Bubble Wrapp Toys

Bubble Wrapp Toys is Kansas City’s premier destination for blind box collectibles, designer vinyl figures, and indie art toys — an enthusiast-run shop in the heart of Westport that serves the collector community the metro had been missing.

Description

Bubble Wrapp Toys occupies a corner storefront at Westport Road and Main Street, steps from the Kansas City Art Institute — a location that proved intentional. When owners Kitty and Nate scouted Kansas City, they identified the metro as a “toy desert”: a city of nearly half a million people with no shop dedicated to the art-toy and blind-box collectibles category that had exploded on the coasts. The nearest comparable retailer, they concluded, was in Chicago. That gap became their founding thesis.

The store stocks a curated range of designer toys and collectibles: blind boxes (mystery packages containing randomized collectible figurines), vinyl figures, gashapon (Japanese capsule-machine toys), sofubi (soft vinyl), plushies, art prints, stickers, and stationery. Featured brands include international cult names like Sanrio, Sonny Angel, Pop Mart, Tokidoki, and Labubu, alongside pieces produced exclusively for Bubble Wrapp in collaboration with independent artists. Nate and Kitty describe their market position as “the space between Hot Topic and Claire’s” — targeting adult collectors and enthusiasts who want community and genuine discovery, not mass-market impulse buys.

Community programming is a core part of the Bubble Wrapp identity. The shop hosts gallery events featuring local artists, runs collector nights, and partners with neighboring KC businesses for pop-up collaborations. Its Westport proximity to the Art Institute feeds a steady stream of student collectors who have become regulars.

Ownership and history

Bubble Wrapp was founded by Kitty and Nate, a husband-and-wife team who came to Kansas City after years of moving around the country. Kitty, originally from California, had worked in the fashion industry and later trained as an esthetician. An unexpected medical emergency at age 29 — later described publicly as a stroke — took her out of that career and confined her to home during recovery. With time on her hands and a long-standing passion for collectibles (the couple trace their interest in art toys to their discovery of Tokidoki around 2007), Kitty turned to eBay reselling toys, initially to stay occupied and generate supplemental income.

The side project proved viable. Nate, who brings a military background to the business side, joined her in formalizing the venture: they filed for a business license, built a website, and migrated off eBay to their own e-commerce platform. Bubble Wrapp launched online officially in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic period accelerated their decision to commit fully to the business.

After 18 months of online-only operations, Kitty and Nate opened their brick-and-mortar location in October 2022 — a glitter-floored corner shop in Westport. Growth since has been substantial: the business reported 350% all-time revenue growth by February 2024, and expanded from a spare-bedroom startup to a multi-channel operation with ongoing inventory financing. As of 2025, the shop is also a vendor at KC Pride and other community events, and the owners have signaled long-term ambitions for a larger physical space.¹²

Links

• Website: https://www.bubblewrapptoys.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bubblewrapptoys/
• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/BubbleWrappToys

Sources

Disputes

None at this time. Minor address variation (2 Westport Rd vs. 3816 Main St) is a corner-address artifact, not a conflict.

Footnotes

1. https://www.onrampfunds.com/customer-stories/bubble-wrapp — Asserts: Founding during pandemic; Kitty’s stroke; Nate’s military background; first loan September 2022; 350% all-time growth by February 2024; spare-bedroom startup to multi-location.* ↩

2. https://www.eventeny.com/company/?c=59118 — Asserts: Nate listed as team member; participated in KC Pride Parade 2025.* ↩