A Message From Alex: Beanie Babies Are Back!

In the middle of last year my dad, Bill, and I were interviewed for an HBO documentary about the 1990s Beanie Baby craze. ‘Beanie Mania’ eventually premiered on Christmas Eve 2022 on HBO and, sadly, Bill and I were left on the cutting room floor. It was still a fun experience and if you watch the documentary, they used one of our photos from the Downtown Naperville store in the mid-1990s. The photo featured piles of Beanie Babies.

Beanie Babies 30th Anniversary

Last week our Ty (the manufacturer of Beanie Babies) sales representative came in to build us a new display and give us a limited selection of 3 new Beanie Babies! These three are a throwback to some of the earlier Beanie Babies of the 1990s–with slight color variations. It was fun to see, and definitely a throwback to my childhood. I could name all three without even seeing the hang tag: Bongo, Valentino & Bones—though they added a Roman numeral 2 after their names, just in case you get confused.

While they haven’t flown off the shelves the way a new Beanie release would have in 1997, Ty is definitely playing up the nostalgia with this release. As a parent now, I was excited to show the new line to my kids, though they both already have a handful of Ty stuffed animals—they’re great Oswald’s customers!

Check out the newest ‘throwback’ Beanie Babies here!

Naperville Sidewalk Sale at Oswald’s

As we leave the warmer days of late spring and move into early summer, we’re excited to start setting aside old stock for our annual Sidewalk Sale in July. If you can’t wait until then, check the aisle across from greeting cards, sale carts out front of the store, and the bookshelves in the back of the store for some great deals in advance of the big sale.

Don’t forget Father’s Day is coming up on Sunday, June 18th! We’ve got plenty of unique finds for the Dads & Grandpas in your life, from some great new Stonewall Kitchen BBQ sets and drink mixers, to our everyday items like puzzles, mugs, decorations, and more. Perhaps Dad was a Beanie collector in the 1990s? Get him a limited edition new Beanie—before they’re on eBay for thousands of dollars! ℞

Written by Alex Anderson

Alex is the current owner of Oswald's Pharmacy. A 6th generation member of the Wickel-Oswald-Kester-Anderson family, Alex focuses on innovation and taking the business into the future. With 7 years of working for Whole Foods Market as a Marketing & Community Relations Specialist, Healthy Eating Specialist, and Private Events Coordinator, Alex has a unique perspective on big and small businesses. Alex is a co-founder and board member of the Independent Medical Retailers group. Alex graduated with a BA degree from Columbia College Chicago in 2009. Alex has spent most of his life in Naperville and Chicago. He currently lives in Aurora, Il with his wife and 2 children (Oswald's 7th Generation!)