Chelsea’s: 20 Plus Years in Toy Trends

Lisa Globenfelt has seen them come and go in her 24 years as a business owner in the Rivertowns. Year after year, a new trend in children’s toys sweeps through causing a craze to collect. 

Globenfelt first opened a store in Irvington in 1989 and opened a second location in Hastings in 1993. She occupied 1 Main St., then had Chelsea's at 541 Warburton and recently bought and renovated the former Hastings Bootery building at 2 Main St. and had it designed by Hastings-on-Hudson Mitchell Koch to create the three-part store called Chelsea's Dry Goods. 

One third of the store is dedicated to women’s clothing (that is 90 percent made in the USA and mostly made from natural fibers) and accessories, another third is for environmentally friendly home goods, and the final third for children’s and baby clothing and gifts, as well as nostalgic toys.

Globenfelt, a resident of Irvington, said the most intense toy fad, by far, was for Ty’s Beanie Babies in the 1990s.

“I can't think of a toy item that appealed to virtually every age and gender like Beanie Babies,” said Globenfelt. “The extra staff needed to handle shipments, call customers and complete sales was unlike any other craze.”

Other items that kept the customers coming over the years were Spice Girls dolls, electronic pets and Silly Bandz. They however were short-lived and didn’t have as broad of an appeal as the pellet-stuffed characters did, according to the Rivertowns merchant.

“Scrabble mugs were a very big seller this past holiday season and continue to generate a lot of interest and sales,” said Globenfelt. “Mugs are available in letters of the alphabet with their Scrabble point value shown next to the initial.”

The popular word spelling board game has also inspired other merchandise in Globenfelt’s store, including a 100 percent cotton Scrabble board kitchen towels.

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