12/06/2026
Happy Friday everyone,
So many of you have messaged me about why I closed my toy business last year and why I have set up in skincare away from the Corn Hall Cirencester:
1) the hard truth is that most parents if they are honest give their children IPads and not toys ( I am not judging). Since the pandemic life is hard, we are having to work harder than ever before, for less money, saving up 🆙 for this holiday treats and holidays involves more planning and decisions about where money goes. Doing all this while parenting is tough, Ipads mute children ( medical experts have warned of the dangers of tech and children - very few want to listen) and means we can get on with what we need to do. The warnings and risks seem to be less of a worry then keeping your children quiet!
2) an IPads is a baby sitter that provides endless entertainment and does not make the house messy. Plus pets are not in danger of swallowing small parts ( it’s not for me to judge if you want to put the family pet before your children quiet). This has made children’s toys obsolete. There for no need for a children’s toy business.
3) prioritising- experiences. After the spend on the iPad, people want holidays and to do stuff. This is all getting more expensive, so something needs to be cut from spending. A lot of people are cutting spending on gifts and toys.
4) Christmas 2024- we ran a toy stand next to my Tropics stand and the results were surprising. All too often parents and grandparents, did not see the value in buying educational toys for children and were often not interested. My mum ( who kindly managed the children’s toy stand that year for free as a favour to me) was frequently fobbed off with - I can’t afford it. We are talking £10-£30 per product.
The same people who said they could not afford children’s toys or came up with the crap 💩 that “oh but they have so much” then arrived at my Tropics stand. Budget went out the window, they could afford it all and there was never the sentence- oh but I have so much skin care. It was an eye opener and a knew we would have to close.
Part 2 why did have left the corn hall, Cirencester, a new financial future!
