A mad idea that grew into two shops.
We're a family, not a chain. This is where we came from, what we believe about play, and why we do things a little differently to everyone else.
It started with a doorway in Ironbridge.
In 2020, in the middle of a year when nothing felt certain, we did something that probably looked a little mad: we opened a toy shop.
The Toy Box is run by Vonny and Adrian, with a lot of help from the family. We're the ones behind the counter, the ones unpacking the boxes, the ones who get unreasonably excited when a new Maileg delivery lands. There's no head office. There's just us, and a shop we care about far too much.
From that first little doorway in the Gorge, word got round. People came for one thing and left with a story. So we opened a second, bigger shop in Shrewsbury, and the whole thing grew into something we're very proud of.
We switched the online shop off. On purpose. It was a big decision, and honestly, a little bit scary.
Here's the truth of it. Trying to recreate online what happens inside our shops, and trying to out-scroll the enormous websites while we're at it, was never really going to be us. It's not where the magic is.
The magic is a child going quiet in front of a shelf. It's picking a bear up and deciding, there and then, that this one is coming home. It's the person behind the counter knowing exactly the right thing for a fussy three-year-old, and wrapping it like it matters. None of that fits in a basket icon.
So we've put everything back where it belongs: into two shops you can actually walk into. We feel incredibly lucky to be in places as lovely as Ironbridge and Shrewsbury, and we'd genuinely love you to visit, take your time, and enjoy all of it. The only thing you can still buy from your sofa is a gift card, and we'll post that out to you beautifully.
With warmest wishes, the whole family x
How the story goes so far.
The first Toy Box opens in Ironbridge
A small shop in the World Heritage village, opened in the most uncertain of years because we believed a good toy shop still mattered.
A second shop in Shrewsbury
Word spread, so we opened a bigger sister shop on Shrewsbury High Street, with far more room to explore.
All in on the real thing
We chose to focus everything on the in-person experience, and to look after each brand we carry like it's our own. Gift cards are the one thing we still post out.