Practically everything in Theresa Renfro’s new children’s toy shop in Point Loma Village has a tale to tell about it.
Which Renfro doesn’t mind telling. Which she did one recent morning while grabbing a toy bow-and-arrow set.
“There really is a story behind every toy,” she said pointing out the boy-and arrow’s creators were boys (ages) 10 and 7, who started making bows with their mom for a school science project.
“Then they started making them for local businesses,” Renfro said. “And now they are a national company.
“Some of the toys that you see in here came from what my children played with when I wanted to get away from licensed toys, and plastic and things that were very loud,” said Renfro about her business model.
Renfro said the Village is a perfect place to set up a children’s boutique.
“The Village is such a fun place to do business,” she said, adding “it’s a walkable, main street USA.”
The entrepreneur said there are lots of young families who “are coming to the Point for the schools, which are outstanding. That’s what main street does. You get to know the shopkeepers, the people walking down the street, their children, their dog, and that’s the resurgence in the Village with all these new businesses popping up. It’s just growing.”
She added the Village, which gets a lot of foot traffic with all the recent changes, has become a “convenient” place for locals, and visitors alike, to shop.
Renfro also talked about the origin of her new business, which she said is an outgrowth of her nearby home and garden store, En Concordia at 1021 Rosecrans St.
“I had some of these things in my other store, as well as a children’s section with a garden theme,” she said. “I just found a huge demand for low-tech things, and I wanted to bring all this stuff together in the Village. We also like toys that are educational and make kids successful.”
See/Saw brings the finest assortment of educational play and imagination goods for babies and kids to the Point Loma Village – organic cotton, non-toxic dyes and inks, wood and recycled BPA-free plastic. Books and blankets, ride-ons and push toys. The inventory includes lots of fluffy stuffed animals, interactive puzzles, toy trucks of all types and children’s apparel. You’ll also find truly unique, cutting-edge things, like biodegradable beach toys.
“A lot of the toys in here are award winners,” noted Renfro. “The child can interact with them. They’re non-toxic, safe, stimulating, fun.” Renfro added, “We also do source local.”
After 30 years of retail experience, Renfro knows how to find the right products for her kid’s business.
And perhaps best of all, See/Saw has a public sounding board, an old school blackboard with chalk, that kids of all ages during store hours are encouraged to make a contribution to. See/Saw Where: 3028 Canon St. Hours: Closed Mondays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays; 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Fridays-Sundays. Info: 619-578-2127, [email protected], shopseesawkids.com.