Lit’l Wizards moves shop

• Lit’l Wizards

Brian Korthals/Daily Globe Maranda and Maria Thier welcome customers to their new Lit’l Wizards location in the former Poise ’N Ivy building in downtown Worthington.

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WORTHINGTON — Nearly six years after she opened Lit’l Wizards in downtown Worthington, Maria Thier has moved her shop of children’s toys, teacher supplies and educational offerings right next door — into the former Poise ‘n Ivy location on 10th Street.

The Aug. 1 move resulted in 1,000 additional square feet of shop space, which is allowing Thier to expand not only her existing lines, but add several new product offerings.

The latest craze is her selection of African dwarf frogs, which are housed in clear cubes filled with spring water, with a layer of colored rocks at the bottom.

“We can’t keep them in — they’re a hot commodity,” said Thier. “They’re a very low maintenance pet.”

Not only are the frogs popular among the young shoppers at Lit’l Wizards, they are for teachers as well. Thier said some have purchased the tiny frogs for their classrooms.

The frogs are just one of the new offerings in the shop.

“We’ve expanded our teacher line, and we’re also going to expand our baby line,” she said. A laminator is also on order and should arrive by early October.

In the baby line, Lazy One items include everything from onesies to bibs and pajamas, and Thier said she will continue to expand into those collections.

Another popular selection in the store includes its line of Green Toys, which are made from recycled milk jugs. In addition to offering tea party groupings and play kitchenware, Green Toys has race cars and fire trucks perfect for little hands.

“The dish sets are awesome,” said Thier. “They can be put in the dishwasher.”

Uglydolls are still popular among the kids, as is the new line of scented modeling dough and hand puppets, while Trunki suitcases are a hit with parents who travel with kids. The suitcases are built to double as a seat, can be decorated with letter, travel or animal face stickers and have wheels. They also meet airline requirements for carry-on luggage.

Just in time for Worthington’s King Turkey Day celebration, Thier added a line of adorable children’s turkey hats and turkey purses.

Thier plans to continue adding new items to meet the needs of the region’s teachers and all of those who have a child in their life.

A grand opening to showcase the new location is planned in early October. During that time, representatives from Carson-Dellosa will visit from their North Carolina headquarters to offer a workshop for teachers, complete with make-and-take projects.

Thier is excited to show off the new location now, and encourages people to come in and see the new items and the new environment.

“We completely took out all the little rooms that were here,” she said of the work done to prep for Lit’l Wizards’ move. “We made a hallway with a public restroom … and put in all new flooring.”

The ceiling tiles were removed, the existing pillars and countertop were bricked and castle peaks were added to the front of the building to keep in line with the overall theme of the store.

And, you can’t forget about the mascot. A life-sized grand wizard stands at the entrance of the shop to greet all who enter.

Lit’l Wizards is open daily, Monday through Saturday, at 211 10th Street. It can also be found on the web at www.litlwizards.com.

The website features ebooks and access to more than 30,000 resource books for teachers. The books are downloadable and are made to interact with smart boards.

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