Sustainable Christmas joy

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Sustainable Christmas Joy!

For Patrick Downs, Head of Design at Keel Toys, festive inspiration for working in toy and gift industry comes from his four-year-old son Zachary. But Patrick’s team will be helping to bring the wonder of Christmas to many other homes in 2022…

The last two years have been particularly challenging ones for the retail sector. How have they been for the team at Keel Toys?

It’s been an incredibly challenging time for us – as I’m sure it has been for every other company in the UK – but we’re lucky to have an incredibly strong business, as well as a fantastic team that have guided us through. We’ve used the last couple of years to invest in and grow our Keeleco range, making us the number one recycled soft toy supplier in today’s market. In fact, since Keeleco launched in 2020, we’ve used the equivalent of more than 14m water bottles in the manufacture of the range.

Christmas & Gift has always been a much-loved show. What appeals to you about Harrogate?

We’ve been exhibiting at the show for many years. Our Christmas collection is a key area of the Keel Toys range so the show is invaluable, both in showcasing its importance and meeting our key festive customers in a very focused setting.

What product ranges will you be showcasing at Harrogate this year?

Our main showcase for the Harrogate show will be our 2022 Keeleco Christmas / Winter range. The collection has been completely redesigned for this year and is totally sustainable. The range features all new Reindeers, Penguins, Polar Bears and many more designs.

We will also be showcasing Keeleco Adoptable World, the newest part of the sustainable soft range and the first fashion eco soft toy collection! With happy expressions and wide expressive adorable eyes, the collection of 12 characters simply begs to be picked up and adopted by a loving new owner. Keeleco are also soft toys that don’t cost the earth.

Spring Fair is obviously broader in scope as a show than Christmas & Gift. How do you approach the NEC event in terms of what product to showcase, and visual merchandising?

Spring Fair is a hugely important show for us and a welcome opportunity to meet all of our customers face to face. We have one of the largest and most impressive stands at the fair and it allows us the space to showcase our entire range. The visual impact of our stand is vital in highlighting our collections and drawing attention to new products.

Spring Fair 2022 will feature some fantastic new displays to highlight our Keeleco Adoptable World and Keeleco Baby ranges. The stand will also feature Keel Toys Retail Solutions, a fantastic and simple way to display key soft toy collections, including both FSDU and MDF permanent display units.

Have you brought out a lot of new festive pieces for Christmas 2022, and is your design process influenced by sales trends from the year before?

The 2022 Christmas range is all new for this year, our main focus was to make it 100 per cent recycled and 100 per cent huggable. Our design process for this range is heavily influenced by the success of our Keeleco range but

For more information visit: www.keeltoys.com Harrogate show stand: Hall A, Stand A37 | Spring Fair show stand: 5G20-H21

also with new fabrics, seasonal trends, patterns and finishes. We feature classic winter and Christmas character favourites along with all new Keeleco Adoptable World Christmas Reindeer, Owl & Penguin, and more.

What are you most looking forward to for Christmas 2022 - both in terms of Keel Toys, and personally?

We’re certainly looking forward to building on all the hard work and successes of 2021 and offering our customers even better product and levels of customer service. Personally, spending some quality time with family and friends, and like every year watching the wonder and excitement of my four year old, Zachary, open his presents on Christmas morning is one of the main reasons why I love working in the toy and gift industry!