Brittney Geleynse, owner of Clover Toys

Meet Brittney Geleynseco-owner and toy extraordinaire behind Clover Toys in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. Brittney and co-owner Ashley Church have been running Seattle’s most charming toy shop since 2017, and have loved being a part of the Ballard community ever since. Get to know Brittney in this week’s Business Spotlight Q&A as she talks about what she loves about running Clover Toys, how she and her husband #SpendLikeItMatters, and the unique value her toy store brings to the community.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s your favorite part about the neighborhood Clover Toys is in and why?
I get the amazing pleasure of watching kids grow up. You bond with the families — you learn what their kids love, and it’s an amazing amount of joy to be able to bring them something new. We have an amazing community of merchants [in Ballard]. We meet on a monthly basis to discuss the ongoing issues in the neighborhood, and we’ll meet next month to hopefully come up with an alternative to Halloween.

What’s your favorite way to #SpendLikeItMatters?
Every morning, it’s become a routine with my husband to go out and get coffee together. We always find ourselves at one of our local neighborhood [coffee shops]. It’s a fun way to spend like it matters, explore, and bond together. At places like Anchored Ship and Preserve and Gather — any places that are local — you’re going to get something above and beyond because they truly care about their product.

Why is it important to you and your business that people #SpendLikeItMatters?
We are hustling twice as hard and earning about half as much. But we’re happy to do that because we care about our community and we care that we bring in quality toys that are developmentally appropriate and eco conscious. You may be able to find similar toys at Target and Amazon, but if you come and you shop at Clover you can see them in person, and we’ll show you alternate ways to use them. We want to be your full service toy store.

By Kristina Rivera

Federal Way

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