One of the many perks of being one of the “Friends of Sylvanian Families” is that I can visit many events that Epoch & Highlights PR are attending. On Tuesday 24th January I was lucky enough to tag along at The Toy Fair!
The Toy Fair, hosted by the British Toy and Hobby Association, is the only toy fair in Britain designed for companies to exhibit their toys to stockists. This means there is no entry to the general public whilst new toys are being presented, with many still in their development stage, and a ban of children aged between 5 and 15 years old. The event lasted for three days and I got to see many upcoming toys, from various different brands. I also learnt a few things about the upcoming world of Sylvania and the new UK products for 2017.
The big Sylvanian Families displays were amazing! When you arrived at the Epoch Making Toys Ltd. stand, you were greeted by a giant blue saloon car’s front, as seen in my previous blog post A Day Out With Sylvanian Families. A giant house made of cardboard contained the Aquabeads products, whilst 90cm versions of Freya Chocolate, Coco Chocolate, Ralph Walnut and a 58cm Crème Chocolate stood behind a cardboard fence outside!
Next to the house was a giant lighthouse! This model of the new product set for release during the year is super cool! I went inside and you could test the lighthouse’s light! All three filters were available to use. A blimp was also hanging beside it! My photo looks bright however lights were off inside the room to allow testing of the products.
New products for 2017 were displayed! The new products for February are:
- Fruit Wagon
- Candy Wagon
- Cakebread Poodle Family, Twins & Baby
- Nursery Friends
- Village Cake Shop
- Cake Decorating Set
- Lighthouse
- Sky Ride Adventure
- Ballet Theatre
- Ballerina Friends
- Ice Skating Friends
Most Halloween & Christmas Sets Sylvanian Families releases are exclusive to Japan; previously Christmas sets were either UK-exclusive (those by Tomy and Flair), or several years late to the market. But the new Halloween and Christmas sets (for Japan 2016) will be released in the UK!
On the wall above the new products display, the two maps of Sylvania were displayed. I tried looking at some of the buildings I did not recognise on there. Many of the 1980s and 1990s buildings are present, so I am curious whether other images are foreshadowing future products?
On the wall above the new products display, the two maps of Sylvania were displayed. I tried looking at some of the buildings I did not recognise on there. Many of the 1980s and 1990s buildings are present, so I am curious whether other images are foreshadowing future products?
Alongside this was a giant glass case containing a Sylvanian Families diorama. This contained already existing products from the shopping and seaside range, as well as houses such as the Treehouse.
A 30cm Freya Chocolate stood under a TV screen that played Sylvanian Families adverts. This was part of a shop-display shelving unit that is often seen in UK and Japanese stores. It is in the shape of a house and allows for products to be seen from both sides.
One side had all the new products presented neatly! I also noticed a Japanese version of one of the carry cases had snuck its way onto the shelf.
I got to speak to many lovely employees of Epoch and Highlights PR, and saw the CEO of Epoch around for most of the day. I learnt a lot of new things, and had a lot of fun, even if I wasn’t allowed to run away with Ralph and Coco!
Outside of the Sylvanian Families at the Toy Fair, I spoke to representatives of other companies, including Sylvanian Families’ old UK distributor Flair, Iwako who make the world’s leading range in collectible rubbers, Breyer who are famous for making model horses “My Dream Horse” and creative art sets and many others! I also had my photo taken with other famous characters (and ran into Peppa Pig and George, plus many characters from more recent TV shows).
Outside of the Sylvanian Families at the Toy Fair, I spoke to representatives of other companies, including Sylvanian Families’ old UK distributor Flair, Iwako who make the world’s leading range in collectible rubbers, Breyer who are famous for making model horses “My Dream Horse” and creative art sets and many others! I also had my photo taken with other famous characters (and ran into Peppa Pig and George, plus many characters from more recent TV shows).
And of course, I couldn’t leave without this photo...
Throughout the day I was also given not one, not two, but three Freya tote bags containing various goodies! I will be giving one of these away, so stay tuned! I was also given samples of Iwako rubbers to review on my new non-Sylvanian Families blog (coming soon) and a Lego Minifigure from the people at Lego!
I hope you had run learning about The Toy Fair 2017! Let me know how you feel about new products and whether you liked the displays!