Providing enjoyment for kids isn't always the blast you think it'd be. Look at the troubled Willy Wonka.
But when you share their pleasure, whether it's strawberry ice cream or furry toys, it has to be just about the most rewarding job there is.
Jean Joyner, owner of Geppetto's Toys & Dolls on Tucson's Northwest Side, certainly thinks so. And her pleasure is stuffed toys — in any shape or form.
"I'm a sucker for all these cute little things," she says.
She's been a sucker for them all her life, and with a mother who was a doll collector, it made for a fairly fantastical childhood growing up here in Tucson.
When her parents followed their retirement dream and opened a toy store here in 1988, Joyner joined the business, too, and passed on the fantasy to her own kids, who, she says, practically grew up in the shop.
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It's a store whose nod to tradition and old favorites doesn't stop at its Pinocchio-inspired name.
Joyner aims to offer items that chain and big-box stores don't, and that aren't subject to film- and TV-related marketing.
"These are things that never go out of style: dolls, Jack-in-the-Boxes, spinning tops, paper dolls," she says, although she admits it's "challenging" to be selling at a higher price point.
Dolls are a big part of the mix here. This is where a lot of Tucson's collectors shop for meticulously dressed and painstakingly painted items that fetch up to $450.
But if you're after a more affordable collectible, there's a popular variety of Native American-dressed bears by Sedona artist Pat Lyons. They're one-of-a-kinds, and even come with their own personal story, written by Lyons.
Baby dolls are among Joyner's best sellers, complete with lifelike milk bottles and Baby Bjorn-like carriers. Corolle, a brand from France, even guarantees its plastic dolls to be washable.
Popular brands such as Gund and Manhattan Toy make appearances at Geppetto's, the latter by way of a huge, sulking bear slumped mid-store. So does the timeless Melissa & Doug line, which began with simple wooden puzzles and has progressed to puppets and dollhouse sets.
As Joyner will tell you, just because a store is traditional doesn't mean it's not progressive, and there are fancy puppets and clever music-making contraptions here to prove it. After all, kids are as dynamic as they come.
"We're all kids at heart. I like to say my store is for everyone from 0 to 101," says Joyner, who at 56 has a new dynamic of her own: an 8-year-old grand-daughter who serves as the guinea pig Joyner's kids used to be.
Quick Take
Geppetto's Toys & Dolls
7090 N. Oracle Road, 297-1041
What: Toys and collectors' dolls
Price range: $1 (for a high-bounce ball) to $450 (for a collectible doll).
Hours: 9.30 a.m.-5.30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, noon-4 p.m. Sundays
