Russell Rowe

I think the Toymaster show is great. Over the last few years it’s really grown to become a vital part of our toy fair circuit. It offers a more informal, laidback setting in which to do business and socialise. This builds strong relationships with suppliers,

We’ve been online for 15 years or so and opened our first store in November 2019 – so we’ve gone the other way round to most businesses. We’re now looking to open another store as we think that’s the future of the business. We are a specialist model retailer, selling things like train sets, models, lots of

We come here mainly for the networking and to get tips. As we’re new to running a shop, we’re interested to hear about the best pick-up lines and cheap gifts. A lot of our models are premium brands and expensive hobbies but, as we’re based in Glastonbury which is a tourist area, we also need more gift products and things like kites and frisbees, suitable for tourists on a campsite. This year so far we’re off to a flyer – long may that continue.

The Toymaster show is absolutely fantastic. It’s friendly and there are no parking problems – it’s a

We’ve just moved our toy department and have a bit less space than before which means we need to stick to the bestsellers. We’re constantly trying to predict what the next craze might be, so I came here with certain products in mind, but I’m still keen to discover what else might work.

Disney’s Stitch from Lilo and Stitch is selling well, and we see a lot of sales from collectibles in blind bags. Squishmallows also remains very popular.

As we’re on the coast, we do particularly well during the holidays when the tourists come. We get new customers each week, and tourists buy differently to our local customers – there are different trends in different places so we always try to get certain licences in.

The May show is always good fun and it’s important for us to see new lines. Most people come here with Christmas in mind but in Burnam on Sea, the summer holidays is our Christmas!