A Short History the Store

The Essence of Nonsense Toy Store opened at 1783 St. Clair Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota in May of 1996.
The store began when Tom Fletcher joined Barbara Anderson-Sannes in the toy business and they created a magical place for people of all ages to play.
They share a vision of the store and choose items to sell that enchant them and they hope to delight you with their selection.

It is truly an old fashioned toy store in appearance and philosophy.

Barbara has been in the business of selling bears, books, cards and toys for 23 years.
Her first store was 316 SOUTH MAIN an Emporium located in Alma on the Mississippi.
In 1990 she opened An Emporium Too! in St. Paul.

Her stories were family affairs with her husband David doing the carpentry and both of her children (Jon and Julia) coming to the store when they were just two weeks old.
Julia thought she was a bear and growled at people.
She still works at the store and now knows she is a bear.

Tom came to the business after years of being a toymaker.
He continues to delight people wit his imaginative pieces he makes for the store.