26.01.2011 40 not out !
All this week at the Toy Fair, Olympia, celebrations are taking place on stand B12. Why ? Because Orchard Toys is 40 this year, and we have chosen to celebrate with our trade customers and friends at the show.
It all began in the late sixties when Margaret Harvey opened a children’s nursery school. Before long, it became apparent that ‘activities with a purpose’, that were suitable for young children, were not readily available.
Margaret’s husband, Keith, who had seen the need for a range of products to help with young children’s development, designed some activities that the nursery could use.
A box of wooden building blocks and two tracing sets were the result of his early labours and were the first activities that were produced for the nursery. These early products became so successful, that in 1971, they lead to the foundation of Orchard Toys.
From those humble beginnings we have grown into the well-respected international company we are today.
When asked how he felt about the company today, Keith said, “I think that the team is doing a magnificent job and is taking Orchard Toys into a different league. I am so pleased that they have continued to manufacture in the UK, and, thanks to the new factory extension, look to do so for a long time to come. I really believe we are fast becoming a household name!”
In the span of 40 years the company has gone from two tracing sets and a box of bricks to an ever-changing range of 100 plus games, jigsaw puzzles and activities.
