Sherry Paynani said wooden toys have been part of her life since she was a kid, when her father would let her play with scrap pieces from his wooden instrument carving.
“He would make blocks and figurines. So I grew up with wooden toys and when my daughter was born, little Rae, as a mother, I wanted the best for her,” Paynani said. “I started researching the best kind of toys and I stumbled upon wooden, open-ended, non-toxic toys.”
But the difficulty she experienced finding those toys in Canada led Paynani to take it upon herself to supply them. One year of online success later, Paynani opened up a physical wooden toy store in downtown Newmarket at 477 Timothy St., called Little Rae Goods after three-year-old daughter.
“There were many, many brands that were not available,” Paynani said. “I said you know what, I’m going to do it. I’m going to bring those brands into Canada. I’m going to open up a business. This is something I love to do, this is something beautiful, and I can see myself doing it for a long, long time.”
The store concept is for open-ended, physical, wooden toys, without any noises or lights. Paynani said they have several benefits over the typical toys of the day, including longevity, resale value, a lack of any potentially toxic materials, and encouraging independence.
“The toy does not force the child to play with the toy in a certain way,” she said. “They don’t overstimulate children, which allows them to play more independently, and for a longer period of time.”
The toys are also gender-neutral, with no segregated sections.
“We believe that boys can play with the kitchen and girls can play with cars,” she said. “My daughter loves dinosaurs. She loves the colour blue, she hates the colour pink.”
Paynani started as an online store out of her home in East Gwillimbury and said she saw success supplying products not available elsewhere. The business has garnered 4,697 followers on Instagram from across the country,
“Tremendous support from all over Canada,” she said. “We’re doing so good, and realized there’s nothing in Newmarket for younger children, especially with the wooden, Montessori kind of toys.”
Paynani said she was thrilled by the reception the physical store has got in its first few days.
“I wanted to cry on opening day because there was a huge lineup,” she said.
“A warm welcome to the community and to the chamber for Little Rae Goods,” the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce said on its Facebook page. “Congratulations on your opening!”
Paynani said she made a career move to get into the wooden toy business. She worked as a director of construction at JLL, a Fortune 500 real-estate company. But after the last 10 years of working in the corporate world, she said she was ready for change.
“Everybody said I’m crazy. I’m leaving good pay, leaving a corporate world, opening a store in an era where retail is suffering,” Paynani said. “But at the end of the day, I want to be happy. And that’s what matters.”
The pandemic is challenging businesses. But Paynani said she feels confident they could weather even another lockdown, thanks to a strong online following.
“We feel we belong here and we’re going to do great,” she said.
