Aces of Trades: Lindsey Henry still educating kids, but at toy store instead of classroom

She loves to see kids’ faces light up.

“I remember very vividly in the second grade realizing I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up,” recalled Lindsey Henry.

“Something my sister and I always played was ‘store,’" Henry added. “I loved going to Heny & Cooper in downtown Marion with my grandma and buying ‘Guest Checks’ to play restaurant or store with. We would ‘take orders’ or set up our toys for our store and pretend with each other or our parents. At the time, it was just something fun to do. But looking back, maybe there was a desire to own a store someday myself. During my childhood, and young adult years, I definitely never dreamed I’d be the owner of a toy store.”

Today, Henry owns LuLu’s Toy Co.

“LuLu’s Toy Co. is a specialty toy store,” she explained. “‘Specialty’ means some of the lines I carry cannot be found in big box stores, and we also specialize in giving our customers an experience they will not find in big stores. I also hand-pick every single item that comes into the store, which is something that makes all boutique and local stores unique.”

The name LuLu’s, by the way, came about because of Henry’s nickname.

“My nickname growing up was Lou!” she said. “Lindsey Lou is what a lot of my family called me. My husband’s name is Luke, and he has a handful of people that shorten his name to Lu. While brainstorming together what the store could be called, he said what about LuLu’s? And I immediately loved it.”

“The logo with the bear and the elephant is also very unique,” she said. “They’re hand drawings of our kids’ first stuffed animals. Our son’s is the bear, and he loves baseball. Our daughter’s is the elephant, and she loves to dance, which is why they’re all dressed to dance and play baseball. So LuLu's Toy Co. holds a special significance to our family, given its name, logo and location in downtown Marion.”

A new career where kids are still key

Henry grew up in Marion, graduated from River Valley High School in 2002, then went to Ohio Northern to study early childhood education. After college, Henry taught in Marion City Schools. Then she came up with an idea.

“My husband, Luke, and I enjoy exploring other towns similar to Marion to get inspiration for our next project,” she said, “In June 2022, we took a family day trip to Tipp City and came across Topsy Turvy Toys. We recognized how important a toy store was in the downtown community to encourage families to come downtown and give kids a place to explore after mom takes them to the other boutiques.”

“At that time, I really didn't think I could pull it off with our other commitments,” Henry said. “But I decided this joined two of my passions together − downtown Marion and kids/education. LuLu’s Toy Co. officially opened its doors on Nov. 2, 2022, and this dream, I never thought I had, or could happen, came true.”

Jenny Lust is owner of Spruce & Sparrow, a store near LuLu’s.

“Lindsey is a friend and champion for small business owners,” Lust said. “It’s clear she cares about our community and the well-being of our children. Lulu’s Toys is a true gem in downtown Marion, and Lindsey’s passion for finding unique, educational toys is inspiring.”

“I never thought I had the capability to transform an idea into a store,” Henry said. “There are toy stores in other towns, but there’s not another toy store exactly like LuLu’s. This is all very much from the heart. You cannot be a small business owner without the passion. The days are long, the schedule is crazy, but the reward of kids’ faces lighting up when they walk in the door to walls full of toys makes all those stressful days completely worth it.”

LuLu’s Toy Co. is located at 196 W. Center St., Marion. For more information, visit lulustoyco.com.

Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs — whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at news@marionstar.com.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Marion's LuLu's Toy Co. wraps education into small business plan