Ultimate Toy Collector Shopkins packs of Shopkins come with at least one character you cannot see before you purchase With the 12-pack for example kids can see 10 of the Shopkins in the package along with four shopping bags and a basket but inside the basket are two blind-packed characters This packaging technique adds to the fun of collecting and opening the toys All Shopkins are grouped into teams by their location in the grocery store categories include fruits and vegetables dairy bakery sweet treats party food frozen foods and health and beauty Beyond individual characters children can add to their collections with a shopping cart that holds up to 60 Shopkins or playsets such as the Fruit Veg Stand So Cool Fridge and Spin Mix Baking Stand Shopkins are obviously popular with kids but adults also are beginning to see how great they are The Toy Industry Association of America named Shopkins a fi nalist for one of its 2014 Toy of the Year Awards The toy review site TTPM com named Shopkins to its 2014 Holiday Most Wanted List while Toy Insider a website specializing in toy news and reviews named Shopkins to its Hot 20 list for 2014 We know that girls love all things miniature so we created these cute collectible characters with intricate detailing 10
W a n t to Design Toys I Designing toys sounds like fun but it’s actually a lot of hard work Toy designers often start projects by sketching ideas They may draw hundreds of ideas before they land upon one they want to actually develop Once the designers have a concept they like they will design a prototype of the toy A prototype is a model of the toy It shows how the toy looks and moves how durable it is and what materials it’s made of At this stage when the toy can actually be held and operated is a good time to make sure that it’s safe If the prototype doesn’t work the way the designer intended they may adjust their plans and create another prototype When the designers have a prototype they’re happy with they can try to sell their idea to a toy manufacturer Many toy designers specialize in a certain type of toy For example one designer might make dolls while another focuses on educational games or puzzles Many toy designers go to college to study art industrial design or engineering There are a handful of U S colleges and universities that offer special degrees or certifi cations in toy design including the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles If you think you might like to become a toy designer you’ll want to work extra hard in your math science English and art classes Of course creativity is another very important job requirement Yes toy designers do get to play on the job and they get to make kids happy If those are things you think you’d enjoy maybe you should become a toy designer when you grow up 111111111
Ultimate Toy Collector Shopkins Oldest Toy The National Toy Hall of Fame has recognized The Stick as the world’s oldest toy noting that sticks can turn into swords magic wands fi shing poles and light sabers Children build with sticks bat balls with them and walk with them They are the original building blocks for creative play Go play with a stick Paul Solomon co-Chief Executive Offi cer of Moose Toys said in a news release Christopher Byrne a respected toy industry expert and writer for TTPM said miniature collectibles have long been popular with boys Moose Toys has adapted that play pattern for girls with the same level of imagination innovation and great design that resonates with the type of play to which girls typically gravitate he said adding that Shopkins is consistently trending on TTPM as one of the most popular new toys the site has reviewed Beyond being adorable there are a handful of obvious reasons for Shopkins popularity 12
CHAPTER ONE Shopkins Take the Toy World by Storm They’re affordable A set of two Shopkins characters in a tiny shopping basket retails for 2 99 to 3 29 Even the most elaborate of playsets sells for approximately 20 They’re fun Based upon real foods Apple Blossom Bread Head Pret-Zelle health and beauty supplies Lippy Lips Polly Polish housewares Lana Lamp Brenda Blenda and more these toys run on imagination rather than batteries They’re collectable Each pack of Shopkins comes with a collector’s guide that looks like a shopping list The guides list each available character so you can look for new groceries to check off the shopping list In addition to Common Shopkins which are simply fun to play with there are also Exclusive Rare Limited Edition Special Edition and Ultra Rare characters un s fu All in all these tiny fi gurines are packed with enormous fun the e making them a giant hit with kids of all ages all over the world Big Business The average price of a toy in the United States is around 9 According to the Toy Industry Association more than 3 billion toys are sold across the country each year for a total of approximately 22 billion 13
