And now for something completely different....

One of the big challenges we face as a toy shop is always trying to find products that set us aside from other toy retailers.  We think that we have done just that with our latest ranges from Djeco. 

This is a company that we've started dealing with in the past few weeks, as we love their exclusive design-led products and as an added bonus they don't supply them to large multiple retailers and grocers.  

Sometimes it's the simplest toys that have the biggest impact, and the marble range from Djeco does just that.  I played a lot with marbles as a child, but don't remember them having the wonderful array of colours and designs that we've found from Djeco.  With pinks, blues, blacks and reds as well as patterns from the traditional petal to spots, stripes, flowers and glitter these are no ordinary marbles.  Priced from £2.50, they come in fabulous little clear storage boxes - perfect to keep them tidy when not being played with!  There is also a complimentary range of marbles toys to inspire game play, each toy set comes with a few marbles and a handy carry pouch for fun-on-the-go!

 

In addition to the marbles collection we also stock other Djeco products including an inspiring collection of Magic Tricks and a design-led collection of collectable pirates, knights & superhero figures called "Arty Toys".  We love that Djeco have managed to turn very traditional toys into something completely different.  Their ranges offer a great modern twist on existing ideas, making them perfect for kids of all ages!

 

LEGO VIP Launch Event

As many of you will know we had a wee family holiday over the Christmas period heading off to sunnier climbs in Orlando, Florida.  Whilst we were away we really enjoyed the superb customer service offered by the various theme parks, restaurants and shops. 

This experience has really inspired us and we've made a number of changes straight away to our own business.  This has started with us organising our own wee "Thank You" event for our customers that have supported us over the past 20 months as we've expanded and grown.  On the 11th January we announced our first ever LEGO VIP event on Facebook and were delighted when the event sold out in less than 24hrs!  

On the 15th January we held our first invitation only LEGO VIP Event - with a resounding success!  Invitees got the chance to have hands on experience with some of the new LEGO sets, including LEGO Dino, LEGO Friends and LEGO Super Heroes.  Jake (chief toytester and No1 son) was in charge of the Ninjago demonstration area and delighted in showing everyone how to get the most out of the new green LEGO Ninjago spinners & booster packs.  We also has some competitions to win some great LEGO goodies and of course everyone left with a wee goodie bag to say thanks for coming!   

We had a fantastic day, and feedback so far shows that everyone who made it along had a great time (although we really do need more space).  It's spurred us on to do more of this kind of thing and keep changing and growing the products & services we offer.  It's also shown us that you never know where the next spark of inspiration will come from!

We want to make sure that you are delighted with your experience when you shop at The Hub, whether in-store or online.  So give us your feedback here, on our facebook page, on twitter or next time you are in store so we can keep giving you a local shop with customer service you love!

TOY TESTER REVIEW - Iball 3

Ruby has been fantastic at testing some of the best toys available from The Hub and creating incredible You Tube vidoes to help bring those toys to life!  This month we asked her to try out The Gadget Show's No1 toy for 2011 - The Iball3!  Here's what she had to say: 

Toy Tested - Iball 3 - £16.99

 

PLAY VALUE how much fun is the toy?

I am getting loads of fun from this Toy, and so is everyone else who has tried it. You can play with it just about anywhere and also while you are doing other stuff like watching telly or listening to music. It is good for car journeys and it is fun to help another person when they are playing. I play this all the time as I am really trying to pass level 2. The only thing is dont start playing just before you are to go to sleep, as you wont be able to put it down.  

Play Value Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 10

LONGEVITY – Is the toy a one-off or will you play with it lots?

This toy will keep you hooked for ages, and everyone else in the house. The idea is simple so you can pick it up and play at any time and play for as long or little as you want. You can put it on silent and play it on trains or waiting rooms. There are spare batteries included, which will make it last longer.

Longevity Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 9

PACKAGING – How easy was the packaging to remove? Is there too much packaging? Is it eco-friendly? 

The iBall just came in a carboard box which was easy to recycle  

PACKAGING Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 10

BUILD QUALITY – Will the toy last? Is it built well?  

The iBall is made of really tough plastic and comes with its own stand, I have dropped it a few times and it has survived fine!

BUILD QUALITY Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 10

VALUE FOR MONEY - Looking at the price above, do you think it is value for money?

I think this is excellent value for money, as it will keep everyone in the family entertained for hours and hours. It would be a really fun challenge to do over Christmastime. The spare batteries are good as you wont have to pay for more when the first ones run out.

VALUE FOR MONEY Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 10

OVERALL IMPRESSION – Are there any other comments you would like to make about this toy?

Really good fun, but can be very frustrating!  Is so addictive you will be dreaming about it. Think this will be the new craze.

OVERALL IMPRESSION Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 10

Ruby has been a fantastic toy-tester and we'd love to thank her for all her hard work over the past few months.  In particular she's produced some excellent videos to really help you see how the toys work when being played with.  We've loved watching them and reading all her reviews and hope to bring her back for some guest appearances in the future as we discover more great toys at The Hub!  

TOY TESTER REVIEW - LEGO Star Wars Watches

As the last month for toy testing approached we wanted to make sure that each Toy Tester tried out something really fantastic that will give them long-term fun!  We knew that Archie was a HUGE fan of LEGO, but wanted him to try something LEGO based, but with a twist, so the LEGO Star Wars Watch seemed like the perfect thing!  We chose the R2D2 watch for him to try out last week (we also have a LEGO Star Wars Stormtrooper design available).  Here's how he got on....

LEGO Star Wars R2D2 Watch - £16.99

 Toy Tested: LEGO Star Wars R2D2 Watch - £16.99

PLAY VALUE - how much fun is the toy?  

You can change the strap and switch the edges of the face. You have also got a choice of colours for the edge of the face. For a watch it is lots of fun. The R2D2 figure is an added bonus and adds to the amount of fun you can have. As well as having fun it will help me to improve my timekeeping and my telling the time skills!

Play Value- out of 10 (10 being top): 10

LONGEVITY – Is the toy a one-off or will you play with it lots?

 

I really like looking at my watch and so do all my friends! I will put it on my wrist every day and expect to until I grow out of it (this won't be for a while because I still have lots of spare links for the watch strap.) I will also love switching the colours on the strap.

Longevity - out of 10 (10 being top): 10

PACKAGING – How easy was the packaging to remove? Is there too much packaging? Is it eco-friendly? 

I am in an eco school so I am quite good at answering this question! The packaging was very easy to remove. The cardboard box is easy to recycle. Although there is a plastic box it is very useful for keeping the spare links and watch in so you do not need to throw it away.

PACKAGING - out of 10 (10 being top): 9

BUILD QUALITY – Will the toy last? Is it built well? 

I think the toy will last an awful long time. Once I had got the hang of how to put the links together it was easy for me to do myself - the instructions tell you clearly how to do this. I just needed a little bit of help to get the strap the right size for my wrist. You can put the R2D2 figure on the watch which is great but I don't do this at school as I would be a bit scared of losing the figure as I think it would be easy to knock off.

BUILD QUALITY - out of 10 (10 being top): 9

VALUE FOR MONEY - Looking at the price above, do you think it is value for money? 

The watch costs £16.99 so I would have to save up my pocket money for it but I definitely think it would be worth it.

VALUE FOR MONEY - out of 10 (10 being top): 9

OVERALL IMPRESSION – Are there any other comments you would like to make about this toy?:

 

I would recommend this watch to lots of my friends as I think it is really cool and you can do lots of things with it. You will look at it so much you will never be late for anything again and you will be great at telling the time.

OVERALL IMPRESSION - out of 10 (10 being top): 10

Archie has worked hard for us over the last 3 months testing a variety of Toys & Games.  You can find all of the toys he's tested on our website, and be confident that you are picking toys & gifts that real kids will really love.  We've enjoyed reading all his reviews and want to send a huge thanks to him from The Hub!  Merry Christmas Archie!

TOY TESTER REVIEW - LEGO Games Banana Balance

As we know, Christmas provides the opportunity for the whole family to get together.  Almost as traditional as the turkey itself, families gather after Christmas Lunch to try out the latest games.  LEGO have created some fantastic games this year and Banana Balance is reputed to be one of the best for beginners.  Archie, one of our Toy Testers agreed to try out with his younger brother to check that it really is as good as we think.

LEGO Games Banana Balance - £7.99

PLAY VALUE - how much fun is the game?  

It was good because I can play it with my whole family, including my little six year old brother.

There are different ways of playing the game which is good and keeps you interested. You can even make your own rules up!                                                     

Play Value Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 8

LONGEVITY – Is the toy a one off or will you play with it lots?

The game can last a very short time to a very long time. You will have to be a very skilled person to win this game! But it is a good bit of family entertainment.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Longevity Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 9

PACKAGING – How easy was the packaging to remove? Is there too much packaging? Is it eco-friendly? 

There were only two bags in the box so it wasn\'t that bad.But they could have put cardboard boxes instead of plastic bags. They could have also provided a cloth bag to keep the bananas in  because they are VERY SMALL!!

PACKAGING Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 9

BUILD QUALITY – Will the toy last?  Is it built well?   

I didn't need any help building this one. But it is quite hard getting all the bits of the tree in the right place. You can change how you build the tree though. The tree does fall over very easily which means my little brother gets frustrated with it but it is part of the fun of the game.

BUILD QUALITY Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 8

VALUE FOR MONEY - Looking at the price above, do you think it is value for money?

I think it is a very good price at £7.99. My Mum says it would be a great present for birthday parties.

VALUE FOR MONEY Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 10

OVERALL IMPRESSION – Are there any other comments you would like to make about this toy?

IT IS ALL VERY GOOD!!!!

OVERALL IMPRESSION Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 9

Banana Balance is just one in a whole series of different games produced by LEGO.  With prices starting at just £7.99 there is a varied range to suit all budgets and ages.  Our website shows some of the games we have in stock at The Hub, and we're pleased to say that looking at the January preview of new LEGO Games for 2012 the fun will keep on coming! 

The Toy Testers will soon be getting their December toys to review, so check back soon for more reviews. 

TOY TESTER REVIEW - Monster High Fashion Sketch Portfolio

We're delighted to publish our second Toy Tester Review of the month - this time from winner Ruby Ginoris (10).  We asked her to try out the Monster High Fashion Sketch Portfolio (£9.99), one of our top tips for a great birthday present for a girl aged 8+.  One of the things that impressed us about Ruby's application was her use of YouTube, and she's created a special YouTube video review for us (just click the link).  You can also read her comments below.  :

Monster High Fashion Sketch Portfolio - £9.99

PLAY VALUE - how much fun is the toy?

I think the idea of the sketch pad is really good, as it is more than just colouring in an outline, you can choose exactly what clothes you would like for your doll design. I enjoyed coming up with lots of cool and crazy outfits for the monsters, it is relaxing to do on a rainy day especially in caravan in Blackpool.

Play Value Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 8

LONGEVITY – is the toy a one off or will you play with it lots?

I immediately designed 3 dolls outfits and enjoyed it. I have since been back and added more a few times. There are loads of pages to fill so it could last quite along time, but I suppose eventually it will be full, I think it is just for immediate fun not years.

Longevity Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 5

PACKAGING – How easy was the packaging to remove? Is there too much packaging? Is it eco-friendly?

There was only a little plastic seal round it. The book is made of cardboard and paper so could eventually be recycled, so really quite eco-friendly

PACKAGING Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 10

BUILD QUALITY – Will the toy last?  Is it built well?   

This toy is not really designed to last forever but it is bound well and would not fall apart. I could work out exactly what to do myself from the instructions, but it was obvious what to do from the cover of the sketch pad.

BUILD QUALITY Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 9

VALUE FOR MONEY - Do you think the toy is good value for money?

I think £9.99 was good value for money. I would have to save up if I wanted to buy it myself, but I think it would make and ideal birthday or Christmas present for a friend.

VALUE FOR MONEY Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 8

OVERALL IMPRESSION – Are there any other comments you would like to make about this toy?

I think the Fashion sketch portfolio is good fun. It does require some concentration though and you need to enjoy creative things in the first place. It would be good if some pencils or pens were also included.

OVERALL IMPRESSION Marks out of 10 (10 being top): 9

You can view some of our toy range online at www.thehubdirect.co.uk or email us for more information if you can't find the specific toy you need.   Our November reviews will follow soon.....

Online At Last!

We've been toying (excuse the pun) with the idea of a website for some time now.  We've looked at having professionally designed sites from large UK based companies, local website design businesses as well as off-the-shelf packages from a variety of different online companies.  At first we set our goal really high, wanting a major launch with all singing and dancing features on it.  We contacted a fantastic company in The Midlands, who gave us a snapshot of exactly what we wanted, albeit at a price that reflected all the extras we'd requested.  When we sat back and really thought about it though, we realised that we needed to test the market first, making sure that a fully e-commerce website is the way forward for us.  The online side of our business is relatively new to us and we want to be able to have gradual learning process, rather than the steep curve that hit us when we opened the high street shop last year.

Image is important to us and we need a strong website, that reflects our professional family oriented business.  However as a new company we really have to keep an eye on cash flow, so a low-cost solution is essential.  After much review we have opted for a create-your-own site from the aptly named create that our  resident Gadgetman, Gerard, has been getting to grips with over the past few months.

We are delighted to announce that we've now published the first version of our site - available to view at www.thehubdirect.co.uk.  As with all of the elements of our business, it is a work in progress, that we will continue to grow and develop over time.  However, we think as a first attempt, dipping our toe in the water, rather than leaping head first, it's a pretty good site.  Of course we can't progress it without your help...so please give us your feedback here and let us know which products you would like to see available online!