Once Upon a Find Crozet: a one-of-a-kind, kid-run toy shop

CROZET, Va. (WVIR) - Two young girls in Crozet are working to make a difference in their community.

Sisters Tori and Kate Butler started it all with their pop-up shop Once Upon a Find Crozet at Mudhouse Coffee Crozet.

Now, they are hoping to give local kids a space made for them.

“Right when the pandemic hit, and then we, like the world, shut down,” co-founder Tori said. “So we were like, you know, let’s just go big or go home. So we we’re like, ‘Let’s start this!’”

Tori, 10, runs the shop with her 12-year-old sister, Kate.

What was originally supposed to be a lemonade stand, became a shop for lightly used toys and books.

“We have tons of stuffies and toys, like green toys, which are recycled plastic,” Tori said. ”I just like to think about what I would have wanted when I was little, or what I do want at this at my age.”

The young entrepreneurs wanted a store where kids could be kids.

Tori handles the supply while Kate handles the online business.

The Butler sisters are hoping to give families a chance to make their kid’s childhood special.

“Parents always say sometimes that I want to give you the childhood that I never had, and this is the childhood they’re talking about,” Kate said. “We want that to actually come true.”

Kate and Tori say there’s a lack of places made just for kids in the area.

“There’s no kids stores here, and the thing is, we really want a child to play with it, because in every single store, the toys are just boxed up,” Kate said. “You can’t actually, like play with it. You can’t have fun.”

Throughout their journey of starting this shop, the Butlers’ parents have been cheering their girls on while making sure everything runs smoothly.

“They’re like recess for them. But there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes,” said Rhett Butler, Tori and Kate’s dad. “There’s a lot of grit and stick-to-itiveness that they have to do. And it’s not always- you don’t always want to show up. But they do.”

The story end does not end here.

The family is always working to make sure the community gets a happy ending.

“Incredibly proud. I love to see, see how they’re thriving, but also the impact that they’re having on their peers, on the community,” mom Elizabeth Butler said.

The Butlers tell me, working together as a family has taught them valuable life skills and brought them closer.

You can find a schedule of their pop-up shop here.

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