At Happki we help parents, caregivers, grandparents, and others find quality toys that encourage children to learn and play. Today’s toy industry is saturated with trendy toys and toys that often don’t do much for children. As a result, children end up with an excess of toys that continue piling up and offer nothing more than a day of enjoyment and no learning opportunities. By providing our children with quality toys we are ensuring they are learning life skills like problem-solving skills, cause and effect, development of fine and gross motor skills etc. Parents need help finding quality toys. As a result, we sift through the mass amount of products offered in a large industry and thoughtfully curate a selection of toys that are educational, creative, and skill-building from brands all across the world.
Happki began as an e-commerce business in January 2019. It was my dream to have something of my own to leave corporate America. With a lot of guidance, we (my husband and I)were able to make it happen. However, to expand our brand selection many vendors required a brick and mortar location. After so many challenges and putting in so much hard work to make this dream come true we opened the doors to our store in Deer Park, IL in November 2019.
Things were well until Covid19 forced us to close our doors due to state mandates in March 2020. We reopened in June, but foot traffic has not been the same. Despite offering promotions, curbside, and delivery we are struggling. The holiday season definitely didn't turn out to be what we had hoped for.
If we are able to successfully raise these funds we will be able to get back on track with rent, pay outstanding vendor invoices, and pay ourselves ( in other words catch up on our personal finances too.) Mauricio lost his business in March 2020 as a result of the pandemic. At this point, Happki is our only source of income. We strongly believe that we can get past this. Our store has been well received and praised by the community, but we have been hanging by a thread for months with no end in sight. We have exhausted all other forms of help... Nothing came of the SBA,PPP, private lending, and grant programs. We want nothing more than to see our store continue to flourish.
We are a husband and wife duo team with two young daughters who are the inspiration for all that we do. Mauricio is our talented webmaster/marketing genius and I am the store manager, buyer, and customer service extraordinaire. Even our two daughters help. It's a family affair! As Lori Greiner says more or less, we are entrepreneurs willing to work 80 hour weeks in order to avoid working 40 hour weeks.
Mauricio & Angela Romy, Happki Founders.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and supporting us. Please donate however you can or by sharing this effort!
