Upcoming Event: Las Vegas Magician Will Roya!

Early Work Toy Station

presents

A Magical Family Event

Starring Las Vegas Magician

WILL ROYA

Friday, September 25th, 6pm

Early Work Parking Lot

(We will provide some seating, but you may want to bring your own chair.)

Join our friend, Will Roya, for a spectacular September evening of comedy, magic and balloon entertainment.

This talented performer has customized a very special show for Early Work!  Kids and adults will be amazed to learn some basic magic and balloon art.

Will’s magic & balloon DVDs have been a great new addition to our store and will be 20% off during this show.

Admission is free, but you can reserve a free autographed photo of Will by calling 707-765-1993.

We feel very lucky to be hosting this event, which is sure to be one of our most exciting shows ever!

Time to Blog about Frogs!

A few weeks ago we got our first shipment of African Dwarf frogs from wild creations, yes that’s right, we now are selling frogs in eco-aquariums!

Linda Putting together an aquarium

Frog Facts:

• Each aquarium is a complete aquatic eco-system that requires no additional chemicals, filter or aeration.
• Aquariums need water replenished only twice a year using fresh, bottled spring water.
• “Living” gravel, which acts as the natural filter to the aquarium, does not need to be (and should not be) cleaned.
• Each Aquarium includes two male, adult African dwarf frogs (Hymenochirus Curtipes to be exact), which will not outgrow the aquarium.
• Frogs are fed only 2 times per week.
• Average life span of frogs is 2 -4 years (or longer), with proper care.
• Each aquarium includes at least one snail, which acts as the janitor to clean the algae and excess food

froggies waiting to move into their new homes

We have 3 store frogs, and we need your help in naming them.  The winner will receive an Early Work gift certificate.   You can enter at the store, or by e-mail, send your name, phone number, and 3 name suggestions to earlyworkstaff@yahoo.com .

We love these little guys and we trust the company who distributes them.  This is a great way for kids to learn about nature, eco-systems, and responsibility.  Teachers, this would make a very low maintenance, yet highly educational, and very fun classroom pet.

Linda and Brent with all the aquariums assembled, and frogs ready to go to their new homes and meet their new roomates.

This is definitely the oddest, and most exciting thing I have ever checked in during my years at Early Work.  Linda and I enjoyed the process so much, we decided that it would make a great birthday party for kids ages 7 & up!  Each child would leave the birthday party with their very own self-assembled eco-aquarium!  We’re still working out the specific details, but if you are interested give us a call (707-765-1993) and we will be happy to book our first ever frog party!

Each aquarium is 29.99 and includes 2 frogs, 1 snail, “living” gravel, decorative gravel, 1 decorative rock, and 1 bamboo plant.  A year’s supply of food only costs $3.99, and we have an assortment of other accessories available at the store.

Froggies all ready and waiting for adoption at the Early Work front counter.

Brothers gotta hug!

We are so very excited about Wizard Wednesday!

Join us for Muggle exchange day!

Aspiring wizards ages 8 to 12+ can experience the magic of the wizardry world first-hand by spending a day in the life of a Hogwarts student! “Hogwarts prefects” Amber and Rachel (who get really into this and have pulled out all their tricks) will lead young wizards through Hogwarts classes such as Charms, Astrology, Wand Making, slime making in Potions class – mixing then testing their own drinkable elixirs in Alchemy, and creating and trapping “dangerous” clay creatures to take home in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Take a break from classes with a snack time feast of healthy treats and Dirt-and-Worm cups.

Young wizards will go home with a Diagon Alley bag full of treasures from their Hogwarts adventure

Each student will be (making &) trapping creatures like these pesky Cornish Pixies in jars as part of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Magical fun guaranteed for both book and movie fans who wish get a little closer to the wizarding world.

Class is $15 per child. You can register in person or by phone with Early Work Toy Station.

Wednesday, July 15th from 10:30-12pm (tentative second class 1:30-3pm, if first class fills up.

Sign up for this awesome magic-packed wizarding experience today!

The First Golden Ticket Winner!!

Congratulations to Jonathan, the first Golden Ticket Winner!  There are four more golden tickets somewhere out there in Petaluma, you can get a chance at winning one by buying a Wonka Bar to support SDG Theater Company’s production of Willy Wonka Junior.  Wonka bars are available at Early Work Toy Station or Velasco’s in Petaluma.  Tickets for the show are also available at Early Work.

Wikki Wednesday #1 Pictures

We had a great time during our successful first Wikki Wednesday! Here are a few pictures from the event. We’re doing it again on June 17th, so come and join us for some free arts & crafts fun from 11am-3pm (free, ages 3 & up.)

Wikki Stix are wax covered strings that can be used in wide variety of ways (like bendaroos, but they’ve been around longer and are made in the U.S.A!) This is a great time to make Dads and Grandpas something special for Father’s Day. Parents and little siblings can look around the store or join in on the fun.

Awesome Reusable Bags and Really Cool Key Chains!

Our selection of really cool key chains with Monskeys, String Dolls, Freak O Bags, Blabbos, Uglydolls, piggy flashlights, rubix cubes, and cloud b key chains with blue led lights.

We were so excited to get our new order from Kamibashi that we couldn’t wait to share all of these new items with you.  We put all of our fun key chains up on a special end cap by the front counter.  The new Freak O Bags from Kamibashi are really neat, they are portable reusable bags that tuck into a really cute pouch that looks like a monster, dog, or cat.  I usually carry the standard chicco bag style clipped onto my purse, but I think my new monster Freak O Bag looks much more stylish!

Below are some more detailed  pictures of some of our favorites.  These make great gifts for kids, teens, and adults.

We have Freak O Bags in these styles (and another kitty style) in a variety of colors.

These are Blabbos, they come in 4 shapes, but each one has unique embellishments and fabrics, so cute!

Just a few of our favorite new stringdolls: Dexter, Medusa, Vincent (he actually has gauze over where his ear should be) and Purl.

Early Work would like to welcome Mr. & Mrs. Kasoogi to our Uglydoll family!

Linda and Rita party with Qwirkle Inventor

Linda and Rita went to visit the lovely Susan, inventor of Qwirkle, Qwirkle Cubes and many other wonderful children’s products. Here are some pictures

Susan!

Store owner, Linda is in light green shirt, Susan in black, and our super Salesperson rita is in tie dye at lower right

Cool Cars & Trucks!

We are so happy to have so many new cars, trucks, and trains in our vehicle and infant/toddler aisles, we’d like to share some with you!

Gotta love the new Eco Trucks from Sprig Toys.  Made in Europe, $15.99, ages 3 and up.

Discover Rig, also from Sprig Toys, it’s sound and lights are friction powered, so no batteries!  Made in Canada, $65.99, ages 3 and up.

New Mega Trucks from Small World Toys have realistic lights and sound and come in a variety of styles.  For ages 18 months and up, $29.99.

These squishy and soft new Mini Wiggle Wobble Wheelies (whew, say that three times fast) from Toysmith are safe enough for babies!  For ages 1 year and up, $3.99 each, also come in airplane and train styles.

This Custom Street Machine  kit comes with paint, special decals, chrome effect hubcaps, and a display stand.  From Creativity for Kids, $19.99, for ages 5 and up.

Punky Pets!

Punky Pets are a fun new line of plush that celebrate diversity and individuality! They have come from all across the globe to form a band, and here is their first music video!

We also wanted to tell you a little big about two of our favorite punky pets, Punky Skunk and Punky Monkey:

Punky Skunk: Lead Guitar

Punky Skunk is the ultimate Punk Rocker, the others add different musical genres but Punk is this Skunks main influence. She started as a roadie for The Love Pistols and The Smash during the late 80’s in England. She was part of the band’s encore, at the end of each show they’d bring out Punky Skunk to “stink up the show for the finale. Punky Skunk did this in exchange for free music lessons from the band, and they taught her how to play lead guitar in their off time. Her fierce independence and distrust for the establishment has kept her from forming long term friendships as she has lived life on the road for as long as she remembers.

Punky Monkey: Lead Singer

Punky Monkey is the perfect lead singer because he swings from the rafters and lighting grids above the stage while singing. He has always been a showman from day one. He was discovered in the jungles of Africa. Nobody understands why this Monkey was singing as he was swinging from vines. They called him the Swinging, singing Monkey. This behavior gets him into trouble because his family is very religious and wants him to marry a nice African girl. He wants nothing to do with his country or their tradition but he knows that his music aspirations disappoint his family. His ticket out of Tim Buk Tu came when the circus came to town. He proved his talent to the ring leader and they let him go on the road with them. One day, the swinging, singing monkey got his chance when a producer was in the audience and got him an audition for International Idol.

We have the whole band for sale here at Early Work, the pets are $14.99 each, we also have cool Punky Pets tote bags for 4.99 each.

*Punky Skunk does not come with a guitar, David made that for our display.

Sprig Raffle Winners

The winners have been drawn for our portion of the Sprig Toys raffle!

Congratulations to  Gina, Marcella, Bianca, Ariana, and Ian  who won an exclusive gardening set from Sprig Toys!

Now we will send the rest of the entries off to Sprig for their drawing for even more prizes, good luck!