October 4, 2013 --

Spielhaus Toys will soon open a pop-up shop along the 1200 block of Woodward Avenue, joining a renaissance of holiday shopping downtown.

The toy store, a 2013 Hatch Detroit finalist, was chosen as the next member of D:Hive's pilot program, which awards two rent-free months of space to startup businesses. It will replace CANVASXDetroit, an art studio that was the first program recipient and has been open since August.

Kurt Spieles, a stay-at-home dad turned entrepreneur, created the toy store and wants to eventually open a location full time somewhere between Broadway and Woodward. The area already contains child-friendly places such as the Skillman branch of the Detroit Public Library, the Boll Family YMCA and PuppetART theater.

The toy store, which will be be open Oct. 21 through Dec. 24, will be the newest addition to Woodward's 1200 block - across from the site of the former J. L. Hudson Co. department store.

The Detroit Shoppe, outdoor retailer Moosejaw, Papa Joe's Snack Rack and Somerset City Loft, which includes products from about 40 retailers, were open during last year's holidays. The shops were organized by Bedrock Real Estate, part of Dan Gilbert's portfolio of companies.

Plans for this year's holiday pop-ups for the block have not been finalized, a Bedrock spokeswoman said Thursday.

Moosejaw and the Detroit Shoppe have become regular fixtures on the block. The Somerset City Loft is open periodically, most recently this past summer.

MMartinez@detroitnews.com
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