ChildTrek Blog

By Miebeth Bustillo-Booth, ChildTrek Founder

Old is New Again
There’s great satisfaction in giving old things new life. A bit of sanding here, a fresh coat of paint or stain there, (a lot of patience), and voila! Great pieces!

In the last few days, ChildTrek’s new storefront in Tacoma’s historic Freighthouse Square got a fresh coat of low VOC paint. (Make that several coats of paint.) New cabinets were made and staged. True to our green mission, we found old wooden bookcases, display units, and an iron baker’s rack. They were in great shape and worked well together. They received face lifts and look terrific! Two counters that look like they came from the ’80s were joined and recrafted by a master carpenter to become ChildTrek’s new checkout counter. Not much of the ’80s is left (that’s a good thing), and it looks absolutely wonderful!

New Baby & Toddler Toys & More
New natural and wooden toys also arrived. Some like Under the Nile organic toys are already on the site. You should see be able to view the rest soon.

By the end of this week, the storefront should have internet and working phones.

There are still about a buzzilion other things to check off the ever growing list before ChildTrek quietly opens its doors on July 1 or 2. At that time, we will do a dry run and work out the kinks that will doubtless come. ChildTrek’s grand opening will be later in the month or early in August.

Below are some shots from the last week:

Come back and see the finished store next week!

By Miebeth Bustillo-Booth, ChildTrek Founder

This Week’s Progress
Watching your dream come alive is a bit surreal. First it’s in your head. Then it’s on paper. Then it starts to take shape right before your eyes. If it were not for all the logistics that keep me firmly on the ground, I would be on cloud nine. Let there be no mistake about it: Opening a toy store is a lot of work. But seeing the pieces come together is really its own energy.

Below are pictures from earlier this week. Much has already happened since. The walls are no longer blue (at least most of them, and not this blue). As soon as more pictures are available, I’ll post them here.

More about this process will be in How ChildTrek Was Born: The 3rd Trimester - the last installation of the series (read 1st Trimester, 2nd Trimester). I promise, it’s coming.

By Miebeth Bustillo-Booth, ChildTrek Founder

One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.
~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

The above quote is one of my favorites.  It reminds me that life’s direction is largely determined by one’s choices. It also reminds me that like sailing a good-sized boat, it often takes several knowledgeable hands on deck working together to reach a desired destination.

ChildTrek is fortunate to have the assistance of its very talented Advisory Team made up of parents, educators, child-specialists, business owners, and accomplished professionals. Advisory members review toys and advise ChildTrek on how best to serve its customers. They will soon write blogs and parenting tips.

My heartfelt thanks to each and every advisor for graciously giving time, head and heart to ChildTrek. They are beautiful human beings. I wish you could meet them personally. They exude kindness, lightness, and are, frankly, scary smart.

Also, my unbounded love to my husband Bart, who is a superb sailor and partner in the sea of life. Thank you for helping ChildTrek set sail.