🔒Bella Luna Toys engages the imagination with natural, wooden toys

Sarah Baldwin, owner of Rockland online natural toy store Bella Luna Toys, saw firsthand how video-game stares turned into inquisitiveness when, as a former kindergarten teacher at the Ashwood Waldorf School in Rockport, she introduced traditional wooden toys to the children.

After teaching at Waldorf for 10 years, Baldwin was ready for her next adventure and bought Bella Luna in 2009 from a California woman who had only been selling about $70,000 worth of toys annually. She grew the toy company to $1 million in revenue by 2015 and is on track to double that number this year. And she's about to expand her space for the third time.

She was a Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development Top Gun finalist in 2016. During her pitch to Top Gun judges, she said of Google searches for “wooden toys” in the United States, Bella Luna tops the list, with Toys “R” Us running seventh.

Baldwin recently talked to Mainebiz about what it takes to compete with online giants like Toys “R” Us and Amazon with toys that cost more, but some would say last longer. An edited transcript follows.

Mainebiz: Bella Luna is about to expand into more space. How did you grow and fund the company?

Sarah Baldwin: I funded it myself and everything we make goes back into the company. I also blog, we have YouTube videos and we have excellent customer service. I originally set up shop above my garage, and then moved to a warehouse and office in Rockland Industrial Park. So we're now at 2,500 square feet, and are taking over another 1,000 square feet in June. I have six employees on the warehouse payroll and five independent contractors working remotely. We'll probably have nine in the warehouse in 2018. The business is very seasonal. We make half the revenue for the year in the fourth quarter, when we hire six people for the holidays. I never thought we'd get so big.

MB: The company is big on using technology to compete with large e-retailers. How did you get the top slot on Google's search engine for wooden toys?

SB: One of my big strengths is SEO [search engine optimization]. When I bought the website I didn't know what SEO meant. It drives a lot of traffic to our site.

MB: You also have a small retail store in your warehouse. How much do you sell out of there?

SB: The physical store is in the Rockland Industrial Park. We sell 95% of our toys online.

MB: As a former actress and school teacher, how did you get into selling toys?

SB: I'm an accidental entrepreneur. I had no experience when I bought the website. I taught kindergarten for many years, but I wanted a change. It was a leap of faith. I paid about $20,000 for the website name, customer list and remaining inventory. The original owner was selling the type of toys I used in my classroom and at home.

MB: What's so special about the toys?

SB: They support imaginative play, which is the key to creativity in life. The toys are built to last and be passed along when the children outgrow them. I choose every toy on my website because of my experience as a kindergarten educator. I travel to Germany every year to the International Toy Fair, buy from different vendors worldwide and make a few myself. I make sure of the value of the toys for play, how they are manufactured and their safety. They are carefully vetted for quality and safety. They also are organic and low technology, which is a growing trend.

MB: What's the most popular toy?

SB: The Waldorf Wooden Rocker Board. Children can use it to develop their balance, rock on it, use it as a stage for a puppet play or prop it on a coffee table to use as a slide. We specialize in well-loved traditional toys. But we're trying to be anti 'hot toys.'