As many brick-and-mortar stores give way to online retailing, not everyone is going along with the trend. Kylee Hornack-Kohler and her mother, Denise Hornack, are popping the scenario with their new store, Fidget Tree, opening Wednesday in Lower Burrell.
They specialize in “fidgets” and Pop It devices — sensory and tactile toys that are fun, anxiety-reducing, educational and, for some, spiritual.
Hornack-Kohler and her mother are opening Fidget Tree in the former Brooks Gardens and Floral Designs at 2824 Leechburg Road, across from The Mat Factory wrestling club. In addition to the fidget toys, there are specialty gift items for adults, such as handcrafted soy candles, lanterns, birdbaths, vases and more.
Wednesday’s grand opening, from 3 to 8 p.m., will feature discounts, coloring activities and holiday treats for visitors throughout the week. Santa will make an in-store appearance on Nov. 27 and 28.
Hornack-Kohler has been testing the market since the summer with a vendor booth that attracted a growing legion of fans. She set up shop at Mogie’s Irish Pub and Forza Motorcars in Lower Burrell, as well as festivals throughout the region.
“Fidgets are typically known for kids on the autism spectrum and ADHD,” said Hornack-Kohler. “But all kids started collecting these and are trading them like baseball cards. It’s a lot of fun. It was a big thing I saw coming. I don’t have to market it. It markets itself. These things are viral.”
A recent New York Times article, “How the Pop It! Invaded Your Home,” quoted a toy industry executive saying the toys “seem to be taking everybody by storm this year,” with their “potential anxiety-quelling aspects” making them “a pandemic-era hit.”
Fidgets and Pop It toys come in bright colors and all forms, from green plastic frogs sticking their tongues out when squeezed to 2-foot-long jumbo Santa Pop Its with small silicone nobs that you push in and out. The Pop It devices give a sensation similar but longer-lived than popping bubble wrap.
Louis B. Ruediger | Tribune-Review
A Fidget Tree offering, a Pop It toy shaped like a computer keyboard can be used as a learning tool.
The products need to be seen and touched to get a feel for them, rather just being viewed on an Amazon page.
Online shopping is desensitizing the shopping experience, and families aren’t shopping together, Hornack-Kohler noted.
“I believe that small businesses will make a comeback,” she said. “Obviously, there’s a need to shop, even for kids. We have to think about reinventing the wheel for activities for kids.”
Hornack-Kohler has seen kids run from their parent’s car to her fidget booth: “They are so excited, and it’s a positive shopping experience for the whole family.”
Fidget Tree products include a variety of more than 200 fidgets and Pop It toys . There are fidgets such as stretchy unicorn monkey noodles, LED light-up spinners, mood emojis and more. The variety of Pop It items seems endless: strawberries, butterflies, bunnies, avocados, purses, backpacks, key rings, spinning bracelets, dice games, puzzles and more.
The Fidget Tree has been selling prayer Pop Its — crosses with five Pop Its for counting prayers — to local churches, as well as a range of Pop Its for nursing homes, local school districts and other places.
The Pop Its can be used to encourage mathematical skills such as addition and subtraction. A Pop It keyboard helps youngsters practice spelling.
There are specialty items for adults, such as the latest versions of the Rubik’s Cube in a pyramid and other atypical shapes. Hornack-Kohler said she is marketing to everyone. “High school girls are getting reverse plush octopus that alternates expressions when turned inside out. They want them, and they are collecting them.”
Hornack-Kohler, 40, has been taking her daughter, Monroe, fidget shopping the past two years.
“We would drive 45 minutes to reach a store in Mt. Lebanon that sold fidgets,” she said. “She was so happy. I was excited to see her happy. We had a lot of fun experiencing the shopping together.”
A 1999 Burrell graduate and a 2003 Penn State graduate, Hornack-Kohler has two decades of experience in sales and marketing.
Knowing the popularity of the toys, combined with her love of Lower Burrell, she decided to open her doors in the city.
“There’s really no place to shop for kids in Lower Burrell,” she said. “You can go to bigger stores, but they don’t carry these specialty products.”
She caters to kids: Some of the display tables are set up intentionally low to the ground for young shoppers to reach.
The store plans to expand its inventory in the months ahead. Special events will be offered, as well as space for birthday parties and other events.
The Fidget Tree will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from noon to 8 p.m. Sundays. The store can be reached at 724-393-6978 and on Facebook.
Mary Ann Thomas is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Mary at 724-226-4691, mthomas@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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A destination for popular Pop It toys and more, Fidget Tree to open in Lower Burrell - TribLIVE
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