POULSBO — At Toys Etc, Marilyn Sipila sells an eclectic mix of playtime oddities, a mishmash of novelties and baubles. Hackie Sacks. Kid-sized periscopes. Slinkies. Below a rack of Mad-libs, there’s even a tub of faux snow powder.

What Sipila sells isn’t categorized as necessity. Her stocked store, from the windsocks hanging at the ceiling to the whoopie cushions beneath, is full of discretionary items.

Still, it’s with little surprise Sipila explains her numbers so far in 2009 are fairly close to where they should be. In what many are calling an economic nightmare, she’s hanging on.

“It’s been pretty normal,” Sipila said of business. She’s run shop out of the Poulsbo Village for more than four years, and keeps track of daily and monthly sales in comparison with the past. “My feeling is that (the start of 2009) is at least equal to last year, maybe ahead.”

What Sipila reports isn’t totally out of the blue. Nationwide, the Commerce Department reported January U.S. retail sales rose 1 percent from December after having fallen for six straight months. It’s the biggest increase in 14 months, according to national reports.

But questions remain: Has the same hopeful inkling occurred around North Kitsap? And will it last?

At a national level, analysts aren’t predicting a stay of retail worries.

“The headline relief today is welcome but it is unlikely to last,” wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, in a research note. He added the net climb in sales is also a bit deceiving, as December and November numbers were each revised down 0.3 percent.

At the Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce, Executive Director Adele Heinrich said she’s heard from some business owners that their outlooks are improving, likely caused in part by February’s sunny weather relief and a seasonal surge in around-the-house remodels and repairs. Without quoting numbers, Heinrich said business does seem, for some in the area, to be picking up.

“I have a feeling that the snow did a lot of people in,” she said. “A lot of people are holding their own, and that’s a wonderful thing.”

One retailer happy the winter weather has ceased is Carol Ingles, whose downtown clothing consignment store Closet Transfer has seen an increase in foot traffic with the start of the new year. January, she said, was “better than you would expect.” Ingles and employee Marilee Mills attributed the upswing to the increasing popularity of consigning and the shop’s unique, well-priced options.

“We’re happy that we can fill a need,” noted Ingles.

“We’re happy you’re here,” one customer immediately touted, explaining she’s no fan of current styles, but likes what she finds at Closet Transfer.

The Commerce Department report showed increases in auto sales and general merchandise, or “big box” stores, while less varied department stores remained on the decline.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which operates a Poulsbo center and is the world’s largest retailer, reported this week a 1.7 percent increase in fourth quarter 2009 fiscal year net sales, which nearly reached $108 billion.

But not all reports are glowing with such good news: Wal-Mart also recently announced it will cut 700 to 800 jobs at its Arkansas headquarters.

The Labor Department said retailers cut roughly 45,000 jobs last month, and while January retail sales saw a slight jump to the positive, sales were still down 9.7 percent from the same month last year.

Still, Sipila isn’t paying either set of numbers much heed. Before opening Toys Etc in Poulsbo, she ran a similar store in Kauai where she posted gains even after Hurricane Iniki left her shop without electricity for a month in 1992.

Her business also grew despite the island lockdown that occurred in Sept. 2001, after the terrorist attacks.

Her uncommon offerings and diversified pricing she says have enabled her to “get around the seasonal and economic blips,” which she adds are inevitable from time to time.

“I don’t focus on the bad news, I just focus on what’s right,” Sipila explained. “Doesn’t mean I don’t lay awake at night at times, I do. But I know it will get better.”