Who We Are & What We're All About
WHAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT
Quite simply. we LOVE toys! Remember that favorite toy store from your childhood? Most of us have one or two - mine was "Mr. Big's Toyland" and "Irving's Toys and Cards" in the Boston area. Remeber how you felt visiting it with your parents or grandparents?
Well, our goal is to help you recreate those memories and help your child create memories of their own! With this basic premise, we strive to reboot the retail toy business by actually mixing the best of the toy stores of yesteryear with the service, convenience and cool selection of toys we know you're looking for - so you can FIND NEW WAYS TO PLAY!
So, please come, browse our store, either virtually or in West Chester, PA and find cool, unique toys with cool, unique people helping you find them!
OUR HISTORY
Although the name "Monkey Fish Toys" was born in 2013, the team behind the name has been in the toy business for over 20 years! Here's a brief company history:
- 2001 - We started the business as The Collectors Depot, LLC, selling collectible toys on-line.
- 2005 - we changed our operating name to Bull Market Toys, since people seemed to think The Collectors Depot was a bill-collection agency!
- 2010 - We opened our first retail store, Bull Market Toys, in the Eagleview section of Downingtown, PA, expanding our selection to include more than just collecitble toys.
- 2013 - Bursting at the seams in our little store, we moved to a space three times the size in Exton, PA, and renamed the store "Monkey Fish Toys"! (Bull Market Toys seemed to never click with customers - nobody ever accused us of being marketing geniuses!).
- 2014 - We liked our store in Exton so much, we decided to open a bit larger store in West Chester!
- 2017 - After four phenomenal years in Exton, in our sleepy but loveable shopping center, we decided to move the store up the road to Chester Springs.
- 2018 - We completed a full overhaul of our Chester Springs store and launched our new MonkeyFishToys.com including local delivery!
- 2020 - The pandemic and the resulting closures throw us a curveball, but the Team rises to the occasion, pivoting to local delivery within 24 hours of the state-mandated closure! Our survival is a testament to our fantastic Team - and having an amazing e-commerce platform in Shopify!
- 2021 - We decided to combine stores in May. Our goal was to have a bigger, better West Chester Store - to have it become a true destination for people who love toys & games throughout Eastern PA.
- 2022 - After a great 2021, we're at it again, continuing to build our business, both at the store level and online, with a total renovation of our online store that launched in July 2022!
Ok, so before we move-on, let's answer the question of how we came up with the name "Monkey Fish Toys" - I asked my daughter, four-years-old at the time, what would be a cool name or mascot for the toy store - she, for some reason, blurted out "monkey fish" (perhaps they talked about monkey fish in school that day!)... The name stuck because whenever anyone hears it they can't help but smile or giggle... the rest is history!
OUR TEAM
Our cool and unique team of toy lovers:
Al - Window Display Artist / Customer Care...Team Member since 2020
Andrea - MFT Wonder Twin / Customer Care…Team Member since 2023
Annette - MFT Wonder Twin / Customer Care…Team Member since 2023
Carrie - MFT Work Mom / Customer Care...Team Member since 2021
Cheryl - Queen of the Game Room / Customer Care...Team Member since 2020
Julia - Event Planner / Customer Care…Team Member since 2023
Julie - Party & Craft Coordinator / Customer Care…Team Member since 2018
KC - Da Boss!... Team Member since 2018
Kirsten - Purchasing & Receiving Lead... Team Member since 2017
Laurie - Social Butterfly / Customer Care...Team Member since 2019
Mike O - Chief Toy Strategist (i.e. - plays with the toys)... Team Member since 2001
Miles - Greeter Extraordinaire / Customer Care..Team Member since 2023
Rich - E-Commerce Wizard & Resident Lego Expert / Logistics... Team Member since 2018
Ryan - Resident Pokemon Expert / Customer Service... Team Member since 2018
Sam - Juggling Expert / Customer Care... Team Member since 2023
Sara - Merchandising Mastermind / Customer Care…Team Member since 2023
Sophie - Marketing Strategist / Customer Care…Team Member since 2023
Tim - Creative Design / Webstore Boss... Team Member since 2014
Tommy - The LAMINATOR / Toy & Systems Expert…Team Member since 2017
Tyler - Pokemon King / Team Member since 2019
Vivian - Tik Tok Whizkid / Customer Care…Team Member since 2020
We hope you get to know us and like what you learn - if not, please email or call us personally (484-885-7285) with any questions, comments, or issues!
Happy Playing!
KC & Mike