FOUR FRIENDS AND THE LITTLE
A couple of casual conversations led four long-time friends to open The Little, an innovative pop-up toy shop in Webster Groves aimed at providing parents and their children with an alternative to the big box stores. It is a shop aimed at sparking children’s imaginations and creating special family memories.
The walls of The Little are lined with shelves holding board games, art projects and science kits. A child-size clothing rack features brightly colored capes and cloaks for both boys and girls. There are trays and bins full of stickers, sparkly barrettes and pastel flowery sunglasses.
Jointly owned by Lisa Dolan, Mallory Galbreath, Hannah Hutkins and Kaki St. Eve, The Little is located at 8711 Big Bend Blvd. The shop connects to LARK Skin Co., a natural skincare boutique also owned by Dolan.
Early this year Dolan was having dinner with Hannah Hutkins, and the pair discussed how to promote LARK’s new skincare line for children, Little Lark, and the conversation moved to an empty office space connected to LARK. They came up with the idea for a children’s store that was different from any other in the St. Louis area.
The pair envisioned a place that would allow children to embrace the joys of nostalgic toys and games, hours of dress-up and doing art projects with family and friends.
“The next day Lisa texted me, ‘Let’s do this,”
Around the same time, another set of friends—Mallory Gallbreath and Kaki St. Eve—were having a similar conversation.
“Kaki’s children and mine are around the same age and are becoming more independent. We started talking about what we’d like to do next, and the idea of a children’s store came up.”
The four friends got together and The Little was born.
The mission of The Little is explained on its website:
“We believe that by creating a space of warmth and curiosity, we can help parents and kids alike discover special items that enhance their lives and play. Our mission is to inspire and delight our customers with a carefully selected assortment of gifts, toys, and apparel that encourage creativity, exploration, and wonder.”
It was initially decided to launch a pop-up shop from June through August, in the space connected to LARK. However, the four owners would very much like to make The Little a fixture in the Webster Groves community.
Because this is a shop operated by four moms, a key component is convenience. You can buy something from The Little online shop and pick it up at the store within two hours during regular business hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday.
“We understand the struggles moms face. We want to provide quality products at reasonable prices.”
The Little may be a small shop, but it is full of thoughtfully curated, well made and unique items that are certain to appeal to the most discerning parents and children. Browse through children’s books, a racecar kit, board games and a toy sushi set.
There are Wack 'n Crack Geodes featuring a tube of four to six sugar or amethyst geodes filled with quartz crystals just waiting to be cracked open. Which, according to the package “expose thousands of years of volcanic activity with each one.”
Whimsical Daisy Sunnies sunglasses are priced at $12; for $25 there is a Beetle & Bee Kids Garden Tote Kit, which is both fun and educational; the always popular stickers can be found between $3 and $4; and a variety of adorable baby outfits are available at $14 to $36.
Of course, Little Lark, the new LARK children’s product that helped inspire the pop-up shop, can be purchased from both The Little and its host LARK Skin Co. Products include baby shampoo + body wash, baby bottom balm and a calming bath soak.