What's New in August 2024
New this month we have a bunch of Gigantic Trucks (and a Barbie Jeep). They're all made in the USA!
Hard to tell, but the trucks are two feet long.
We also brought in a new publisher. AdventureKEEN puts out books for nature, outdoors, and sports lovers young and old.
Our family is passionately into nature. Sage is constantly foraging wild food and I'm an avid birdwatcher. We were slow to pick up some nature books for Funky Planet because there are a lot of crummy, low effort field guides floating around out there. AdventureKEEN graciously gave us review copies, so we were able to read through each book before we ordered them. We can definitely vouch for these books!
Board books for babies, field guides, quick guides, and kid's books
I was introduced to this publisher when I bought 'C Is For Cardinal' by Stan Tekiela on a whim last winter. Clover loves the book, and has memorized all of the birds within it. At 20 months old she would point to a robin and say, "American Robin" (but with the r's pronounced as w's). So, big recommendation from me.
Also, we have a ton of sports-themed and mystery-themed Choose Your Path books. Certain pages prompt you with a choice, and then based on that choice you turn to a specific page.
Football, Baseball, Soccer, another Football, Hockey, Wilderness Survival, Basketball, and Mystery
All right, moving on. We brought in some very cool and intricate Building Kits. You use actual miniature bricks to build structures brick by brick. The mortar is also water soluble, so if you soak the structure the building breaks down and you can build it again in the future.
Irish house, Windmill, Lighthouse, and a big ol' Castle
We also brought in more arty and crafty stuff. In the picture below we have a super deluxe Squeegee Paint Set with a bunch of stencils, a Mushroom DIY Paper Lantern, a paint-your-own ceramic Lowly Worm Apple Car, and a stylish Soap Making Kit. We also brought in a jewelry making kit, and bunch more basic art supplies.
Bright Stripes puts all of these products out, and we love them.
Each parking spot has a magnet, so the die-cast frame snaps the cars into place.
I don't have pics, but we brought in some super satisfying squishies filled with a slow-rising goo, a pooping capybara keychain, a gigantic dollhouse by the same USA Gigantic Trucks company, oh jeez, I forgot a new arrival...
We now carry science toys by Discovery. I'd been struggling to find quality optics at an affordable price since we opened. But, we ran into Discovery at ASTRA, I got to test their products out, and their prices are great. At this time we have a Microscope, Telescope, Metal Detector, and a Rock Tumbler. I intend on getting kids Binoculars soon, but in the meantime we're stocking a Monocular. I bought one and now use it for kitchen-sink-window-birding daily.
A rushed, last-minute pic 😬
We've been rotating toys in-and-out of the Playcade. Two new games of note are Battle Box and Volley Shot. I don't wanna get into the mechanics here, so come in and play a game against one of us.
Right-to-left: Battle Box, Volley Shot, and Super Stadium Baseball
Funky Planet is hosting Riichi Mahjong tomorrow night. We're gonna be at the Nerd Market @ Old Bakery on August 17th. And we're doing another Funky Game Night @ Old Bakery on August 27th from 5-8pm. Hope to see you at at least one of those events!
~David
What's New in July 2024
As of the 23rd, Funky Planet Toys has been operating for 3 years! I don't wanna get too mushy, so I'll just say thank you to our customers, thank you to those who see the value in shopping small, thank you to the toy distributors who prioritize specialty brick & mortar mom & pop stores, and thank you to our families for all of your support. This store wouldn't exist without you. ♥
Okay, a bunch is new, so let's get into it...
We started carrying Fat Brain. I've always loved their toys (especially Dimpl and Squigz), and now that they're delving into more and more wooden tabletop games it's a no brainer to bring them into the store. Also, AirToobz are one of the coolest toys in existence. It's like a mini children's museum piece for the home. It's currently our front window display.
Clover is a fan.
Also pictured: Glowing constellation kit, markers that take 7 days to dry out, multi-surface coloring tools, and Sun Art.
We also have a ton of new Embroidery Kits and some 1000pc Puzzles that aren't pictured.
Our main makeup/beauty/style/all-things-pink supplier was turning to the dark side more-and-more (big box stores) and we'd been struggling to find an affordable alternative. Thanks to the ASTRA Toy Show we now have Hot Focus! In addition to the usual suspects like Nail Accessories, Eyeshadow, Lip Balm, and Stationery, they've also got some ultra-cute Earbuds, Drink Cups, and Bento Boxes.
We also have a Henna Kit
Last, we now sell Mystery Bags. We really cram em full of stuff. So far we've gotten great feedback on them, so I think they're going to stick around.
They cost $3.71 Each, which is exactly $4.00 after sales tax
Here's what's planned for next month...
- Bringing in some more new lines, including a Baby/Toddler brand, a Nature-Focused publisher, and Mini Brick Crafting Kit (Like, actual clay bricks).
- Re-upping on Pokemon Cards and HotWings diecast Airplanes.
- Getting more art supplies, kids jewelry making kits, and stickers.
- Doing another Funky Game Night at Old Bakery!
I'll post again once all that stuff is in the store. Stay tuned!
~David
What's New In June 2024
At the beginning of the month we went to ASTRA, the American Specialty Toy Retailers Association trade show. This was our first time going and it was CRAZY! There were over 300 booths! I got to talk to the owners of some of my favorite companies, and we met about 50 new companies that we're very excited to order from.
Since ASTRA we've placed a few orders. Unfortunately, so has every other independent toy store, so it's taking some time for them to process and ship the new stuff. In the meantime, here are some highlights from the past month...
Arcade Mini Golf is back! It's an awesome tabletop 9-hole putt-putt game. A flip of the switch makes some of the obstacles move. It's deceptively challenging, and very fun.
Running Press Minis have been restocked. We brought in a bunch of cool new titles.
We brought in some new baby/toddler books...
Indestructibles are rip-proof / chew-proof / drool-proof books. We can personally vouch for their durability.
Mini House Board Books are exactly what they claim to be. Look through the windows and watch as each page stacks together into a cute house. I already sold out of Dinosaurs and Mother Goose.
We also have new blind boxes, new keychains, new baby toys, new squishy fidget ball things, and Socker Boppers (formerly known as Sock'em Boppers before Mattel sued).
Alton Main Street's Night Market on Broadway started on the 6th, and once again we have a booth. Catch us at the pocket park next to the Jacoby Building Thursdays from 7pm to 10pm.
A huge amount of stuff is 40-60% off, and I mean it. This isn't one of those sales where the store-owner marks everything up and then "slashes prices" (I'm looking at you Office Depot). These are crazy deals. Out with the old, in with the new.
Stay tuned next month for another post. We're getting some very very cool displays with our next shipments.
-David
What's New in March 2024
We rearranged the store! As a result we now have space for four more displays. Here's the HotWings diecast aircraft display and the Iwako figurine display.
The board game section gained 20 new titles this month. Sage and I have been playtesting through them, and we're very impressed with some of the new titles.
We re-upped our puzzle section. Piece counts range from 25 to 2000. We also have some easier wooden puzzles for little kids.
We expanded our kite section. We've got regular diamonds, sport kites, delta kites, a box kite, and a very cool dragonfly kite. Butterfly kites are back in stock too!
We just got a huge shipment of PicassoTiles. We've got regular and mini sets, a whole bunch of characters, magnetic race track, hedge blocks, and a magnetic marble run. We also got some super cool "Canvas Tiles" where you can draw on them with dry erase markers.
We also have a bunch of new plushies, diy miniature houses, Pokemon cards, and retro toys.
Hope to see you soon.
~David
What's New in December 2023 Part 2
A lot is new since the beginning of the month. Here's 4 things...
Pokemon Paradox Rift shipments arrived last week. We also have some older sets.
We now carry Modarri. These finger-powered, customizable cars have a fantastic build quality and are super fun to play with.
We re-stocked Milk Carton Purses, and we now have Orange Juice too!
We have a few new Blind Box Figurines. New arrivals include Sueno Dream, One Bite at Aowoo, and Trash Kitties. As always, they're extremely cute.
We're still blowing out a ton of toys and games at 33-50% off.
We'll be closing at 4pm on Christmas Eve.
What's New In December 2023
This month we're open every day until Christmas Day. Here are our holiday hours...
- Monday/Tuesday: 11am-2pm
- Wednesday-Friday: 10am-6pm
- Saturday: 10am-5pm
- Sunday: 11am-5pm
We expanded our book section! Check out our handsome shelf...
We also expanded our plush selection! Instead of having Douglas spill out all over our store we now have it contained in two towers.
We've got a bunch of new Board Games, and many of the old ones are severely discount. We have two shelves at 33% Off and another two shelves at 50% Off.
We expanded our Cap Guns section! We've had plastic novelty cap guns for a while, but we just brought in some diecast ones. The beautiful rifle on the bottom left is diecast & wood.
The past two holiday seasons we ran out of Lava Lamps before Christmas. This year we stocked up. They came out with a ton of beautiful varieties this year.
Screwball Scramble 1 & 2 are out on display. The goal is to guide your marble through the obstacle course using the buttons and levers at the bottom. It can be a bit frustrating at times, but it's also very very fun and addicting. Once you master the course, the goal is to do it as fast as possible. I didn't take a picture, but we also have the brand new Screwball Scramble Level Up in stock.
We brought in four new STEM companies this year and our shelves are STOCKED. We've got several DIY car kits, Galileo and Fitzroy barometers, a couple of new electronics kits, and a bunch of other stuff. Ages range from 3 to 14+.
Also on the engineering side we brought in 3 sizes of Star Coaster Marble Rollercoasters. We carried Version 2 last year and Version 3 the previous. Now we have 2, 3, and 5; which looks super deluxe. These are for older kids, but we also have a rollercoaster building kit that's appropriate for ages 7+ (you can see it on the right side of the new bookshelf picture).
Jean Curvey brought in a bunch of new ceramic figurines and Christmas tree ornaments. There are some super cute designs in this wave.
In the Yellow Playcade this month we have an Engineering Floating Bathblocks set. I built a small boat on Small Business Saturday and kids have been adding onto since then.
In the Red Playcade we have Magnetic Blocks and a Fantacolor Peg Drawing Board.
This week we're getting more blind box figurines and Paradox Rift Pokemon Cards (and some oldies too). I'll make another post in a couple of weeks.
Apparently an indoor amusement park named "Funky Planet" opened in a mall somewhere in Kazakhstan. A recent visitor graciously uploaded photos of the park to our Google Maps page yesterday. Hopefully Google removes the pictures soon, because I already got a call from someone. Maybe someday we'll be a Toy Store/Amusement Park/Toddler Playroom/Bookstore/Arcade/Pinball Gallery/Mahjong Parlor/Fun Land, but not yet 😀
~David
Black Friday & Small Business Saturday
Happy Thanksgiving! I wish I had time to make a more detailed post, but here's the basics.
We're having massive sales on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and the following Sunday.
Here's what's on sale...
- All Board Games: Sales range from 10% to 50%
- All Jigsaw Puzzles: Sales range from 10% to 50%
- All Books: Sales range from 10% to 50%
- About 50 different toys are 33% to 66% off. More will be discounted as they sell.
On Wednesday we've got about 5 different shipments coming in too. We're expecting more books, more building kits, a whole mess of kites, new blind boxes, and a ton of new enamel pins. Yesterday we got a big shipment of stocking stuffers (just in time!)
Hope to see you soon!
~David
What's New In October 2023
Too much is new. So much so that I've been procrastinating on making a new post. I hope to add pictures soon, but for now, here's a list of everything...
- As of today, new Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty in Large and Mini tins.
- Pokemon 151 trading card game sets arrived last week.
- New keychains and stickers, mostly from one of our Japanese and Korean distributors.
- New blind boxes including Japanese ones featuring cute animals and some Kirby & Mario ones.
- Screwball Scramble is on display. We have versions 1, 2, and the brand new vertical version.
- Farm sets plus a John Deere ride-on tractor and a John Deere balance bike.
- New soft dolls. They're very cute.
- Mad Mattr Bags, Pods, and Mini Packs. We'll be getting some deluxe sets before the holidays.
- A TON of new arts & crafts kits, including Diamond Dotz.
- The new Mushroom Airforts are in.
- Two Bros. Bow's new Juggling Sticks.
- New Wooden Puzzles by Creative Crafthouse. The Idiot Stick is also back in stock.
- A few STEM & Robotics Kits.
- A bunch of retro toys.
- Many many many many more things I don't know how to classify.
We placed a huge order for Douglas Plushies. We also plan on ordering books, additional plushies, squishies, fidgets, sea monkeys, lava lamps, and a whole mess of stocking stuffers this month.
We now have TWO Douglas display shelves!
We had our last outdoor event of the year at Heritage Farms last Sunday. Super fun!
Alton Mainstreet's 'First Fridays' are on. The next one will be on November 3rd. Always fun!
We have a semi-devoted clearance section. Toys are anywhere between 40-75% off.
The Toys for Tots bin is already in.
Uhh, that's off the top of my head. All right, I gotta get back to work!
~David
What's New in August 2023
First off, we now have a 3rd Toy Tower! We also restocked our squishy, fidget, and novelty toys.
Wow!
We added two new makers to our "Made in Alton" collection!
Steph Plant is an Alton-based artist/author/musician and Montessori teacher. She wrote the children's book 'Slithering Snake' and also put out an album of children's music called 'Moth Wings & Other Things'. You can now buy them both at our store!
We've read Slithering Snake to Clover a billion times
Evan Merli hails from Bethalto and has put out his first game entitled 'What's Your Excuse'. This party game is a ton of fun and takes less than a minute to teach. The reader draws a card with an accusatory statement, and then each other player has one minute to word-vomit an excuse. The reader then votes on which excuse is the best. Sage and I recently played the game with a group of four and it was a blast. We've got family visiting us this month, and I'm excited to play it again.
We've got a ton of new magnetic-based toys, including Mix & Match Animals, Mix & Match Cars, Magnetic Build-a-Car, Electro-Magnetic Experiment Kit, and a cool Magnetic Ring Game.
We restocked our Maisto Diecast! We've got all kinds of new 1:64 vehicles, some pullback monster trucks, and some nice looking motorcycles.
1:64 diecast cards, pullback monster trucks, VW vans, cool cars, semis, and motorcycles
New Blue Q bags are in! We really like the new designs. We also brought in some of Blue Q's catnip pouches.
Doggy bags, change purses, zipper pouches, shoulder totes, and catnip.
We've got a lot of orders on the horizon. This month we're expecting new stickers, keychains, tabletop games, blind boxes, and old-school wooden novelties. In September the new Pokemon Scarlet & Violet 151 sets drop (very excited). I'm also hoping to order massive amounts of plushies, books, and science kits.
~David