Lake Orion Toy Store Serving the Little Monsters in Your Life

, a specialty toy store in downtown Lake Orion, is stocked with toys that appeal to young children, but offers such a unique variety of games, candy and toys, it can capture the attention of anyone walking through its doors.

“It doesn’t matter how old they are, everybody walks into this store like they are a little kid,” said Little Monsters employee Nicole Batchik.

Customers can find everything from Uglydolls to Zotz, science kits, puzzles, Spot It!, bacon lollipops, silly moustaches, books and more at the store.  

Leila Freijy, co-owner of Little Monsters and Oakland Township resident, said she personally picks out every single item within the store, including the 25-cent toys she stocks for fun. Finding as many toys made locally, or at least within the United States, as possible to sell is important to Freijy as well.

“We’re constantly looking around to see what’s out there,” Freijy said.

Freijy and her business partner, Christine McKenna of Clarkston, attend a few national toy shows every year to stay up-to-date with the latest and greatest toys, and find unique and funky treasures to stock the store with. Batchik, who worked at Borders up until its closing, said that though Little Monsters has a smaller book selection, many literary gems are among those for sale.

“Borders wasn’t personal; here the selection is hand picked by the owners after they think, 'what will our customers like?'” Batchik said.

Batchik said some of the best books they have on their shelves are Magic Trash, Baby Signs, Llama Llama Red Pajama and The Boy Who Cried Ninja.

Standing out as a specialty toy store

Freijy noted that aside from the unique selection of toys that they carry, what sets them apart from other local stores that carry toys is their knowledge of the products they sell.

“At a specialty toy store you’re getting a lot…we’re not the Walmart or the Costco of toys … what you’re getting by coming to a specialty toy store is you’re getting the knowledge,” she said.

Customers commonly come into the store in a time crunch because they are on their way to a birthday party, Freijy said, and because Little Monsters' employees know the products, finding the best gift is simple.

“We’ve played all the games, read all the books, so finding a great gift for that person is simple,” she said.

Among the hundreds of toys on display are many great toys for special needs children as well. Teachers and librarians are consistently shopping at their store, said Freijy, because of the variety.

A place to be creative

Little Monsters has been serving the Lake Orion community for nearly six years. The store originally opened down the street, in the storefront that now houses The Painted Lady, located at 15 E. Flint St.

After deciding they would like a little more space a couple years ago, owners Leila Freijy and Christine McKenna moved their business to its current home at 16 W. Flint St. Their space now provides the perfect amount of room to display oodles of specialty toys and paintings along the walls of the back room.

Both McKenna and Freijy are artists and try to incorporate as much art as possible into their store. The duo commonly host art journaling sessions and swap out the art pieces hanging in their back room, allowing new artists room to display their work. In the summer they will offer free crafternoons, engaging local children in making crafts.

“This is really a creative outlet in many ways,” Freijy said, noting that along with working at the store she works as an immigration attorney. “Even if it’s just every week we do a new window display. There’s a lot that goes into that.”

Now, to satisfy the needs of their customers and to pursue another creative venture, they are allowing customers to rent out the store. They brainstormed popular birthday party themes and decided to start off by offering fairy and monster themed parties on weekends.