Meet Julie Tsounos, Owner of Learning Express in Wexford, PA

Dave Jackley
Hi, Dave Jackley here with another edition of ExactlyAtHome North of Pittsburgh. And today I’m here with Julie Tsounos, Owner of Learning Express, right here on Perry Highway in Wexford. So Julie, tell me Where are you originally from?

Julie Tsounos
I am originally from a place called Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, which is about an hour and a half up north near Sharon, PA.

Dave Jackley
Terrific. And whatleads you to Wexford? I mean, why is Wexford a great place to have a business?

Julie Tsounos
Wexford is a great place to have a business because it’s very family oriented. And that’s what we do: we specialize in kids and families.

Dave Jackley
Well, what makes Learning Express so unique? I see a lot wide variety of products here.

Julie Tsounos
Well, we are unique, because we are a specialty toy store that specializes in educational toys as well as mainstream toys. We have the toys that the kids actually want.

Dave Jackley
So tell me, why are toys like these, these unique toys so needed in our country today?

Julie Tsounos
Well, kids just don’t know how to socialize these days, they lack that skill anymore, because everything is electronic. So we try to take everything back to the basics in how kids learn through play. So we offer board games, crafts, outdoor toys that they can use to socialize with each other, and gain those skills that are very much needed for the rest of their life.

Dave Jackley
That’s fantastic. Well, what what draws people through the front door? Why should people think about coming here?

Julie Tsounos
Well, who doesn’t like a toy store? Right? Right. So just the fact of us being a toy store in this area, kids want to come in and take a look. But once they come in, they realize that we provide a fine atmosphere, and parents like it because we provide personalized service to each and every one of them. And we also offer free gift wrapping, which is a bonus.

Dave Jackley
So Julie, please tell me what led you to start this business in the first place?

Julie Tsounos
Well, when my son was younger, in this area, there weren’t really good quality toy stores around. So we thought this would be the perfect place to bring a fun toy store.

Dave Jackley
What a great idea! And what keeps you going what drives you on?

Julie Tsounos
Well, it’s certainly not the money. But it just really makes my day no matter how bad the day is going when a child walks through the door. And just that sheer joy is on their face that just makes everything better. And that keeps me motivated. Because my goal is to make everybody happy.

Dave Jackley
That’s fantastic. I mean, yeah, it looks like it’s toys, but you’re selling joy and learning and Exactly. A lot of other great things. So tell me, what’s one thing that people don’t know about your business?

Julie Tsounos
Well, one thing that they don’t know is that we are locally owned, we’re not a big chain. And also we give back to the community. Right? Right now, we’re partnering with pa connecting, which offers disabled individuals an opportunity to practice their skills before they go into the real world to look for a job. So we allow them to come here in practice, and we give them different things that they would normally do in the real world to get them prepared.

Dave Jackley
That’s great. So I mean, you’re building skills. And I think as you said before socialization Correct. is so important today in this world of screens. Correct?

Julie Tsounos
Correct. And then also we give back to the community through various fundraisers, we help out all the local schools in our area. We’ve recently partnered with Cam Hayward from the Pittsburgh Steelers, oh, wow, to support his Hayward house. And we’ve done a couple of different fundraisers and we plan on doing some more over the Christmas season as well.

Dave Jackley
So you’re hearing it right here from Learning Express in Wexford. And look for Julie and the goods from this store at fundraisers and all kinds of events. So Julie, I see lots of variety here. How about if I step behind the camera, and you give us a tour of some of the sorts of toys and what’s popular here in the store? Okay, great, what do we have here?

Julie Tsounos
First, we have the squish mallows they are very, very popular. They come in anywhere from micro two inch size all the way up to 24 inch. And they are highly sought after by both kids and adults.

Dave Jackley
A little comfort toy there. Exactly. .

Julie Tsounos
We also offer a wide variety of fidget toys. We have everything that you would need for sensory. We have little zipper bracelets that you can wear and they’re quiet kids can use them at school. We also have little Squeezy balls. We have, you know, pop-its over there, you can pop buttons.

Dave Jackley
So that’s a new hot thing. These pop-it buttons. My grandkids love them.

Julie Tsounos
Yes, actually, it started with kids with sensory disabilities and then really caught on in the mainstream. And the kids nowadays say that they’re very stressed. So they need an outlet. We have here our science section, we offer a whole variety of different STEM type experiments. And they’re actually fun. So kids don’t really think that they’re learning but they actually are learning.

Dave Jackley
So you cover the whole range of kids. What age ranges of kids could be here?

Julie Tsounos
We offer products from age newborn all the way up to the teenage years.

Dave Jackley
Wow. So you cover them all? That’s great. Yes. And it’s great that kids are learning about science, too.

Julie Tsounos
Yes. And then we also have outdoor games as well, because physical activity is very important. So we have different things that they can play by themselves or with others, but we certainly encourage playing with others.

Dave Jackley
Yes get the kids out the door and out from in front of the laptops or whatever. Absolutely. So I see you offer a whole range of family and Kid-oriented games that get the gang together. I also see some classics there like Twister . And puzzles too? Yes. Well, as we wrap up here, Julie, what’s one thing people should really know about this particular holiday season and toys?

Julie Tsounos
Well shop early because there are some issues with the supply chain. Toys getting shipped here on time for Christmas. So if you see things now that you like you better get it now before they’re gone.

Dave Jackley
That’s fantastic. Good recommendations for our listeners out here to get here soon and early. And Julie, I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with us. And remember folks come here to Learning Express right on Perry Highway in the center of Wexford. And you’re going to find a wide variety of very educational and developmental toys to get your kids maybe off the screens for a while. So tune in again next time for another edition of ExactlyAtHome North of Pittsburgh