UK based children’s brand distributor littleCONCEPTS and Candylab Toys from Brooklyn, USA have announced an ongoing exclusive partnership. littleCONCEPTS will cover the UK & Ireland and distribute the full range of circa 60 existing lines, stock will be arriving in August. Further to this, 35 brand-new models are also launching in Q3, landing in September.

​Candylab Toys is a design company of gear heads, architects, engineers, and designers with a passion for beautiful all-natural materials, unique craftsmanship, and vintage-yet-modern looking cars that exude their own personality and are inspired from an era when you fantasized about having a ride that matched an image you wanted to project.  The cars have a highly artistic look with a mix of bold colours, and an impressive solid feel from their sturdy beech wood body.  From the “Woodie Wagon Surf Vibe vintage” to the “Drifter Series”, a gorgeous off-roader infused with nostalgia, Candylab collectibles have been popular at museum gift shops and with consumers and collectors internationally.

Candylab is also focusing on smaller, more streamlined toy cars that are squarely intended for kids to play with.  The new cars have Candylab's highly stylized, cartoony look that attracts kids’ attention and brings out a child’s imagination when playing with them alone or while using the many accessories that encourage even more creativity.

​“We are car buffs who happen to be engineers and designers who see cars as works of art that truly grab your attention - but now, during the time of staying at home, we felt it important to give kids (and possibly their parents) some cool looking toys to play with and create stories with” said Vlad Dragusin, founder and lead designer for Candylab. “I believe that in addition to adults, kids gravitate to the unique modern-vintage look and feel of these cars and that it helps stir up their imagination when they play.”

Some of the kid-focused cars include the soft serve ice cream van, the taco van, and there’s even a satellite dish-equipped news truck.  There’s also an upcoming “Plumber Van”, a “Yellow Taxi,” and “Blue Racer #8.”  

There are also a range of Americana set pieces that can enhance toy car playing experience, including the Lone Cactus Motel, Malibu Beach Tower, and Toll Booth.

“From the adult dreaming of being a Steve McQueen-esque cool dude with the perfect 1960’s style rebel muscle car - to the kid stuck at home with some cool looking toy cars and road tracks - we are excited that Candylab can promote a healthy imagination and a fun escape while we’re temporarily trapped in the boxes that we live in during this period” said Luke de la Mare
 
The range will be available to pre-order via the littleCONCEPTS B2B web-shop in the coming weeks. 

Philip Nelson, co-founder of littleCONCEPTS states:

“littleCONCEPTS is about to enter its fifth year of trading and we have been on the look-out for a new brand to add to our portfolio for a while. We take a lot into consideration when choosing a new line and when the opportunity to work with Candylab arose, it was a no-brainer.  The range fits in perfectly with our current portfolio of beautifully designed and consciously produced products for children. Staying positive and offering our customers the best products and services has been our ethos from the start and this has only been highlighted more in 2020. We can’t wait to launch the brand in July and bring this most sought-after product to the UK and Ireland."

Contact Luke (luke@littleconcepts.co.uk) or Phil (phil@littleconcepts.co.uk) for more information.

It's soon time to celebrate all the father's out there. Why not grab your favourite toy and have some quality play time as a family. We have highlighted 3 great toys, perfect for playtime with dad!

​The Plan Toys Doctor Set is perfect for inspiring role play among children. Role play helps children to develop language and communication skills. It develops and promotes creativity and imagination. Dramatic and imaginative play also encourages children to become more confident and develop a stronger sense of identity. When children come together in role play, it aids in their social and emotional development. Listening to others, negotiation and co-operation all result from authentic dramatic play.

Take six MOLUK Mini Bilibos, add a customizable, bouncing die with 36 colour chips, and you have a fascinating construction set for countless games and play activities that will engage the whole family. Match colours, play tiddlywinks, stack and balance, flick and aim, throw and catch, sort, count and learn, roll the dice and invent your own games! A leaflet with basic play ideas is included to get the creative juices flowing.

Get picture perfect views of your surroundings with the PlanToys My First Camera. Point, Focus and click the shutter and see the different images through kaleidoscope lens! Like all PlanToys, the My First Camera is produced from sustainable materials in Thailand. Find out more about the PlanToys manufacturing process in this video.

​Our online B2B ordering system is open 24/7, you can access it here.

The new BUILDING GENIUS from MOLUK is a new educational 9-piece set combining Hix, Mox & Oibo. Each of these three award-winning toys offers a broad range of sensory stimulation and play possibilities from birth and onward.

Together, they take play to the next level as a universal building and construction game. BUILDING GENIUS grows with your child, surprising with new uses and challenges at each stage of the child's development.

The elastic building blocks are made of durable, food-grade silicone rubber for unlimited fun and maximum safety. Simply throw them in the dishwasher to clean or even boil them in hot water to disinfect, and best of all - they are completely silent.

The BUILDING GENIUS is available to order in the littleCONCEPTS B2B WEBSHOP now.

Our friends at MOLUK have shared this very handy guide to cleaning their toys. In a time where everything is getting more virtual, MOLUK offers toys that are totally manual, toys that get children to move and explore, toys that stimulate their senses and minds. There are no ON and OFF switches, batteries or complicated instructions – MOLUK toys are powered simply by a child's imagination.

MOLUK is a family business founded in 2011 by Alex Hochstrasser, the designer and inventor of Bilibo, and his sister Doris Hochstrasser, an architect.

You can order the full MOLUK range on our B2B ordering platform, click here to get registered or login :)

The last few weeks have obviously seen us go through several un-precedented stages in trying to combat the situation the world finds itself in. As we all know, the “Stay at Home” directive is the best asset we have to fight this virus and ensure we support the NHS and get the country back to operating as normal as possible in the shortest time. However, we are also aware of the social implications this is causing, especially with children.

During these last few weeks, we have sometimes felt at a loss of what to do. In between home schooling, dog walking and Joe Wicks workouts, we have had some time to think about how we could support the community and spread as much positivity as possible.
​
We have teamed up with our friends, the awesome Dutch creative brands ‘Makii’ and ‘Expat Valley’ to launch a social initiative called “U and I”.
The “U and I” collection of postcards is designed to bring everyone a little bit closer, but at a safe distance. Helping kids keep in contact with their friends, teachers and family, whilst also finding that perfect balance between home-schooling / work and play.

The 20 postcard pack comprise of 2 collections of 10 cards:

connection collection
a series of lovely postcards to connect, share and challenge loved ones

I O U collection
A cool set of ‘I O U’ cards that help kids and parents find the perfect balance between (home) work and play.

£5 from each pack sold will be donated to Save the Children, helping children from impoverished and migrant backgrounds gain access to computers and internet connections. This will increase connectivity and improve access to online educational resources at this critical time.
Matthijs de Rave from Expat Valley is very proud of this project:

“Expat Valley was created to provide a creative ecosystem for expat kids, helping expat kids during the various stages of the relocation cycle in a playful manner and making a home abroad feel like 'home'. As a small dynamic team, we were lucky to be able to react quickly to the current worldwide situation. We have created something we feel will add value to not only children and parents adapting to a new way of life for the short term, but also support to Save the Children reaching their long-term objectives”

The sets of postcards can be used as giveaways with purchases, placed in online purchases of home food deliveries as a “thank you” or given out to employees for their continued hard-work.

For further information on the range visit www.littleconcepts.co.uk
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www.littleconcepts.co.uk
phil@littleconcepts.co.uk
0117 230 2112

During these last few weeks, we have sometimes felt at a loss of what to do. In between home schooling, dog walking and Joe Wicks workouts, we have had some amazingly lovely conversations with our awesome retailers. We want to continue helping where we can (even in a very small way) and have created a few colouring and activity downloads to share with your customer base if you so wish.  

You can download them here: tinyurl.com/tecp6w8  - feel free to share on your social channels.

If you can think of any other content or you have any ideas of anything we could to put together, please let us know, keeping conversations and communication open has been one of the best things to come from this!

Phil & Luke 
​littleCONCEPTS x

“Moms know that one day, children will be on their own in this world - without them. Because of this, everything that moms do for their children enhances their ability to navigate the world by themselves."