With the holiday season wrapping up, Wigglish Toys & Gifts has stayed busy in the weeks leading up to it.
“I can’t believe people don’t shop earlier,” said Amy Schulthess, owner of the Heber City business. “We’ll get people who come in and are just like, ‘Anything for a 4 year old? I don’t care what color it is. I don’t care what the price is. I don’t care what it does. … And please, please, please wrap it, because I’m on my way to their house right now.’”
No matter the challenge, Schulthess and her four employees are up to the task. And yes, Wigglish does wrap for free.
“We kind of feel like we’re solving problems when we sell the right toy to the right person,” Schulthess said. “You can Google a lot of things, but I think when you’re talking to a person one-on-one, you can get a lot more information, like, ‘He doesn’t like things with wheels’ or ‘Everything goes in his mouth.’”
The store’s name comes from Roald Dahl’s “The BFG,” when the titular big, friendly giant says “Wigglish” rather than “English.”
“I think speaking Wigglish is looking for toys that are off the beaten track,” Schulthess said. “There are so many good toys out there, so why would you carry the bad ones that break easily and keep your child’s attention for four seconds?”
Schulthess said the ZipString — which shoots strings that are kept floating in the air by fans, essentially Spider-Man’s web shooter mixed with the physics play of a yo-yo — is this holiday season’s most popular toy, selling about 12 on Dec. 10.
Foosbots, spinning players that allow for a foosball match anywhere with a flat surface, and Hands Craft, do-it-yourself kits for anything from a music box to a clock, are other popular choices.
Schulthess loves to look for toys with a STEM application because “Science is toys.” She’s a toy connoisseur who decorates her home with chess sets, hand-painted dolls and wooden cars. Schulthess also has about “six dozen unopened LEGO boxes.”
She also asks herself questions about a toy before selling it herself.
“How soon, if I had this at my house, would I want to get rid of it? Would there be too many pieces, and I’m vacuuming them up? Is it flimsy or poorly made? Is the packaging unappealing?” she said.
Schulthess sources toys from trade shows like the North American International Toy Fair and organizations like the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association and The Good Toy Group. Every time she travels, Schulthess looks at toy stores and talks to the owners if possible, which sometimes new finds.
Traveling is what first inspired Schulthess’ interest in toys. Exploring Europe with family, Schulthess found that toy stores there were much different from the United States.
“There would be only nice toys. If it was a dress-up dress for little girls, it would have real nice material in it. … If it was a tea set, it might be a really cool wooden tea set that had these beautiful designs,” she said.
These are what Schulthess likes to call “heirloom toys,” toys of quality that can be passed down through generations.
Upon moving from Paris to California and later Heber City, Schulthess, then a stay-at-home mother, began a side gig selling just about any product on Amazon out of her garage. When the market of Amazon sellers became “saturated,” Schulthess identified toys — which she had plenty of overstock of — as her niche.
She opened Wigglish on the side of Highway 40 in 2012. Almost all sales come from in-person buyers despite having an online store, according to Schulthess.
Wigglish’s location can be a problem, however, given its distance from downtown.
“Every single day, someone says, ‘I had no idea you were here, and I’ve lived in Heber 10 years,’” Schulthess said. “We don’t get walking by traffic very often. If they do, they come from the RV park … but that happens twice a year.”
December is Wigglish’s “make it or break it month,” estimating that 80% of annual sales come from holiday shoppers. While Wigglish is doing “really great” compared to last December, Schulthess said the lack of foot traffic makes the rest of the year difficult.
Schulthess has looked for locations closer to the heart of Heber City but hasn’t found anything comparable in terms of space and size.
“Not only are toys big, but LEGOs come on pallets. Pallets are big and require forklifts. You can barely park a car on Main Street, let alone have a 26-foot shipping container come to you and unload,” she said.
While Schulthess has tried to raise awareness about Wigglish through the Wasatch County Library, donations to toy drives and even spring and winter store catalogues, she has still faced difficulties in the Heber City market.
“What I’ve learned is that, while it seems that there’s a lot of disposable income here, parents don’t seem to be as interested in buying high-quality toys. … People have to want to buy a nice toy in order to pay for it,” Schulthess said.
But Schulthess doesn’t think Wigglish’s toys are too expensive, estimating an average retail price of $25 to $35. Ultimately, Schulthess’ wish is that more people would “give us a shot,” particularly outside of the holiday season.
“Just come in, look around. Maybe it’s not for you. That’s OK,” she said. “But I think most people can find something that they would want to take home because who doesn’t want to be a kid again?”