Career Journey
Where Work is Play
December 2023
December 2023
Tamara Soru
Photo Courtesy: Tamara Soru
Photo Courtesy: Tamara Soru
Through the help of community and a joyful work environment, this entrepreneur was able to overcome tough times.
The Little Play Co. is an imaginative play space in Hoboken, New Jersey. Kids can come in and become shopkeepers, bakers, fire fighters, medical professionals, carpenters, and more in an area scaled to their size that features props to make their play more realistic. It’s laid out like a mini-downtown Hoboken, with signage to match. The owner, Tamara Soru, also creates extravagantly decorated birthday parties and hosts them on the other side of her spacious shop.
Carol Lippert Gray, associate editor, recently spoke with Tamara about her business and the obstacles she overcame to keep it up and running.
The Little Play Co. is an imaginative play space in Hoboken, New Jersey. Kids can come in and become shopkeepers, bakers, fire fighters, medical professionals, carpenters, and more in an area scaled to their size that features props to make their play more realistic. It’s laid out like a mini-downtown Hoboken, with signage to match. The owner, Tamara Soru, also creates extravagantly decorated birthday parties and hosts them on the other side of her spacious shop.
Carol Lippert Gray, associate editor, recently spoke with Tamara about her business and the obstacles she overcame to keep it up and running.
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Why did you start the Little Play Co.?
Honest to goodness, I was mid-divorce. My children were two years old and eight months old. I made a brief attempt to go back to work in Manhattan, but it was a struggle (like so many single parents know), and after a nanny debacle, it was clear I needed to be closer to my kids or at least on this side of the river. During this time, I took the boys all over to experience different types of play environments, anything to keep them busy and happy and for me to keep my sanity. Imaginative play was always their favorite. After months of research, numerous Pinterest boards, and realizing the intense need for such a place in town, Little City was born. I have been told many times, it’s not a bad place for my kids to have spent most of their early years. I originally put in an open playspace. Children can come for open play during the week and on weekends if we don’t have parties. You already had a career in visual merchandising. |
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Most of my career was in fashion merchandising and visual display with Ralph Lauren. I also did window decorating and interior design.
Who created the interiors for the Little Play Co.? They’re adorable.
Lilliput Homes create anything you could dream up. You give them your vision and they bring it to life. It’s magical. I wanted the space to look like a mini-Hoboken, and I also had a muralist come in.
When did you open your doors?
In 2018. I needed a way to support myself and be creative as well as a place where my kids could be with me if necessary. They spent most of their little years here. Starting this business also helped with my loneliness. I could meet new people and create happiness.
Now, I’m thankful for it [the business] and for the community that supports it every day. It’s a fun place to be. It makes me happy every time I walk in the door.
Who created the interiors for the Little Play Co.? They’re adorable.
Lilliput Homes create anything you could dream up. You give them your vision and they bring it to life. It’s magical. I wanted the space to look like a mini-Hoboken, and I also had a muralist come in.
When did you open your doors?
In 2018. I needed a way to support myself and be creative as well as a place where my kids could be with me if necessary. They spent most of their little years here. Starting this business also helped with my loneliness. I could meet new people and create happiness.
Now, I’m thankful for it [the business] and for the community that supports it every day. It’s a fun place to be. It makes me happy every time I walk in the door.
Interior of The Little Play Co.
Photo Courtesy: Tamara Soru
Photo Courtesy: Tamara Soru
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Were there any surprises?
The one thing I never expected was to become part of such a loving, inclusive and supportive community. During what was a bit of a dark and lonely time for me, I met so many amazing people and some of my best friends just from sitting at that reception desk every morning. Hoboken really is such a special place. It feels like Cheers [the TV bar] to me. No matter where I go, it seems like everyone knows my name. But the COVID lockdown years threw you a whammy.
The quarantine years were rough. I was diagnosed with breast cancer like six days before the shutdown, and I had only been open about one-and-a-half years. I had a following but didn’t think I had enough of a following to stay open. But I have wonderful friends. They did a GoFundMe and applied for grants, so I could stay open. People sent pictures, cards and notes that I still have hanging up. It was the wildest six months of my life, a rollercoaster both physically and emotionally, but I never felt alone. It was beautiful, even as crazy and terrible as it was. These wonderful people helped me keep my business afloat and me afloat. |
Tamara Hosting a Breast Cancer Fundraiser After Finishing Chemo (2020)
Photo Courtesy: Tamara Soru |
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Party Fun!
Photo Courtesy: Tamara Soru |
How many parties a year do you do now?
We do between 170 to 200 parties a year. They’re my bread and butter and my favorite part of running the business, because I get to shop for props and design elements and wall displays to decorate the space. The way I do my events and my prep is different. It’s more over-the-top. A lot of thought goes into it. And when people come in, their faces light up – the parents and the kids. It’s magical. Do you have a favorite moment? Goodness there are so many…some even when we’re closed! People ask me all the time where some of our party ideas come from. I always giggle because it’s normally just my best friend and me having cocktails after hours at the space, laughing hysterically while throwing our next big idea around. Next thing you know, there is a “flying disco ballerina bunnies” theme on the website, and we’re hosting a surprise party for her five-year old daughter. To see her little face when she realized what was happening was one of the cutest things ever! |
Do you have plans for expansion?
Now I’m finding there isn’t much for the next age group. I’m exploring ideas for tweens, like arcades. I see the young kids/tweens, who I’ve watched grow up at TLPC, wandering around on their phones with few places to go. There’s not a ton for kids this age to do in town, so stay tuned for TLPC Phase 2.
I’m also writing a book. It’s a bit of a memoir. I’ve been through a lot and get a lot of calls asking if I’d mind talking to someone’s friend about my experience with kids, divorce, cancer, or business. If I can help other people, I’ll share my story.
What’s your advice to other novice entrepreneurs?
Go with your gut. Have faith in yourself and always ask for help. I had no experience in any of what I do now, but I had an idea and knew (at least I hoped) I could execute it in a way nobody else had. TLPC wouldn’t be what it is today without all the ridiculously generous and kind people who stepped up to help me along the way.
Where do you find sanctuary?
I walk a lot. I put on my music and lose myself in whatever I’m listening to, for hours and miles. It’s peaceful for me.
Now I’m finding there isn’t much for the next age group. I’m exploring ideas for tweens, like arcades. I see the young kids/tweens, who I’ve watched grow up at TLPC, wandering around on their phones with few places to go. There’s not a ton for kids this age to do in town, so stay tuned for TLPC Phase 2.
I’m also writing a book. It’s a bit of a memoir. I’ve been through a lot and get a lot of calls asking if I’d mind talking to someone’s friend about my experience with kids, divorce, cancer, or business. If I can help other people, I’ll share my story.
What’s your advice to other novice entrepreneurs?
Go with your gut. Have faith in yourself and always ask for help. I had no experience in any of what I do now, but I had an idea and knew (at least I hoped) I could execute it in a way nobody else had. TLPC wouldn’t be what it is today without all the ridiculously generous and kind people who stepped up to help me along the way.
Where do you find sanctuary?
I walk a lot. I put on my music and lose myself in whatever I’m listening to, for hours and miles. It’s peaceful for me.
A native of Atlantic City, New Jersey, Tamara Soru studied fashion and visual merchandising and design at the Art Institute and then went to Arizona State University to study business and marketing. In 2003, she moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, to work for Ralph Lauren in New York City. She spent the next 12 years working in visual merchandising, interiors and display for RL and Brunello Cucinelli. She opened The Little Play Co. in 2018 and has been hosting birthday parties and events ever since. During COVID, in 2020, she was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer, enduring eight rounds of chemo and radiation before the year was out. In 2023, she is three years healthy and clear, and TLPC had its five-year anniversary. She hopes to expand the business in the near future and still lives in Hoboken with her two boys, ages 10 and 9. She loves to play pickleball, travel, bake, decorate, entertain, and spend time with friends and family.
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Carol Lippert Gray is an award-winning public relations professional and longtime freelance writer and editor. Her career has spanned books, newspapers, magazines, broadcast, and online media in fields as diverse as crafts and corporate finance, parenting and philanthropy. She is Sanctuary's associate editor.
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