North Augusta toy store Orange Otter has engaged its first Christmas season this year.
Aubrey Hinkson opened the North Augusta shop in late August, aiming to provide a less stressful, alternative space for parents to shop for unique, green (most toys are made by brands using recycled materials) and even nostalgic gifts for their kids.
The holidays are usually a time for an uptick in traffic as shoppers scramble for gifts, and for Orange Otter it was no different. Hinkson attributes a lot of the flourishing business lately to the efforts of North Augusta Forward.
“They’ve done a lot to really support all of us small businesses,” she said, underscoring the organization’s promotional endeavors for Third Thursdays, downtown North Augusta’s monthly shopping event. “Those are always big days.”
Though the boutique’s “Jack-O-Lantern Jubilee” event in October was still its biggest day, Hinkson says, the Nov. 17 and Dec. 15 still proved busy, as Orange Otter, like most small businesses on Georgia Avenue, stayed open later for shoppers coming out after their workday.
The store’s hottest item to date has been the Stomp Rocket, a “100% kid-powered” contraption that lets kids launch foam-tipped rockets up to 200 feet with just a jump. A glow-in-the-dark version is among the three variations of the popular toy, good for “teaching kids cause-and-effect,” Hinkson says.
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Since holiday shopping has kicked off, however, the biggest seller has been the ribbon dancer, a simple silk streamer on a stick that has proven fashionable enough among local kids to have already sold out three times.
“The manufacturers couldn’t get it in in time for us to have another stock,” Hinkson said. “And that’s been fun, because that was a toy that was super popular when I was little.”
Other hot sellers have been Magna-Tiles magnetic building sets, and a similar novelty item with a magnetized take on the Rubik’s cube.
On Wednesday, the store started its Holiday Flash sale, in which its big-ticket items—like the wooden piano, fire engine and giant giraffe—were marked down 25% to 30% off. The shop will continue to offer the items at those sale prices till the end of the year, or until they’re out of stock.
Hinkson encourages kids and grown-up shoppers to observe, examine and even take items out to test, to gauge the children’s reaction.
“Because every kid is very different,” she said.
Orange Otter Toys is at 336 Georgia Ave., Ste. 105 in North Augusta.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
