Paxton Gate’s Curiosities For Kids

Very cool shop for kids gifts, great if you need to grab something for a birthday or baby shower– no electronics or video games here, everything is old school cool, like puppets and science kits, puzzles and kaleidoscopes, and even coloring books featuring famous artworks. Selection seems mostly geared toward the toddler set but you can look around and find something for everyone, kid or adult. Store itself is warm and inviting, with a lobby that serves as an art gallery, which I thought was a cool touch and was initially what made me stop in.
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They carry some really neat toys, books and stuff… last time we were in the store, we purchased an old fashioned paper doll set of a bunny family for our daughter. She loves it~
I also noticed a newer model of a Fisher Price toy phone that I’ve played with as a child! Ahhh… good ol’ fashioned toys are the best…
I love that they use that small entrance space to display artwork. The work that was on display was really lovely…

Great shop for high quality toys and all things to distract kids. Awesome coloring books to wooden magnetic building blocks, and bubble guns!

I found this place by accident looking for another baby store within the area and it was very pleasant. My daughter is very little still to have enjoyed most of the store being that she’s only 6 months but she seemed very engaged and excited about some of the things in the store. The music choice was wonderful, very welcoming oldie but goodies definitely made me think of my childhood a bit since my mom loved playing older music for us 80’s babies and all, but as a first time parent Getting to see my babies face light up on the simple things that people just seem to forget about in this day and age like a pinwheel is something that will definitely keep me coming back to this place. Also the man behind the counter was very friendly, he too was enjoying my daughters face light up from the spinning of the pinwheel. Completely made my day.

Does your child have owl pellets hanging from her neck? Does he own his own resin-​encased scorpion? If not, you are clearly a TERRIBLE parent — or you will feel like one after spending an hour at Paxton’s Gate.
That’s because this store has a phenomenal assortment of quirky natural objects alongside the more usual (but well curated) assortment of creative and educational toys and books. It’s a terrific place to find a present for a child or a new baby (though I still deeply resent the fellow shopper who talked me out of a buying a nightlight made out of an old X-​ray, which I thought would be an AWESOME baby present until my friend pointed out that it could be dangerous for the baby’s toddler-​aged sibling).
Our kids loved their visit here, and miraculously, we were able to peel them out of the store without spending a fortune on stupid, pointless doohickies. Our son got a boomerang (who doesn’t need a boomerang?) and yes, our daughter got a necklace filled with vertebrae that had been found in an owl pellet. So we are now officially good parents: parents whose kid wears an owl pellet around her neck.

This store is a must for any traveler looking for a present for a child back home. It is full of cool toys, educational books, art, and decorative pieces. It is really a collection of unique pieces that are interesting for children. In all honestly, when I was having a look I heard two children say to their parents that the store was cool and they wanted everything! How is that for a tick of approval?
What will you find here? Well I purchased some beautiful wall art from a small exhibition at the front of the store. You will see them in some photos I posted with the weird little creatures faces. I also purchased a plush eyeball with a smiley face on it that I thought was way too funny! There was a heap of wooden toys that I would have loved to have taken home, but I have issues with customs.
Loved the selection of educational books here on cities, animals and anatomy. There are also some lovely bugs for sale and lolly pops with crickets in them! Yes, that is right! Candy with crickets in them. Haha! So much fun and obviously something that will get the kids talking.

Minus 1 star b/​c pricey
other than that, this is as good as it gets. soo many cool toys here for young ones that aren’t your typical stuff.
magnets, wooden toys, great books, gorgeous paint, rainbow maker, kaleidoscope — make your own, streamer, jacks.
almost wanted to buy everything here.

I bought some really cool all natural vegan cardamom scented playdough and a little handmade pin. I bought the presents for myself (:

When you need a gift for a creative kid, when you want to inspire children to adventure to creative corners of the mind this is the place to be. Just like Paxton Gate inspires and challenges adults to think differently the kids store is just the same. The toys and games are all educational and fun. I see things I want to play with in this store whenever I go in. I love that when I really need a good gift for a child I can find something.
The creative toy store with wood toys and. creative science like projects is a rare thing to find these days, its like a cross between a art store and a science fair.
They also use the space as an art gallery, great shows.

A wonderland of children’s books, toys, gadgets and gifts. It helps if you have a rugrat to buy for, but if not just pretend you’re buying for your «niece» and play with everything anyway. Yes, it’s a store that even big kids will like too.
Miss Three was thrilled with the books I bought from here — bright and colourful and a little different to the ones she has back home in Australia.

Stop here the next time you need a unique, and fairly priced, present for a lucky child. I’m always on the lookout for cool stores that have toys/​books/​etc. that kids will love for a fair price; as I don’t have that much $! Sometimes I go to Cost Plus (although most toys are made in China) or Cliff’s Variety (in the Castro); both have unique toys.
I had to stop here after seeing the awesome shadow puppets my mom bought for cousins we were meeting in Paris. Naturally, they loved them… and I love this store! That is… after I finally found it! I was trying to squeeze in a quick purchase before meeting a friend for dinner and was so rushed… I walked right by the place! By the time I entered the store, they were closing in ten minutes! EEK! The young man and woman working in the store were so kind, extremely helpful and friendly; especially considering they were closing soon! There were about 4 – 6 people who entered after me, and they were the same with them too, gently letting them know the store would close in a few minutes, yet still quite kind and helpful. I ended up buying more than I expected, two kids’ books, one with an owl and another where there were unique words for each letter! Boy did they peg me correct! A is for anarchist! C is for Co-​Op! They do have gifts for many prices, some for about $ 5, the books were about $ 10; more for the musical instruments. I definitely will be back, it doesn’t get better than this.

What a delightful toy store! An excellent selection of books, games, analog and handmade toys. The moment you step inside, you know you’re somewhere special. The inside corridor is filled with colorful illustrations and painted walls.
The prices are a bit higher than going to a place like Target or Toys-​R-​Us, but it’s rare to find independent children’s shops like this one. I only browsed this time (and it was very fun looking at their wooden toys and handmade goodies) but I would love to come back and make a purchase.

There are toy stores and then there are TOY stores.
This is of the later variety. A store that engages the mind and soul of the child and the child inside the adult. So many neat things to look at, to touch and to consider. Sadly, i had no little one to buy for and the things I wanted, I have no space to take home. But if i were a city dweller, I’d be here a lot, or finding people to bring here, because the sculptures out front were just that much fun!

Came here on my way to meet someone for coffee. This is an awesome little kids store. Got two birthday gifts — my favorite book «Iggy Peck, Architect». Great choices of educational kits, toys, books, and creative materials. I also loved the San Francisco gifts for kids — pictures, books of San Francisco and even a puzzle.
Got the gift wrapping — not necessarily the cutest to be honest, a little too hipster for me (plain brown wrap, with a ribbon), would be nice if they had better wrapping paper that would appeal to kids.

This is such a neat store! My boyfriend and I came across it while wandering around after dinner and spent a good hour just looking at everything. I know this is meant to be a kids’ store, but I found myself having a blast!
It’s an awesome place for fun and intellectual gifts :)

Best toy store in the city. Lots of wooden toys and outstanding learning games/​toys.
Come here if you want your child to learn and cultivate curiosity. If you just want to amuse or pacify your child like a zombie, go elsewhere.

This store is so full of whimsy and magic. I love that they tout themselves as a children’s store that’s focused on children’s toys that are «pre-​technology.» Nature-​themed, whimsy, old-​fashioned toys, smart science kits, and fanciful art. The merchandise is pricey, but oh-​so-​wonderful. I loved that at the time that I went in, it was predominantly adults browsing the store. The shop is so cool, but if I were a child, I’d be heartbroken if I had to walk out empty-handed…maybe that’s why there were no children in there at the time I went. ;)
This store is absolutely charming. I’d love to buy something for myself.errr.I mean for kids.

This store does have some awesome and creative (if expensive) gifts for kids.
Unfortunately we had a similar customer service experience to Raul A, Nine N, and paula m… i.e., Terrible (and I don’t use the word lightly).
I wasn’t sure what time the store shut, but I was aware of the salesperson shutting up the front of the store, and so I said to my husband «we should choose something quick and get going» — I specifically said it loud enough so that the salesperson could hear us, so that she would know we were being respectful of her time.
We got to the sales desk about 30 seconds later, having made a quick decision, and we asked if we could have it wrapped (we were going round the corner to visit our friend’s new baby for the first time, and were pretty excited about it). The salesperson said «No, sorry, we’re technically closed now, so I can’t wrap it for you.» I looked at her in disbelief thinking that she might be joking (inside my head I’m thinking ok, we can *buy* this from you, and you’ll go through the trouble of running the transaction, but you won’t *wrap* it?). I said, «you’re kidding, right?» She said, «No.» Just to clarify, there were no other customers in the shop, she’d locked the door — so all she had to do to end her shift well was to serve us with a smile and say goodnight.
I looked at my phone — it was 7:01pm. Literally. I’m not exaggerating. I said to her, «Do you close at 7, or did you close at 6:30?» (To give her the benefit of the doubt I wondered if maybe she had left the store open a little longer than usual because she had customers in the store). She responded «No, we close at 7pm.» Completely bamboozled as to what school of customer service this staff member had (not) attended — I said «so, let’s get this straight, the store closed at 7pm, it’s now 7:01pm, and you’re not going to wrap our gift for us?» She said, «Sorry, we’re closed, I can’t wrap it for you.»
My husband, the diplomat, said «But we specifically came here from Therapy (a shop down the street) because you do gift wrap — and we’re going to be giving the gift to our friend’s baby straight after we leave the store…» Still, there was no human response from the ice queen.
So I said «Well, can you at least give us the paper and we’ll wrap it here ourselves real quick?» She consented to this and handed over some green wrapping paper. I started to fold the paper and put the gift into it. As soon as I did this she said (very grumpily) «Well, if you’re going to it *here* then I might as well do it for you…» and she took it from my hands. She then proceeded to do a very quick and shoddy gift wrap with a look like thunder all over her face. The gift wrap ended up looking… well, interesting, I’ll give her that.
Having worked in customer service for over 10 years, I could literally go on forever as to where this girl went wrong. Here are a few tips for her, and for the owners (providing, hopefully, she isn’t the owner):
1) Warn customers that you will be closing in ¹⁵⁄₁₀ minutes — or whatever your chosen time window is.
2) Try to establish a warm, human connection with every customer, *even* (and *especially*) if you have bad news to tell them [e.g., she could have said very apologetically «I’m so sorry, normally I would stay the extra 4 minutes to wrap your gift after the store has closed, but… etc] The apology would soften the refusal.
3) If you end up bending to the customer’s desire (which, let’s face it, unless the customer is asking to take something for free, you probably should be doing), then do it cheerfully — you never know, they may even come back and buy something else from you at a later date!
4) Think about your working environment — and embody it :) You’re working in a *kids* shop! It’s meant to be a *happy* place! Kids come to feel happy, adults come to feel like kids — your persona should probably not be miserable and grumpy.
To say that we left the shop with a bad taste in our mouth is an understatement. Please invest in some customer service training!

Cute store to explore in a fun SF area. Definitely has some unusual gifts or knick-​knacks to take home. Brings back memories of some old-​school toys.

While I don’t have kids, I do see myself as a big kid (usually) so I think I’m fully qualified to review a toy store’s offering.
The two women working offered smiles as I walked in and let me do my perusing in peace. I enjoyed their mix of science-​y, high quality and unusual toys. The store does have room for more stuff, but it’s brand spanking new so perhaps more inventory is on the way. Also they put on shows for kids (see their website for details), which could be why the space was left feeling a little spartan.
The artwork on display is very cool and sometimes hilarious, though always a little dark (not unlike art featured in the original Paxton’s Gate). While I’d definitely put some of this stuff up in my room, I might not put it up in juniors. I guess that’s the point, one for me… one for you…
I almost succumbed and bought one of their grow your own tree kits, I mean who doesn’t want to grow their own tree?