Back to School...

This week has seen the majority of children return to school after a mammoth 8 week summer break.  It's been lovely seeing some of our regular customers pre-school children dropping by in their smart new uniforms.  

This is the first year that we've really focused on "Back to School" as a range and introduced school bags, stationery and lunch bags into the store.  As we already stock big brands such as LEGO and Moshi Monsters it was natural to bring in back to school versions of these ranges.  However the big hit for girls has been the Style Me Up Color Freedom Bags & Pencil Cases.  We think that one of the main appeals of this range is the ability for each child to get really creative and choose their own personal look for their bag, even if their best friend has the same one.  

One of the highlights of the last week was the announcement of the winner of our Colouring Competition where local girl Amy won a brand new schoolbag, just in time for starting back.  

Of course we also know that the big issue with anything "back to school" is making sure it comes "back to home" afterwards!  As a result we've been delighted with the services of another local company Labels4Kids, based in Stirling, who make sure that parents can keep track of all their kids new belongings.  We've labelled everything our kids are taking into school only stopping short at popping a label on our their foreheads!  A must for making sure that brand new schoolbag and pencil case comes back home with them, no matter how unique they've made it!

 

The X-Factor Trigger

We've had a few people start their Christmas Shopping early...yes we know it's still technically summer.  However this weekend we've noticed even more people in buying early and putting away the big items ready for the festive season.  The reason why?  Apparently the start of the X-Factor on ITV tonight has reminded them that Christmas is on its way!  

It's amazing how the little things can trigger off our thought process.  Now where did I put that Santa hat?

Santa's Summer Shopping

Well that's it!  The first day of summer, the weather is slowly improving and later on today we head off to a trade fair to start looking at toys for....(deep breath)....Christmas!

We have already completed orders with some of our key suppliers.  By the end of January this year we had finalised our Advent Calender order from LEGO, and made sure that we'd picked out our top lines for the second half of the year.  We'd also had the chance to visit Toy Fair London - where many new lines and prototypes are showcased and we schmoozed with the whole Toy Industry.  

The trade fair we are going to this week is different!  It's focused purely on independent businesses, meaning we don't have to jostle for time and space against the big supermarket/catalogue/online retailers. The great news for us is that the suppliers will have the time to demonstrate all their fantastic new lines for Autumn/Winter 2012 and we'll have a chance to really play with the new toys and make the best decisions about which brands we think will be top of Santa's Wish List.  

We're also looking forward to chatting with other independent toy shops, and coming back brimming with ideas of how to make your shopping experience with us the best it can be!   So, although a heat wave is about to sweep the country, please don't think we're mad if you come into the shop to find us humming Christmas Carols - after all we are doing Santa's Summer Shopping!

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!

 

Good Deeds Get Rewarded!

Last week our son Jake turned into a local hero when he found someones lost caravan keys in the High Street.  Fortunately the rightful owners were found and they were returned to them, much to their delight and relief.  They were in such a tizz at the time and so pleased that they wouldn't have an expensive repair breaking into their holiday home, that they forgot to note the shop where they'd managed to get back their lost keys.

It was a wonderful surprise when they contacted us on our website via our virtual assistant, and managed to establish that The Hub was the shop where "the owners wee boy" had handed in the lost keys.  As he'd been such a hero, they wanted to say thank you and used the website and our free collect at store service to order some LEGO Hero Factory as a treat for him.  Needless to say, Jake was over the moon that his good deed was rewarded and of course next time the family are visiting their holiday home they'll be sure to take a spare set of keys with them everywhere!  

  

Spring!

What a week! Looking back at our Facebook page we go from posts about needing sunglasses and wishing for ice cream to driving to work through snow and rushing the sledges from our warehouse back to the shop.




The good news is that the bright weather seems to be back, and although it's cold, the snow is melting.
At least you can always be sure of a warm welcome from us at The Hub, even if the Scottish weather cant decide if it's Winter or Spring.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Dunblane

Birthdays Wrapped Up!

Just about every parent I know is busy.  Some are uber organised with calendars to keep track of every social event their little one is due to attend, others have fridge doors crammed full of handouts from school, party invitations, reminders for community events not to mention the latest paint splodged masterpiece from school.  No matter how organised (or how disorganised) we are though, at one point or another most of us have experienced the horror of finding a crumpled invite at the bottom of the school bag, or a forgotten party invitation hidden behind the car tax reminder stuck to the fridge!  That sense of panic is multiplied when you realise that in just a few hours you'll need to turn up at the forgotten party with a wrapped gift and card for the birthday girl/boy that doesn't look like it was a last minute thought.  

 

That's why we offer a one stop shop at The Hub to help you with party gifts.   From giving gift advice on the latest must-have toys to our fabulous range of retro cards & gift-wrap and personalised gift vouchers.  We have everything you need under one roof to make sure birthdays go smoothly, whether bought in advance....or on the way!