Autumn Ruhe says as a shy high-school student, she never imagined she'd one day have her own business. But at just 25 years old, she's the proud owner of a new, upscale toy store in the Foothills.
Mildred and Dildred toy store opened the day after Thanksgiving at La Encantada shopping center, 2905 E. Skyline Drive.
The colorful shop caries a variety of high-end and specialty toys geared toward children up to 10 years old, and it's a place where toys are out of the box and kids are encouraged to touch.
"This is the kind of toy store I would have loved when I was 7," Ruhe said. "Toy stores should be a place for kids to play and for kids and family to interact."
You won't find any video games or electronic gizmos at Mildred and Dildred, which specializes in toys that encourage children to use their imaginations.
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Playthings such as dolls, spinning tops, puppets, rubber ducks, toy kitchen tools and Playmobil-brand play sets — Ruhe's childhood favorite — fill the shop.
Child-height play tables invite youngsters to try toys before a purchase, and converted fitting rooms provide a designated, semi-private play area.
Ruhe said her introduction to the professional toy world was somewhat unexpected.
A 2001 graduate of St. Gregory College Preparatory School in Tucson, she moved to New York and earned a bachelor's degree in art history from Barnard College before returning to her hometown to look for work.
Ruhe said she had been considering a career in photography, but on a whim applied for a position at locally owned Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's Toys 4811 E. Grant Road. She worked there for 2 1/2 years, fell in love with the business, and decided to go out on her own, thanks to the suggestion of her grandfather, who offered her the loan to start her own store.
In a way, Mildred and Dildred is named for Ruhe's grandfather. Ruhe said when she and her sister, Sara, were young, he would tell them stories about two silly sisters named Mildred and Dildred who were always getting into trouble, only to be rescued by their loving grandpa.
Sara Ruhe, 22, works alongside her sister, and the two often reminisce about toys they played with as children while having a little fun with the store's merchandise.
"We can work all day, but we're playing too," Sara said.
Sara, who has an art degree from Marymount Manhattan College, also in New York, helped design the store, including painting a sky mural on the ceiling and arranging window displays.
Throughout the store, handmade construction-paper signs call customers' attention to various toys. Drawers filled with inexpensive miniatures have labels that include "dinos," "things that slither" and "things that bounce."
The store also offers a gift registry for children's birthday parties, baby showers and other special events.
Shopper Allison Crawford, 25, visited the store on a recent weekend with her husband and 2-year-old daughter, who made a beeline for a play table and the hands-on toys scattered atop it.
"It's an adorable store," said Crawford, who said she encourages her daughter to play with learning toys. "It's got toys from when we were kids. It's not the new stuff."
Ten-year-old Christopher Rosenberg, a Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's regular who knew Ruhe when she worked there, gave Mildred and Dildred his stamp of approval on a recent shopping trip.
"I like it. I think it's cute. It's very inventive," he said.
Ruhe said Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's has been fully supportive of her new endeavor.
"I really do think we see each other as sister stores, and they're like a proud parent," she said.
Lisette DeMars, manager at Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's, said that while the two stores have similar philosophies, they carry some slightly different merchandise. For example, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's doesn't have a great demand for items like the high-end Madame Alexander collectible dolls sold at Mildred and Dildred, she said.
"Truly, truly, truly, we are so excited to have good competition in town. We are so happy to have another little toy store in town that we trust, and that we can send our customers to and know they're going to get really great service," DeMars said. "We miss her, though."
If you go
What: Mildred and Dildred toy store.
Where: La Encantada shopping center, 2905 E. Skyline Drive.
Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m Mondays-Thursdays; 10 a.m.- 8 p.m Fridays-Saturdays; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays.
Phone: 615-6266.
Story time:
Mildred and Dildred also holds children's story times twice a week, at 3 p.m. Thursdays and1 p.m. Saturdays.
