Better World Imaginarium: Catonsville's Purpose-Driven Toy Store

Last updated August 03, 2026

On Frederick Road in Catonsville, Maryland, a toy store operates on a premise that goes well beyond stocking shelves. Better World Imaginarium sells toys, books, and games, but the selection is filtered through a specific lens: every product should build global awareness, support ethical manufacturing, and give children something genuinely worth thinking about. The store is registered as a Benefit LLC, a legal designation that signals a formal commitment to social and environmental responsibility, not just a marketing posture.

The business is owned and operated by Dr. Lisa Swayhoover, who goes by Dr. Sway, a scholar with a Ph.D. in International Education Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park. That academic background shapes everything about how the store is curated. The toys aren't chosen because they're trendy; they're chosen because they align with principles around fair trade, sustainable manufacturing, and learning that extends beyond the classroom. In a retail category dominated by big-box chains and one-click online ordering, Better World Imaginarium is doing something structurally different.

Catonsville shoppers looking for a gift that isn't available at every mall in the country have found a reliable destination here. The store draws parents, educators, and gift-givers who want to know where a product comes from and what it's teaching.

History and Founding of Better World Imaginarium

Dr. Sway built Better World Imaginarium around a conviction she developed over more than two decades working in international education. Her doctoral research at the University of Maryland focused on International Education Policy, and that work gave her a framework for thinking about how children learn to understand the wider world. A toy store, as she conceived it, could be a vehicle for that kind of learning rather than just a retail transaction.

The store is structured as a Benefit LLC, which in Maryland requires businesses to consider the interests of employees, the community, and the environment alongside profit. That registration isn't incidental. It reflects the founding philosophy: that a business selling children's products has some responsibility for what those products teach and how they're made. The store's focus on fair trade sourcing and sustainable manufacturing follows directly from that structure.

Better World Imaginarium has also built an annual tradition around National Independent Toy Store Day, celebrated on the weekend before Thanksgiving each year. The store uses that occasion to run a fundraiser for the Believe in Tomorrow Foundation, a Maryland-based nonprofit that provides recreational and respite programs for critically ill children and their families. The fundraiser connects the store's retail calendar to a concrete community purpose.

What Better World Imaginarium Sells and What Sets It Apart

The inventory at Better World Imaginarium is deliberately curated rather than comprehensive. Dr. Sway isn't trying to compete with Amazon on breadth; she's competing on meaning. The store carries toys that are fun and also designed to instill a love of learning, and the sourcing prioritizes fair trade producers and manufacturers with sustainable practices.

Customers can expect to find:

• Educational toys spanning a wide range of age groups and learning styles
• Books chosen to build global awareness and cross-cultural understanding
• Simple construction and tinker toys alongside more complex educational games
• Products that meet fair trade and sustainable manufacturing standards
• A selection that's genuinely hard to replicate through a big-box retailer or a standard online search

The store also hosts birthday parties, with staff working directly with children in a hands-on, activity-based format. That service extends the store's educational mission into an event context, giving kids an experience rather than just a gift bag.

One customer, Austin Pearsall, described the inventory this way:

There was a wide variety of interesting, fun, educational, and quality toys! Some are simple tinker toys...many were engaging toys with good educational value.

- Austin Pearsall

The range Pearsall describes reflects a deliberate choice to serve different kinds of learners and different age groups without defaulting to whatever's currently advertised on television.

Team and Leadership

• Dr. Lisa Swayhoover (Dr. Sway), Owner: Holds a Ph.D. in International Education Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park (2014). Her academic work in international education directly informs how the store is curated and how it positions itself in the community.
• Joseph, Staff Member: Leads birthday party programming at the store. Customers have specifically noted his patience and his ability to keep children engaged during parties, which are structured activities rather than passive events.

Milestones and Track Record

• Better World Imaginarium is registered as a Benefit LLC in Maryland, formalizing its social and environmental mission within its legal structure.
• Each year on the weekend before Thanksgiving, the store celebrates National Independent Toy Store Day with a fundraiser benefiting the Believe in Tomorrow Foundation, a nonprofit serving critically ill children and their families.

What Customers Say

Reviews of Better World Imaginarium return repeatedly to two things: the quality and distinctiveness of the inventory, and the experience of shopping with Dr. Sway directly. The personal attention she brings to the store is something customers notice and mention specifically as a reason they keep coming back rather than defaulting to online shopping.

Alejandro Cruz Neal put it plainly:

The owner of this store is extremely welcoming, she tries her best to give you a unique experience which makes all the difference.

- Alejandro Cruz Neal

That sense of a personalized experience shows up across the store's reviews. One reviewer noted that the knowledgeable owner is what motivates them to return rather than shop at big stores or online, a telling distinction in a retail environment where convenience usually wins.

The birthday party program has generated its own thread of positive feedback. Caitlin Haskell described working with both Dr. Sway and staff member Joseph:

Dr. Sway was fantastic to work with to organize the party, and Joseph was so patient and fun with the kids during the party.

- Caitlin Haskell

The party format clearly works because the staff treat it as an educational activity rather than a logistical obligation. Parents notice that difference.

Location and Community in Catonsville, MD

Better World Imaginarium is located at 924 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228. Frederick Road is one of Catonsville's main commercial corridors, and the store's presence there puts a purpose-driven independent retailer in a neighborhood that tends to support locally owned businesses. Catonsville sits just west of Baltimore and has a community character that leans toward the independent and the locally rooted, which makes it a reasonable fit for a store that explicitly rejects the big-box model.

The store's annual fundraiser for the Believe in Tomorrow Foundation adds a layer of local civic engagement that goes beyond the transaction. Shopping there, for regular customers, carries a community dimension that a purchase from a national chain simply doesn't.

For those watching Catonsville's real estate market, the broader context is relevant: home values in the area have appreciated at roughly 6.8% annually in recent years, with projections settling closer to 3.9% going forward. A stable, growing residential base supports the kind of neighborhood retail that Better World Imaginarium represents, and the store's presence contributes to the commercial character that makes the area attractive in the first place.

Why Choose Better World Imaginarium

Better World Imaginarium is the kind of store that's genuinely hard to replicate. The inventory is curated by someone with a doctoral background in international education, filtered through fair trade and sustainability standards, and stocked with products that don't show up on the shelves of national chains. That combination is unusual in toy retail, and it's the reason customers describe the store as a destination rather than a convenience stop.

For parents, educators, and gift-givers who want to know what they're buying and why it matters, the store at 924 Frederick Rd in Catonsville offers something specific: a shopping experience built around values that show up in the products themselves, supported by a staff that knows the inventory and takes the mission seriously.

Customer quotes shown above are from public Google reviews.