Gigi’s Dolls and Sherry’s Teddy Bears

Like many Americans, Coye Vega owns a lot of stuff. Except most of his is part of a huge toy collection. His collector mentality was born in childhood, a dual-side effect of being in a large family and loving the movie Star Wars. He had to share everything with his nine siblings, and his older brother demanded exclusive control over all the villains. “I actually bought a couple bad guys myself, a Boba Fett and a Darth Vader, and hid them in my pillowcase, but he found them,” recalls Vega, a native Chicagoan.

Vega now works downtown as a Web developer, a career that allows him to furnish his Ravenswood apartment with countless toys. He owes many of his gems to a store discovery he made more than a decade ago: Gigi’s Dolls and Sherry’s Teddy Bears. The mother-daughter duo behind this packed, homey toy emporium is the sweetest team of enablers you’ll find. As if the aisles of eye candy didn’t already entice you to linger, there’s a grandma’s touch evident in the free coffee, hot cocoa and nibbles for browsers.

A treasure trove of playthings for kids and adults alike, the shop migrated to Norwood Park (on the city’s far Northwest Side) from the suburbs 14 years ago. It grew from humble beginnings: Sherry Baloun and her mother, Gigi Williams, sold collectibles 30 years ago at flea markets and toy shows. In the 1980s, Baloun opened her first shop; Williams joined her after she retired from her job as a dental hygienist. And they’re not simply entrepreneurs of new and used toys—Baloun is also the head doc of their Doll Hospital.

Tucked into the store’s 5,000 square feet, you’ll find everything from Barbie central to Lord of the Rings land to “Gigi’s Corner of the World,” populated by the United Nations of dolls. One small room is devoted to doll clothes, another to spare parts—from doll wigs to teddy-bear eyes to “criers” (the devices that make a baby wail or a toddler say, “I’m so sleepy!”). The antique dolls are a marvel unto themselves: a Dolores del Rio from 1935, Mortimer Snerd from 1938 and a Scarlett O’Hara doll (with its original price tag) that predates the movie version of Gone with the Wind by one year.

Of course, in the Internet Age, the shop does a good amount of online business, but Chicagoans like Vega get all of the in-person bonuses. “You get to view and, oftentimes, handle the merchandise before you commit to it,” he says. “And you get Tootsie Rolls and a drink. Who could ask for more?”

Gigi’s Dolls and Sherry’s Teddy Bears, 6029 N Northwest Hwy (773-594-1540, gigisdolls.com).

Take a look at Coye Vega's favorite finds.