We've just been on a toy hunt........

Whew, just back from the 2012 London Toy Fair at Olympia organised by the BTHA (British Toy and Hobby Association). What fun we had – over 250 exhibitors displaying toys and games of every shape and size you could imagine from; dolls to drums; rattles to railways and cookers to cars. We had done our homework though and focused on the toy brands we thought you would like to see in our Jack Boxes - toys that are of excellent quality, imaginative, fun, colourful and not available in large chain stores – premium brands we can pack up and deliver to your door.

All our current suppliers were there, keen to show us their new ranges for 2012.  Some of our favourites were:

These Brio books that will look great on your child's bookshelf...............................but turn them sideways and they reveal a surprise of a colourful and stimulating array of puzzles.

Hape is a new brand we will be introducing – we love this baby walker, it’s got great features, but best of all it’s very sturdy so offers great support for a child learning to walk.

And Tolo continue to be as clever as ever – a toy drum that bangs, rolls, rattles and can be split to make a small drum kit. Click on the link to watch the video..........

Tolo Drum

a barn with pop ups, mirrors and squeakers............
Tolo Barn

and a clown that’s just full of surprises:
Tolo Clown

We also found some new and very exciting toy brands and are looking forward to giving you a preview of those, but that’s for later. See more photos of what we did on our facebook page.

A huge thank you to all our suppliers for their warm welcomes and enthusiasm and an even bigger thank you to my fantastic husband who looked after our children whilst we took pleasure in being children for a day.

And so it begins.....

It’s been almost six months to the day since Vicky and I first decided we should stop talking about our idea to rent toys and books and do something about it.  Already it’s been a huge adventure but it’s certainly never been dull.  We have had a lot of fun deciding upon what brands and publishers to work with, even having one meeting around a Barbie board table, and have been thrilled by the enthusiasm and support shown by the companies we are working with.  It’s a huge change from our day jobs! 

We’re very excited because this week our website has gone live so thank you to Mark Francis and everyone at Blue Flamingo web design, for coping with our endless changes and coming up with such a great design.  We would also like to say that we would not have got this far without the support and help of our very many hugely talented friends who we have tapped for all sorts of favours and advice along the way.  So, to that end, we’re kicking off this blog with just a few thank yous…

• Katy Dunn for your excellent copy writing skills
• Paul Gilbert for bringing Jack to life in our fantastic logo
• Kate Carey for making our Ts&Cs and Privacy Policy sound slightly less dull
• Alan Cunningham for your expert legal input
• Sarah and Chris for all their wise advice on running an online business
• John Sandalls and Rob Facer at Barnack Logistics for helping us learn and prepare
• Alison Duff at Calm-a-baby and Jennifer Flowers at Small Wonders Nursery for your advice on starting a business
• Friends and family who have been full of enthusiasm and advice
• and of course our husbands, Dan and Glen for their support and patience – long may it continue!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on our website www.kidslibrary.co.uk but don’t worry Mark, we promise we won’t make any more changes for at least a week!