Store

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Toys

City/neighborhood: Ballard/Crown Hill

Hours: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday

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2007 Finalist:

Children's store

2006 Finalist:

Toy store

Clover

Average reader rating: Not rated
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5335 Ballard Ave. N.W.
Seattle, WA 98107
Phone: 206-782-0715
clover@4701.net
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DESCRIPTION

Some toy stores cater only to parents, with intellectual games shrink-wrapped in boxes; others are so seductive to children they give parents a headache — too much pink and plastic! Clover does neither, instead emphasizing wares made of wood, metal and natural fibers. Children can form lasting relationships with these toys, sturdily crafted and ready for fantasy. Parents will appreciate the store's high ceilings, brick walls, side nooks and tall, arched windows. Furnishings — a distressed bureau, a fully made bed, curtains on walls without windows — serve as backdrops for bedding, stationery and vintage signs. Trinkets and games rest neatly on wooden shelves, small toys and gadgets peek over the tops of tin pails, and tiny clothes by Tea hang in ordered rows.

Atmosphere aside, craftsmanship and inventiveness really set this store apart. A smooth piece of unpainted alder wood curves so expressively you know it's a pirate sword with no other defining lines. A wearable knight's visor made from a stiff, shiny, bendable cardstock opens and closes where it should. Miniature tea sets are tiny versions of pottery cups in Fiestaware colors, or block-like wooden vessels with red handles. There are also kits for making bug- or butterfly houses, as well as miniature roulette games. Well-made and well-presented, these are fun toys that leave a lot to the imagination.

Tip: If you want your child to grow up globally aware, start with toys from Clover. Many brands are international, such as Erzi; others have an international consciousness, such as the New York-based Ninya, which packages tiny T-shirts and onesies in Chinese take-out boxes. The T-shirts depict a caricature of a young girl, also named Ninya, who travels the world and sports an East Indian bindi on her forehead.

By Alison Peacock
Special to NWsource