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| July 2009 | ||
| 2 City Arcade, Lichfield, Staffs WS13 6LY | Phone: | 01543 254354 |
| Website Home: www.littleshopofknowledge.co.uk | ||
This Issue:
Weekly Draw
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Join Our Teddy Bear Club Get a Discount off All Your Steiff & Charlie Bears Purchases |
Melissa & Doug -
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How We Choose Our Toys |
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Webcam...or not?
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First of all, welcome to Trish & Terry's latest Little Shop of Knowledge newsletter. Keeping you in touch with what we're doing at the shop - this is part of our online shopping website at www.littleshopofknowledge.co.uk
We were sorry to see Woolies close down in January - our hearts go out to all the staff who worked there, some for many, many years. I remember Woolies in Lichfield, as a toddler - getting lost in the maze of counters. Everything used to be on a counter in those days, biscuits, pens, records - they even sold cheque books!
Since we opened in 2006, we've always been a Charlie Bears stockist. Charlie Bears have become incredibly popular, with Charlie and William Morris appearing regularly on the QVC channel to show off their latest creations. Since February, as well as Charlie Bears we're also an Official Steiff Bears stockist. We've been trying to get the go-ahead from Steiff since we opened and they've finally given us their approval. On the right is one of our Steiff teddy bears, Joseph. He is voice-controlled and will play a selection of songs from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat", through his built-in MP3 player!
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Get a Discount with Our Teddy Bears Club
We don't have special exclusive bears, but we're giving a generous discount to members of our own Teddy Bear Club. Contact us via email on littleshop@btconnect.com for more details
If you've read our newsletters before, then you'll know that we were appointed a Melissa & Doug Flagship Store by the UK distributor, Flair. Well, the good news is that Melissa & Doug, the American classic painted wooden toy makers, have now set up their own distribution centre in the UK, at Southampton and we now have access to a much wider range of their products.
All Melissa & Doug toys come with a lifetime guarantee, which is affixed to the toy—not to the throw-away packaging. Take a look at our shopping website, www.littleshopofknowledge.co.uk to see some of the Melissa & Doug toys we have in stock.
At the end of January, once again, we spent two hectic days at the Toy Fair—the UK's biggest event for the toy trade, held at Excel in London. The following week, we went to the Spring Fair at the Birmingham NEC—the second biggest event of the year! So, we now have lots of plans and ideas for toys for you for the coming year and especially for Christmas.
Hope to see you soon,
Trish & Terry
Your Chance to Win a £10 Voucher Each Week
How would you like to be one of the first to hear about our special offers and get the chance to snap up a bargain now and then? Well, sign up to our e-mail newsletter and we'll send you all the deals as they happen—straight to your Inbox. All you need to do is e-mail your full name to: with the subject line Newsletter Request. |
Each week, in the shop, we have a free draw for a £10 voucher, to be spent at Little Shop of Knowledge. Every e-mail address on our list will be entered into the weekly draw, each with an equal chance of winning.
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Little Shop of Knowledge is an educational toyshop owned and run by Trish & Terry Coombes in Lichfield, home of the Cathedral and the birthplace of Dr. Samuel Johnson. Mostly,we sell toys that you don't always find on the high street, including Melissa & Doug, Zoob, Cambridge Brainbox, Charlie Bears and Lucy Locket We also carry an unusually wide range of Meccano, the classic construction kit that everyone knows and loves.
You can contact us at:
Little Shop of Knowledge
2 City Arcade
Lichfield
Staffordshire
WS13 6LY
Telephone 01543 254354
How Do We Choose Our Toys, Games & Puzzles?
When we're asked to describe Little Shop of Knowledge, we call ourselves an educational toyshop, which usually prompts the question, “What is an educational toy?”
We think of an educational toy as anything that sparks someone's curiosity, driving them to find out more about the toy or game, adding to their store of knowledge—hence the name of our shop.
Very early in our toyshop venture, we were drawn to the ideas of Professor Howard Gardner—his Theory of Multiple Intelligences . He explains this in his book, “Frames of Mind”, suggesting a number of distinct “intelligences” that we use to a greater or lesser degree, in the process of learning.
He named these:
Plus a few others that he added later. The theory helped us in our toy buying decisions and, although you won't find the educational features being pushed at you, you can rest assured they're in there somewhere! |
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Oh, by the way, the final, test is: IS IT FUN? If you want to find out more about Multiple Intelligences, just ask and we'll point you to a few links. Send us your e-mail address to keep in touch, or leave it in the shop (and have the chance to win a £10 voucher - see above)
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New Additions to the Store
Since we opened in August 2006, we've had a policy of continuous change in our product lines. Some are core products that we wouldn't want to be without, such as Meccano, and now we have Sylvanian Families; in other areas, products can become 'stale', so, before that happens, we like to replace them with fresh, new toys. This year, we were appointed an Official Sylvanian Families Stockist - once again, by Flair PLC, the UK distributor. |
Above, you can see the little Sylvanian Families Saloon Car - whatever we say, everyone calls it the Morris Minor! This has been one of the most popular Sylvanian items, now closely followed by the Sylvanian Caravan - this includes a towbar that attaches to the Family Car. |
Some other recent additions to the shop are: Lego, Airfix, Maisto, Bladez Toys - helicopters from the company that won the Dragon's Den spin-off TV program Tycoon, with Peter Jones giving away lots of money.
Salvation 9 from Bladez Toyz |
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