By Crystal McGough, Editor
TRUSSVILLE – When the Philpot family moved back home to Alabama in February 2020, after spending years serving in ministry in Virginia, they were excited for the opportunity to raise their growing family in Trussville. Taylor and Kelsee Philpot were expecting baby number four at the time, a daughter named Hattie Ruth. Soon after settling in, however, the Philpots received devastating news.
“Literally, the week we got here in February 2020, I found out that our daughter was going to be stillborn,” Kelsee said.
Hattie Ruth Philpot was stillborn on March 9, 2020, one week before the national pandemic shutdown.
“We were kind of forced to sit in our grief,” Kelsee said. “I think Covid really allowed us to sit with the pain and deal with it, verses trying to move forward too fast.”
Sometime in the following days and months of grief and pandemic-induced isolation, Kelsee had a dream about owning a toy store. This dream planted a new seed in her heart.
“I’d seen families honor their children in so many different ways, and nothing ever felt right, but I did want to honor her in some way,” she said. “So, when I had a dream about a toy store, I thought that’d be so sweet for our kids to be a part of, for us to be a part of.”
At the time, the Philpots had returned to their hometown only to feel like the tragic loss of their daughter was now what defined them in their community.
In the fall of 2023, however, Kelsee was talking with a close friend who owns a business in the Trussville Entertainment District. This friend mentioned to Kelsee that a property owner in the TED was interested in bringing a toy store to the area. After that, the seed aptly named “Hattie’s Toyland” quickly began to grow into a reality.
“I felt like when we got here to Trussville, we were kind of known by (our loss) – that happened the week we got here and word traveled fast,” Kelsee said. “So, I’m excited for everyone to see this side of the story and see something happy. It’s good for our kids to see that, as well. That you can go through hard things, but they don’t have to define you. There can be beautiful things that come out of them, and I think that this store is a way that we’re going to do that.”
Taylor and Kelsee signed the lease on a corner building across street from Cookie Dough Magic in December 2023. There is still plenty of work to be done before the store is ready, but the Philpots hope to open Hattie’s Toyland in April or May of this year. Kelsee said she has already had people reaching out to her, sharing their own losses, and expressing their excitement to be able to honor their own children by shopping at Hattie’s Toyland.
“When you go through hard things and lots of people watch and see, it’s vulnerable,” she said. “So I believe, maybe, people will have the courage to come in and have conversations that they wouldn’t at a typical business. And I’m also excited to offer resources for children in the store and for parents walking children through grief, loss, mental health, things like that. I’ve got some great books that I’m excited to offer on that because I know that was really helpful for our children. Then we’re also going to have other resources like mindfulness activities for children. We’re going to have sensory-based options for children that could benefit from that. So, I’m just excited to offer some things to help families navigate difficult things.”
In addition to your standard toys like Lego’s, Barbies and stuffed animals, Hattie’s Toyland will offer a range of fun and even educational items, from books and children’s devotionals to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) toys.
Kelsee said they will also offer birthday kids a fun and unique option called “birthday bins,” where the child will have an opportunity to fill up a bin with items they would like for their birthday, and friends and family can come shop from their bin.
The store will have something for all ages, and even host story times and other fun events in and within the Trussville community.
“We’re just hoping this is a really special place,” Kelsee said. “We’re going to do tons of events in the community. We obviously want to honor our daughter well and so I’m excited just to give back in her name throughout the year in various ways.
“Something we’ve experienced moving to Trussville is that the school system gives out things such as character awards each month – not just academic awards – and so, we’re excited to offer a rewards program for kids where they can bring in their (school) award and get like 10% off their purchase,” she added. “I’m a mom of four with my oldest being in middle school at Hewitt-Trussville Middle School and my youngest being a one-year-old, so we’re hopeful to have something for all ages.”
While this may be the Philpots’ first toy store, they are no strangers to retail or managing a company. Kelsee’s background is in retail and she and Taylor used to own a pest control company together. They have also worked in ministry for several years and currently run a nonprofit called Revive Outdoors.
“We both have some business background and ministry background, but this is very new for us; the toy world is something brand new,” she said. “So, while we have been business owners before, we have never been toy store owners. This is a big leap of faith.”
When Hattie’s Toyland is ready to open, the Philpots plan to host a grand opening ceremony where the community and other local businesses will be invited to come celebrate with them. So, this spring, be sure to keep an eye out for the grand opening of Hattie’s Toyland.
“We’ve been working really hard and dreaming big,” Kelsee said. “It’s definitely a family thing. It’s something we want to pass down to our kids one day and just create a space for families and the community of Trussville. We are looking forward to being a place for generations to come, that holds special memories for the families of Trussville.”