Our Story
A Toy Shop That Believes in Play.
Family-owned on SE Hawthorne since 2015 - a small, deliberate shop for parents and grandparents who care about materials, imagination, and screen-free time.
Our Story
Family-owned on SE Hawthorne since 2015 - a small, deliberate shop for parents and grandparents who care about materials, imagination, and screen-free time.
Tinker & Tumble started with a frustration a lot of parents share: walking a big-box toy aisle and finding wall after wall of loud, licensed plastic, and almost nothing that a kid would still be playing with by spring. Nora had spent years as a preschool teacher watching which toys actually held a child’s attention - the blocks, the pretend-play sets, the simple wooden things a kid could make into a hundred stories - and in 2015 she opened a shop that stocked only those.
A decade later, the rule hasn’t changed. If a toy only plays one way, or it’s all flash and no substance, it doesn’t make the shelf. What does make the shelf is chosen by people who play with the toys, read the reviews, and check the materials - and who’ll happily tell you to buy the cheaper, simpler toy when it’s the better one.
We’re proud to be the kind of shop you visit rather than click through: free gift-wrapping on everything, Saturday Story Time, birthday parties in the back play space, and staff who’d rather ask what your kid is into than sell you the biggest box on the shelf.
What We Stand For
We stock toys that do less so kids can do more - the block that becomes a hundred things beats the toy that does one thing loudly.
Every product page lists materials and safety standards. We carry non-toxic wood and BPA-free plastics, and nothing we wouldn't hand our own kids.
Our shelves are stocked by staff who play with the toys and read the reviews - including the honest 'skip this one' when it's warranted.
Free gift-wrapping, weekend story time, birthday parties in the back - we're a shop you visit, not a checkout you rush through.
Meet the Shop
Owner & Play Curator
Opened the shop in 2015 after years as a preschool teacher. Chooses most of what lands on the shelf, and can match a toy to a kid from one sentence about their latest obsession.
Staff Play Guide & Gift-Wrap Champion
The one who talks you out of the flashy toy and toward the one that lasts. Runs Saturday Story Time and writes most of the gift guides.
Events & Party Lead
Turns the back room into a birthday, a build-along, or a story circle. If you've booked a party with us, Marisol made it look easy.
We're on SE Hawthorne, open daily. Bring the kids, ask us anything, and let them play.
Open daily 10am–6pm · Free gift-wrapping on everything · Saturday Story Time at 10am.
