Swimming in a sea of new stock

It's been another very busy week here, though to be fair, they are all busy. I can't quite recall a week in which so much new stock has arrived, almost at once. The staff always a have a dig at me letting me know that I have over-ordered, or haven't 'phased' new products in over the year. But honestly, cross my heart etc etc, a lot of the time it is new stock that was ordered ages ago (to make sure we didn't miss out) and then it all seems to pitch at the same time. You can never quite predict when things are going to show up, so you just roll with the punches.

So which of the new items have knocked my socks off? Well I have to say that I just adore this new Janod walker wagon. The colours are divine and would suit either a boy or girl. It includes blocks and an abacus on the front. There were also quite a few other new items from Janod including a stunning pink wooden pram, a magnetic playboard and magnetic dress up sets. From Goki there is a lovely new Kalimba (thumb piano) and wooden castle blocks. We also received another shipment of Fairy Girls dress ups, with a new ladybird outfit that it too cute.

Sparkle T are an Australian designed wooden toy company who make a range of imaginative play sets that are quite unique. We had a HUGE delivery of their products this week. Our favourites are the 'I Love' series. These are sets of building blocks based on iconic cities and buildings of the world (Sydney, London, Paris, Pisa and the Great Wall of China). The wooden tea sets and kitchen role play items are bright, colourful and just a little bit quirky - we love them. Another fav is the wooden medical doctor set, which is the best I have seen in any doctor/nurses range.

We also are now swimming in a sea of Wedgits, courtesy of a whole bunch of items that were not previously available in Australia. A new agent has taken over the distribution of Wedgits, and decided to increase the range available in Oz (good move we say). Wedgits are without a doubt the most versatile construction 'toy' we have. I am using the inverted commas on the word 'toy' as Wedgits are far more than this. They truly are an item that challenge people from age 2-102. You can add to your sets (as all items are compatible) and they provide stimulation for hours of open ended play. The new items in the range include a whole series of mini wedgits that are 40% smaller than regular wedgits. Obviously these are best suited to children a little older, from 5 years. There are also several more accessory packs, plus class packs are now available in both regular and mini wedgits.

Finally, just had to share this pic with you. I try not work after school as Connor normally has things

on I need to take him to. However one afternoon this week he didn't, and I needed to keep working. He is a dino nut, so he grabbed one of the dino fossil digs from the retail store and started excavating away while he was waiting for me in the warehouse. I left him to it and this is the result. His hair had nice 'sandy' highlights and there were hunks of rock everywhere; but he managed to get his precious 'fossil' out. Ah, the joys of childhood.

Practicing what we preach

Wednesday is my day off, well sort of. Reilly has a break from kindy as we have found that 5 days in a row just tires him out too much. So he comes to the shop with me, and does a craft class with Bec, while I answer the very long list of email queries that arrives overnight. Then we have a special lunch together and pick up Connor. Today he was hooning around the shop on a Gyro car, so I decided to treat him and bring one home. Colour selection is interesting, as he is very in touch with his feminine side and lurvs pink. When I told him it was called Princess Pink he was less enamoured with it, but took it home all the same. So here are some pics of quintessential Australian kids at play - the ocean in the background (in this case it's actually the Coral Sea), a blue heeler and a couple of scraggly haired kids having some fun.

What's been hot this week - Microscooters!

It's been a week of proximal control (as I like to call it) at Entropy. Bec, our retail store manager got back from her soiree to Melbourne to see the brilliant Pink and indulge in some fine food and choccies from Haigh's. So it has been all hands on deck, which means I get to actually do some of my own work for a change. When I have spare time I spend it trying to source new products that have the 'wow' factor. Of course managing to get them to Australia at a reasonable price for you guys is the next challenge. Fortunately the exchange rate has picked up a bit, which makes things more realistic. So stay tuned for some new arrivals (as always).

So what's been hot this week? For the eStore it has definitely been Microscooters. These high quality scooters offer the ultimate riding experience. They have slightly larger wheels than most scooters, and better quality components and bearings; which all results in a smoother ride. We are a microscooting family; I ride the White which has huge 200mm wheels (very cruisy), hubby rides the Monster Bullet with fat carving wheels, Connor (6 years) rides the Light and Reilly (4 years) rides the Mini Micro. It is a heap of fun head down the Strand on the weekend for a scoot; plus of course we stop at Cold Rock for a treat. The parent models are mostly rated to 100kg; so are suitable for both Mums and Dads. Scooting is a nice family activity, plus has the bonus of incidental exercise for everyone. Hugh Jackman is a great fan of Microscooters, and we all know what good shape he is in! Here he is riding the Monster Bullet, with his daughter on a Mini Micro.

Finally, a huge Mummy plug for Connor, who completed his first fun run (5km) last weekend. He was too young to officially enter, so he wore my race number; plus got his photo in the paper to boot!