THE owner of The Toy Shop in Melksham, Clive Brown, has won a prestigious Golden Teddy Award for his commitment to service within the toy industry.
Clive, who has owned the shop for over 55 years, was presented with the award by the British Toy & Hobby Association at the Toymaster regional meeting in Swindon, for his ‘honesty, integrity and being one of the toy industry’s genuinely nice people.’
“It was quite a shock to win the award,” says Clive. “I just feel it’s nice recognition of what I call ‘individual shops’, hopefully helping customers make purchases. Just as an example, I had a guy in here the other day from Scotland and he purchased something and he said, ‘I live up in Glasgow, there’s nothing like this here!’
The Toy Shop, which has another shop in Trowbridge, has remained a staple on the Melksham High Street, welcoming all ages. In 1968, Clive and his wife took over the business from previous owner Geoffrey Slade, who sold sweets, toys – and tobacco!
Over the years the toys stocked in the shop has changed to reflect the current trends. “There’s a ‘fashion trend’ to toys but sadly the in-thing nowadays doesn’t last long. Give it a couple of months, it’s come in and gone out and changes all the time. The life of it is very, very restricted.
“Personally, I classify myself as a chief toy tester. I do like Lego, which we try to keep up with and all the trendy stuff.
“I object terribly to phones because you have got to give your kids time to express themselves.”
Inaugurated in 2001, the Golden Teddy Awards were created to reward worthy individuals from all levels of the toy industry whose individual contributions and dedication over the years deserve public recognition. Golden Teddies are awarded to candidates who have served the industry for more than 15 years.
Clive’s son, Matt Brown, runs the Toy Shop store in Trowbridge.