Morrison’s Wonder Emporium

Springville couple takes ‘fun’ to in-finity

In 2004, Jimmy and Ruth Morrison lived in New York, where he worked on Wall Street and she was a stay-at-home mom holding down the family fort in Westchester County.

Then the family went on a trip, and Jimmy’s life was never the same.

“We were on vacation and my daughter called me a ‘vacation dad,’” Jimmy says. “She said that’s what she and her friends called their dads because they only saw us on vacation.”

The comment sounded a warning trumpet in the ears of Jimmy and Ruth. While the family had lived through numerous New York-associated challenges (including the Sept. 11 attacks), it was this observation by their 7-year-old daughter that motivated the couple to change.

And that’s where the story of Funfinity begins.

Jimmy and Ruth had met at BYU (both have accounting degrees) and have family in Utah, so deciding to move from New York to Springville wasn’t a major stretch. The next big move was to sell Jimmy’s Yukon Denali to fund the initial $40,000 investment. But the hard part came when their entrepreneurial choo-choo train got off track.

The couple anticipated starting a toy catalog company. But the first mailing was a disaster. The catalog was delivered late — missing the Christmas holiday rush — and the few responses the catalog received were to inform the couple the cover had been printed on upside down.

“We were left with $40,000 of inventory and no way to move it,” Jimmy says.

But the disaster turned into an opportunity. The couple quickly learned about online sales — including eBay — and started a successful online toy retailer.

The online sales led to the first Funfinity store opening in Springville in February 2005. Within six months, the store was overgrown and expansion was necessary.

“When we opened, we had 453 products and I knew where each one was and how many we had,” Jimmy says. “That’s not the case anymore.”

The need for more space led them to a storefront being vacated by friends who ran the Red Leaf Bookstore on Main Street in Springville. Funfinity moved to that location and began focusing more on children’s books — taking advantage of customers loyal to the Red Leaf.

The company opened a second store in Orem in 2007. The couple took over a lease from Shepherd’s Cake and Candy Supplies on University Parkway and kept some of the inventory from Shepherd’s — expanding the Funfinity brand to candy and chocolate.

Funfinity now does business in four primary areas: toys, books, chocolates and board games.

But in this day of big-box stores and video games, how can a store selling wooden toys, card games, board games and (gasp!) children’s books thrive?

“We have a face when you walk in,” Ruth says. “People know they can come in and we’ll give them quality advice. Our employees are knowledgeable, and they genuinely want the business to succeed.”

Funfinity has 12 full-time employees and is becoming easier for the Morrisons to manage. In fact, as of July 2008, Jimmy stopped worrying about the day-to-day details and Ruth has taken over. They’re quick to point out that hiring quality people — and training them in several areas — has been key.

“We’ve set up the business such that everyone knows how to do everything,” Jimmy says. “That way, if the retail store is slow, the employee can fulfill online orders or make some of the candies.”

The company’s success also comes from good old-fashioned charm.

“We have a lot of value,” Ruth says. “When you walk into our toy store, you don’t smell plastic. A lot of our toys are made of wood. The dress-ups we have can double as Halloween costumes. A lot of people throw the costume away after Halloween. With our stuff, you wash it.”

The company continues to adapt to the market.

“We’re fostering good relationships with some of the local school districts,” Jimmy says. “We have a good group of educational toys and games.”

The Morrisons are helping kids all over Utah Valley, but they’ve also improved day-to-day life for their own family.

“It’s been better than we could have asked for,” Ruth says. “Our kids confide in us. They want to come to the store. They help in a lot of ways. Of course, who wouldn’t want to go to work with Mom and Dad when they own a toy store?”

Now every day with mom and dad feels like a vacation.

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