Toys Forever is located on Walnut St. in downtown Muncie.
Hours:
Tuesday-Friday: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.
Sunday and Monday: closed
Brandon Mundell, a Ball State alumnus with a business degree of entrepreneurship, has a lot of experience working in a hobby store.
Beginning at 16 years old, he worked in a toy and hobby shop called Guptas on Martin and Jackson Streets in Muncie. He also worked at Overland Models before deciding to make a leap in his career.
“[Working in entrepreneurship] has been my entire career," he said
In 2007, Mundell started his own shop, called Toys Forever Models and Hobbies, in downtown Muncie.
At Toys Forever, everything is hands-on; Thinking Putty is out on display for customers to use as a stress reliever, toddlers have blocks to play with, there are model airplanes and trains for adults to see and a vintage soda machine that still works.
“We are the neatest store around town, according to me,” Mundell said. "People always find interesting stuff in here during the college age."
Ball State students, especially the architecture students, wander in the store, finding things that interest them. The store also supplies items they need to be able to create projects and models.
“Our biggest bunch of college students are usually the architecture students,” Mundell said. “We carry most of their supplies to rebuild their models, [and] we give them some discounts.”
Sophomore architecture major Noah Porter goes to Toys Forever a couple a times a month to get model building materials for projects. The store has specific materials the students need that sometimes can’t be found at a hardware store or an art store.
“The guy who runs it is pretty knowledgeable and helpful,” Porter said. “They have a good selection of model wood."
Stephanie Vance, a junior architecture major, visits the shop for its unique selection.
“I go to Toys Forever once in awhile if I’m in downtown,” Vance said. “I like that it is extremely organized and that you can find different components to use for different projects that you wouldn’t think of.”
Other than architecture students, many students who visit downtown Muncie often wander into the shop, Mundell said.
As for the future of Toys Forever, Mundell hopes to one day expand locations to other college towns but wants to wait and let the Muncie location grow first.
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