BOG Store of the Month Archives - Page 3 of 8

Category: BOG Store of the Month

Congratulations Mind Benders in Whiting, IN for Winning February Store of the Month

Posted on February 1, 2017March 6, 2017 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

Congratulations to our February Store of the Month, Mind Benders in Whiting, Indiana! Our sales rep Adrien nominated them because they have gathered great success with their new business. They also won third place in our Window Display Contest. I had the pleasure of talking to the owners, Joel and Amy Bender, about Mind Benders’ success.

Mind Benders is a new store that has blossomed in the past five months. The store started in August 2016 after one of its owners, Joel, ended his job as a beer salesman. Joel and his wife, Amy, loved board games, and they wanted to start a business that could educate and bring families together. They wanted to sell board games that branched beyond mainstream big hits. Now, they sell a wider variety of games that many stores in the area can’t offer.

Mind Benders’ first encountered Blue Orange when they met Adrien. Joel said Adrien was such a great help to them and their new business. He explained that Adrien was good with suggesting games that were popular and trending. He was also happy to hear Adrien check in on their business and let them know about company contests and events, such as the Window Display Contest.

In the short five months Mind Benders has been in business, they’ve noticed that their customers love to buy the games they demo. One of their best successes is Pengoloo. They’ve also learned so much and created so many experiences since they started their business. Joel is always so happy to see his customers play the demos with smiles on their faces, and he can’t help but smile when kids will beg to stay so they can play just a few more games. However, starting a business has been quite the learning process for Joel and Amy. It’s a struggle to stay on top of new trends and manage demos according to those trends. Still, Joel and Amy are glad they can offer a personal shopping experience where customers can buy an enriching game that’s perfect for their loved ones.

We are so thrilled that Mind Benders has grown so much in such a short time. We hope that their business continues to soar and eventually becomes a timeless place where the community gathers to find and enjoy amazing games. Congratulations! You earned it!

Congratulations Uncle’s Games in Spokane, WA for Winning December Store of the Month

Posted on December 13, 2016 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

The Holidays are officially happening, which means it’s time to find the perfect games for all of your loved ones. What better place to find those games than at our fantastic December Store of the Month, Uncle’s Games in Spokane, Washington! Our sales rep Jean nominated Uncle’s Games for its professionalism and extensive knowledge about games, making it the perfect stop for your Holiday shopping.

Uncle’s Games originally started as Book and Games Company in the 70s. Its first owners were Shannon Ahern and Chris O’Herra. By 1995 the store began to grow, and its two owners divided the store between them; Chris took the book side of the business while Shannon kept the games. I had the pleasure of talking to the store manager, Hans. In our discussion, Hans mentioned how Shannon was taking a big risk in pursuing the board game industry. At the time, board games weren’t due to spike in popularity for at least a decade. However, Shannon saw an opportunity to market and sell games in a way that no one had before. Since the split, the local business has expanded to a few locations including Uncle’s Games.

Hans didn’t come from a gaming family, but by sixth grade the local business had inspired a lifelong passion for board games in Hans. He remained involved with the company and only left to go off to college. When he graduated and returned home, Shannon hired him on to help manage Uncle’s Games.

According to Hans, the goal isn’t “just to sell games, but to make gamers.” Uncle’s Games endeavors to help customers expand out of the mainstream market to games that delve deeper into the spirit of gaming. Hans makes a point to get to know each customer so he can hand-pick a game he knows they will enjoy. Blue Orange’s games are often ideal for this, since many of our games are so quick to learn. Hans even mentioned that 1901 has always been a perfect game for families new to hobby gaming.

One of Uncle’s Games greatest successes is building a place for the gaming community to come together. They were one of the first businesses to coordinate gaming events that they could hold in their store. However, the first hurdle was discovering what the community wanted. The business’s gaming community included Dungeons and Dragons players as well as board gamers. It was a struggle to learn where and when to schedule each event. They eventually hired an event coordinator to work with each site. Now Uncle’s Games sponsors many scheduled events that continues to tailor to the fun-filled community it fosters.

Uncle’s Games is an incredible example of a retailer that builds a community. Blue Orange is proud to work with them, and we congratulate them for a well-earned Store of the Month Award. Check out for yourself why Uncle’s Games became this month’s winner and visit their main store at 404 W Main Avenue in Spokane, Washington. You can also check them out at any of their other locations or on their website.

Congratulations to Figpickels Toy Emporium in Coeur d’Alene, ID for Winning November’s Store of the Month

Posted on November 3, 2016November 3, 2016 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

With Halloween past, the time has come to throw away our jack-o-lanterns and hang up our costumes. However before we prepare the house for our Thanksgiving banquet, we must announce November’s Store of the Month! Congratulations to Figpickels Toy Emporium in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho! Our sales rep Jean chose Figpickels for their cute store and outstanding reputation in the city. I had the pleasure of discussing Figpickels’ success with the store owners Susan and Brett Sommer.

Picture taken from the City of Coeur d’Alene site.

Coeur d’Alene resides right next to an alpine lake that bears the same name. With the fantastic scenery, Coeur d’Alene has become one of the fastest growing tourist locations and has earned a spot in 1000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before You Die by Patricia Schultz. When I asked Brett about the city, he said its moderate climate and the fantastic ski spots during the winters are just a couple of the many factors that make this place an absolute marvel. These are also a few of the many qualities that drew Susan and Brett to settle here on their travels.

The Sommer family was living in New York City during the devastating 9/11 Terrorist Attack in 2001. After the attack, the family made the difficult decision to quit their jobs, pack up, and leave New York to travel the US. They came across Coeur d’Alene and purchased a historic building, which they renovated and leased out. The building, however, was never rented. Brett and Susan noticed there was no toy store in Coeur d’Alene, and they recalled how excited they had been to find a toy store in the towns they visited. They decided to take the building for themselves and make their own toy store out of it.

When I asked Susan and Brett about their favorite part in running the store, they said they loved the community and the people they meet. They said it’s “always a party in there” for them and they love to meet people from around the world. The Sommer’s once met a teacher from Portland, Oregon that worked with autistic students, and with help from their son, she was able to find a toy that could help her in the classroom. The business also takes pride in working with educators in their area, and learning more about how toys can engage in developmental therapy.

Devin Sommer teaches English in Turkey using Blue Orange Games!

Speaking of education, Susan and Brett find that Blue Orange Games hold a lot of educational and cognitive benefits. Brett is personally excited to learn how Dr. Eureka may help those with autism and ADHD. Their son, Devin Sommer, even took some Blue Orange Games games with him to Turkey in his study abroad program to help teach English to the people there. He partners with the Institute of International Education and has recently won the Generation Study Abroad Video Challenge.

Beyond the exciting location and educational games, Susan and Brett know their games are a blast to play. How do they know this? Because they were tested by the Board of Directors, a group of twelve children who won the Figpickels essay contest.

“Figpickels Toy Emporium’s twelve Board of Directors winners were selected from over 350 entrants encompassing the entire region through an essay contest designed to encourage students to creatively and effectively communicate.” Figpickels Toy Emporium’s Board of Directors for 2013

Xavier met with the Board of Directors to teach Blue Orange Games in 2013.

In 2013 the Board of Directors tested over 500 games to compile a holiday list for the Figpickels store. Xavier, one of our Sales Manager, also came on the scene to show the kids how to play the Blue Orange games. Susan and Brett were thrilled to work with the manufacturers that provided the games and toys. During our conversation, they also expressed that their esteemed Board of Directors would always end up picking Blue Orange games for the holiday list.

It is no wonder that Figpickels Toy Emporium won November’s Store of the Month. We are so proud of our friends at Figpickels. Check out for yourself why Figpickels Toy Emporium is November’s Store of the Month at 210 E. Sherman Ave, Coeur d’Alene, ID or visit their site here! Congratulations again! We hope your store continues to succeed and your community prospers.

Congratulations Rehoboth Toy & Kite Co in Rehoboth, DE for Winning October Store of the Month

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

It’s that time again. The time when we show our thanks and gratitude to another fantastic Store of the Month winner! Give it up for October’s Store of the Month, Rehoboth Toy & Kite Co. in Rehoboth, Delaware. Our sales manager Yann nominated Rehoboth Toy & Kite Co. because of how well they demonstrate Dr. Eureka, Ring It!, and Gobblet Gobblers to their customers.

Check out Rehoboth Toy & Kite Co at 1 Virginia Ave and 70 Rehoboth Ave in Rehoboth Beach, Deleware

In my conversation with co-founder Rachel Webster, I learned that she opened Rehoboth Toy & Kite Co. on the boardwalk in 1993 with her business partner Bee Linzey. After four years of successful business, Rachel and Bee opened a year-round location downtown where they display the majority of their toys and games while continuing to show off their beautiful kites on the boardwalk during the summer months. Since the beginning, Rehoboth Toy & Kite Co. has dedicated itself to becoming a show-and-tell, hands-on business. They have won both the Retailer of the Year from the Kite Association and Small Business of the Year from the Small Business Association.

Celebrating with the Blue Orange Games — **Manager Michael Schwartz and game expert Steve Bunte celebrating with some Blue Orange Games**

“Don’t touch” are two words never spoken in the Rehoboth Toy & Kite Co., but you can always expect to hear a “catch this” or “play with this” as the staff invites you to play with their many toys and games. Rachel mentioned how many stores typically discourage children from touching their product for fear of accidentally breaking an item. She wanted to break away from this trend and encourage her customers to use the toys and games as they’re meant to be used. Rachel also loves her interactions with customers and sees herself as a “total big kid”. She enjoys staying in character while in the store and feels it’s important for a business to “really reach out” to its customers. Some of her favorite Blue Orange games to play with her customers are Dr. Eureka and Gobblet Gobblers because they are so easy to demonstrate to younger children.

Rachel Webster and Bee Linzey — **Business partners since 1993!**

Unlike many other stores, many of Rehoboth Toy & Kite Co.’s management challenges come from the weather conditions of the area. Rachel’s business booms during the summer season when tourists and locals walk around along the pier and downtown to catch a glimpse of her stores. During this time, they keep their boardwalk location open and put on kite shows for the public. However, the boardwalk store closes on the first day of fall, leaving only their downtown location open. Even during the summer season, hours can get complicated when weather reports warn of a hurricane or heavy rains. Rachel has to anticipate a drop in customers for those days even if the predictions don’t hold up.

Congratulations Rehoboth Toy & Kite Co — **Congratulations!**

Despite its unique challenges with Mother Nature, you can expect to see Rachel standing in front of her store on the boardwalk ready to show off her beautiful kites on the first day of summer. Locals and visitors alike are only too thrilled to stop by Rehoboth Toy & Kite Co. to try out the kites and games they have to offer. Check Rehoboth Toy & Kite Co. at either of their two locations on 70 Rehoboth Ave. or 1 Virginia Ave. in Rehoboth Beach. We are so proud to name them Store of the Month for October. We wish many good things for their business and hope they continue to flourish. Keep your kites flying!

Congratulations Kidstop in Scottsdale, AZ for Winning September’s Store of the Month

Posted on September 2, 2016 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

The summer is over and with school starting again it’s important for us to give a big shout out to our Store of the Month for September: Kidstop in Scottsdale, Arizona. Our sales rep Nicolas chose them because they are one of our best customers, they display games very well, and they have a super-friendly staff! This time, I had the pleasure of speaking to the Kidstop manager, Kate, about how she got Kidstop started. Kidstop started in 1999, but before Kidstop ever became a store, Kate was a Regional Manager for JL Hammetts, a company that sold education supplies to teachers. She would cover half the country and help her clients manage their stores. In her adventures, she fell in love with toys. She learned that many teachers also loved to use toys in education, so she decided to open a store for toys and teaching supplies. She was inspired to make learning fun for children, and thus named her store. Of course, as the world of business would have it, teachers didn’t come flocking to her store, but parents did! She found more parents buying toys than teachers buying supplies. Finally, with the help from the Good Toy Group, Kate was finally able to convert her education store to a specialty toy and book store!

But how and when did Blue Orange get involved in this fabulous establishment? Actually, Blue Orange and Kidstop have been partners from the start of each other’s beginnings. Kidstop was started in 1999, just as our president Julien was on the road selling Gobblet to our very first customers. Kate remembered meeting Julien in the “pre-diapers era” at New York Toy Fair. She immediately fell in love with Gobblet. Of course, Gobblet isn’t the only Blue Orange game she fell in love with. She still has one of our oldest wooden games Ringgz, a game where you win territories with rings. Since Toy Fair, Kidstop has been buying games and prospering in their community

Kidstop Summer Header — 6990 East Shea Blvd Suite #103, Scottsdale, AZ

Kate was only too happy to talk about her customers during our interview. She loves having a history with everyone who visits her store and watching regulars grown from children to parents. She actually started Babystop, a furniture store for new parents, when she saw some of her long time customers were having children of their own. She’s also been hiring a few of the customers she’s seen grow up. She mentioned that the stable community was a nice change of pace from her previous job. There she would speak with clients, but she couldn’t see the impact she had on that person’s life. Now in her store she can see what she brings to a whole community.

6990 E Shea Blvd, Suite #108, Scottsdale, AZ

The best advice Kate can give to new store owners is to “have an open mind on business” because “passion and heart only take you so far.” While Kate loves toys and her community, she was still surprised to find how many obstacles she encountered when she started her own business. When she was first starting out, she thought managing a store would be an easy switch from managing hundreds of buyers. However she didn’t account for the new corporate rules she would have to follow and the payrolls she’d have to account for.

Regardless, Kate has done incredibly well with her store, and we are so proud to announce Kidstop as September’s store of the month. We can’t wait to see the great work she will continue to do. Please check out the store’s website or visit them in person in Scottsdale, Arizona at 6990 East Shea Blvd Suite #103. For families with very young gamers visit Babystop at 6990 East Shea Blvd, Suite #108. Congratulations again for winning September’s Store of the Month!

Congratulations to Givens Books & Little Dickens in Lynchburg, VA is the August Store of the Month

Posted on July 31, 2016July 31, 2016 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

Visit them at 2236 Lakeside Dr in Lynchburg, Virginia.

As we approach the last month of summer, we have yet another fantastic retailer to present. Give it up for our August Store of the Month, Givens Books & Little Dickens. Our sales rep Julien nominated this store for their originality and their amazing decorations. George and Silvia Givens started Givens Books after renovated a 1930s Gas Station in 1976 and joined with Little Dickens in 1999. Forty years and three moves later, they have graduated to a 16,000 square foot property on four acres of land. Now they have giant pterodactyl dinosaurs and the fabled Jack climbing down the beanstalk in their store and a waterfall and 30 ft train in the yard. One of the store owners, Danny Givens, says, “Its the largest store of its kind in the Southeast with 7,000 square feet of books, 3,500 square feet of toys and 3,500 of teacher supplies along with an indoor cafe and a real working fireplace to read by in the winter time.” What a sweet space!

I had the pleasure of speaking to Danny about his role in running Givens Books & Little Dickens. His favorite part about managing the store is the people. “I love meeting happy people and trying to make other people’s lives happier and richer with play and learning. I love seeing the look of wonder on people’s faces, especially new customers, when they walk in to see the store for the first time. I love having great employees who are smart and competent!” Of course, Danny also admits it’s nice being his own boss. It upsets Danny to know that there are still people out there who don’t have access to games or basic learning supplies and can’t reach their full potential because they don’t have the resources.

Students playing Super Genius — Students playing *Super Genius*

In early July, Danny took five Blue Orange games with him to a school in Haiti for ten days. The games were a huge hit because of their language neutrality, quick-to-learn rules, fast playtime, and high learning value. He loved seeing how the kids were learned by having fun and playing games rather than through a disciplined lesson. He was struck by the extreme patience and the nature of generosity in the Haitian culture. One famous proverb he remembered was “Cooked food has no owner.” Such lessons can help many retailers realize the true gift they have in sharing games or the value of patience in stressful store crises.

The best advice that Danny can give to future store owners is to expect to spend a lot more hours and a lot more money than suspected. It takes great effort to push a business in the right direction and get it rolling down the right path. Danny remembers being a perfectionist himself when he started running the store.

When it comes to Blue Orange, Danny is thrilled to work with Julien. Ever since day one, Julien was enthusiastic and clear as he demonstrated the games to Danny’s staff so they could show them off in the store. Danny especially loves Gobblet Gobblers, but lately he’s taken a new interest in Top That! and our ASTRA award winner Dr. Eureka. He predicts that those two will sell well in the coming year.

We are so happy to see what Givens Books & Little Dickens has done with our games. We are proud to award them August Store of the Month, and we hope that they continue to teach children and put smiles on others as their business prospers. Congratulations! Check out the Givens Books & Little Dickens site or visit them at 2236 Lakeside Dr in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Congratulations to Bird in Hand in Chico, CA for Winning July’s Store of the Month

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Corinne Marcot-Jones

For the month of July our Store of the Month is Bird in Hand in Downtown Chico, California! Jean Noel chose this store for its “chill atmosphere” and its great support for our games. However, unlike other game stores, Bird in Hand started off with very different beginnings. I had the pleasure of discussing these interesting beginnings with Thad Winzenz, son-in-law of the store founders Bob and Barbara Malowney. The store actually started as a screen printing and graphics design shop. It made a business by printing t-shirts for local events. Eventually they started a small retail business selling shirts. The shop started to grow as they added other objects such as kites, yoyos, and games, and it wasn’t before long that they decided to establish Bird in Hand as a standalone store.

Thad in front of store — **”We’re like the modern general store.”**

Because of these origins, Bird in Hand has a motley array of items that they sell. There isn’t one category of objects like in other specialty stores. Bird in Hand offers anything from shirts, greeting cards, bath supplies, toys, and games. Often the challenge is recognizing the diversity of their inventory. While this can be confusing, it’s also what the staff loves so much about the store. They love showing off their cool items to everyone who walks in. While parents would come in to buy toys for their children, they might also come in for a t-shirt or some soap for the bathroom. In that way, the staff has made Bird in Hand a family store for everyone to benefit from.

But don’t be fooled! Bird in Hand is still a fantastic game store (why else would it be store of the month!) Some of Thad’s Blue Orange favorites are Shrimp Cocktail, Fastrack, and the classic Gobblet! Like many of our other game fanatics, Thad likes twisting up the rules on Gobblet! to increase the difficulty and make even more challenging fun. He’ll sometimes start with all the pieces on the board either in clusters or completely spread out. It makes for a mind-bending memory game since players have to remember where their pieces are hidden right off the bat.

Bird in Hand Employee Mara — **“So much of what you do in business should support and give back to the community.” Thad Winzenz**

While Bird in Hand is definitely a store like no other, it also brings a standard that’s not always easy to find in this modern age of business: to engage and support the local community. Thad mentioned that while many stores try to promote products with sales, the owners of Bird in Hand try to reach out to local community events or even create their own to promote their products. These events include Chico Kite Day, where Bird in Hand will give out some of their kites to the families who participate, and the National YoYo Championships, an event that started small in Chico and has since spread across the US. Bird in Hand strives not only to be a successful business but to also participate in the community and give the family of Downtown Chico, California everything it can offer.

We are proud of Bird in Hand in so many ways. The store has become a role model for other, teaching the lesson that it’s not just about money, it’s about the people you give back to and the lives you touch. Congratulations to the Bird in Hand staff! We hope you continue to make a big splash in your small town. Visit Bird in Hand in Downtown Chico, California, or check out their website to see for yourself why Bird in Hand stands out in this month of July.