The Journal News – Toy Stores
Playing Mantis toy stores sell simple, handmade toys that promote an interest in the global community.
Heather Salerno
hsalerno@lohud.com
Walk into Nyack’s Playing Mantis toy store, and you get an immediate feeling of Zen.
That’s not a feeling associated with big-box retailers, which are dominated by aisles of manufactured plastic playthings that honk, beep, flash, bang, clang and cry.
Make no mistake: Playing Mantis has its fair share of cars, trucks, trains, dolls and games. But not a single toy there requires batteries or an electrical outlet – and all still manage to inspire lots of fun.
“I call it an imagination-powered store,” says owner Imelda McCain.
McCain, a former oncology nurse who opened her shop in the fall of 2006, moved last month to a new storefront on Nyack’s North Broadway. At the same time, she opened a second outpost in Tribeca. Read more
Imagine tiny, moss-covered dwellings with stone pebble paths, little wooden chimneys, small twig-lined doors, and entranceways that would fit only a fairy. This is the magical window scene that greets one at the new Tribeca store Playing Mantis. Enter the shop and take in the fantastical offerings set up atop wood-grain shelves growing into the mural-painted exposed-brick walls. Here are a family of stuffed hedgehogs, homespun bunnies outfitted in capes, teddy bears made of discarded fur coats, woolen gloves and other sundry surprises.
