguanas popping candy!<
Reading the whole truckload of comments was really helpful for me – especially your response.
The essence of the thing is: specificity. Because it turns out the sign as it is says exactly the sort of thing that you really mean, and there isn’t another way – but if we’re tweaking it to make it work, we can elaborate a tiny bit on what ‘talk to Havi’ means, and what ‘after class’ means. That meets the problems that people have. Even the ‘but – TALK to HAVI?!’ ones! By magic.
Hey, and in reassurance and joy – I’m being loving, patient and non-expectations-y in time for the day when I can buy things like Stone Skipping cards from the UK.
Patient isn’t the right word, it’s too like a pining lover at yr tower door – more like ‘hey, I’ll get on with my stuff instead of hanging around like a lost puppy, and I’ll be delighted in all that, and just as delighted when the thing comes round!’.
Yes!