Walking through the door at RWR Innovations is a little like entering a portal to another age.
But which one?
On the one hand, the little storefront features toy trains made of wood and real, hard-bound and paperback books and all the old-fashioned trappings of a retailer in children's play wares to rival something from Main Street in the early 20th century.
At the same time, there are plenty of high-tech gadgets to hold the youngsters in thrall and even, as one of RWR Innovation's signatures, books and movies that can be created to make the children reading or watching them part of the story.
It's all part of the allure and the melange Ron Nixon is trying to create at Ralston's newest business that he touts as part toy store, part bookstore, part curiosity shop and an all-around experience for kids and parents.
"The 22nd century came out of the blue," said Nixon, RWR founder and manager, who has just moved his operation from Albuquerque, N.M. to 8404 Q St. "Kids are on computers nowadays as soon as possible. That's part of the direction we're headed and that's great, but children also need to use their imaginations.
"They need the tactile sense of holding a book and reading and making the story come to life in their own minds."
Thus, Nixon has begun a sort of cottage industry in imagination.
Many of the books his business sells are of a stripe with the typical fare to be found in the children's section of any library or book shop, but instead of the child reading about other characters, she can read about herself taking on challenges, standing up for a cause, joining up with some of her heroes to make the world a better place.
RWR's titles can personalize the reading experience for children by putting them into stories with Santa Claus, with Garfield, with McGruff the Crime Dog.
Kids can see themselves and their names in a space adventure, a trip to the fire station, or as a sports star or ballerina.
"It's all there in the imagination," Nixon said. "We just take the child's name and put it in the book and off they go. It's something we think is very special for kids."
Nixon began the book business online 11 years ago when he first came to the Omaha area, working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Though a series of job transfers moved him throughout the nation, he still maintained an Internet presence — and with the help of partners Wren and Rob Newman — and still put together the personalized books by hand.
This fall, after retiring and returning to settle in Omaha, Nixon decided to open a brick-and-mortar store where he could expand the business into some of the new ventures, including personalized DVDs and CDs featuring kids in songs and storylines with characters from the Veggie Tales series and other heroes like Spider-Man, the Little Mermaid and Dora the Explorer.
The Newmans helped him select a location and this summer, RWR — named for its three principal partners — began its first operations at the Q Street location.
"It's a nice little store," said Wren Newman. "It's a good location, good visibility. I think we'll do pretty well here."
With the DVD and CD business, Nixon said he's hoping to play to the other strengths he sees in today's children, an adaptability to technology and a recognition of its importance in their lives.
"Books have been a love of mine all my life," he said. "But we live in an information age, an age when things change so fast. Kids need more opportunities to be creative and to use the knowledge they acquire. It's just not good enough to regurgitate facts. There needs to be application and with the technological end of the business, that's what we're wanting to do."
With just a few shopping weeks before Christmas, Nixon is also poised for his biggest selling season of the year, when he said gift orders will begin peaking.
Books, trains, toys, DVDs and other personalized items like posters and photographs all make for good keepsakes and learning tools for children, he said.
"I'll do about 60 percent of my business in the next three to four weeks," Nixon said. "We hope it's a good season."
With the treasures at hand at the new store, chances are looking up.
Striking the proper balance between the tactile sense of learning from books and the more visual and virtual style of learning with technology is part of what Nixon hopes will drive business at RWR Innovations.
"I want to help people," he said.
"That's the main reason I got into the business. I want to help parents find things that can help their kids learn. I want to help kids learn about themselves and learn to read. We need to trust our kids and that means helping them out with what is happening in the world around them."
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