News Fabula Toys now available at Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop Operating for just over nine months, start-up toy company Fabula Toys has announced that its exclusive toy line will now be available at the renowned Benjamin Pollock’s Toy Shop at Covent Garden, London. The vintage and retro toyshop is one of the oldest toyshops in the city and has its origins at Hoxton as far back as 1851, before moving to its current location in 1980. Fabula’s popular Incy Wincy Spider set of sensory gloves, and The Finger Family set of 10 multicultural finger puppets, will be available both in-store as well as online at pollocks-coventgarden.co.uk. Nazneen Yasin, founder & director at Fabula Toys, said: “I am pleased with the growth we have seen over the last few months and am beyond thrilled for our products to be listed at a place as legendary as Benjamin Pollock’s Toy Shop. Over the next year or so, expansion will be a priority for our business. With the markets opening up and Christmas drawing closer, opportunities are endless, and they start as soon as early September – I am really looking forward to meeting with shop owners, buyers and other members of the industry at the Autumn Fair 2021 in Birmingham.” Initially launched via the company’s eCommerce website, Fabula Toys gained prominence for bringing age-old nursery rhymes alive by exploring the characters and story lines in a way that encourages children to interact with them in the physical world, rather than watching rhymes on YouTube. In addition, each toy is designed to promote the development of Early Years Learning Goals such as imagination, sensory perception, physical exercise, vocabulary, communication and more. Customers can purchase the company’s toys on Etsy as well as directly from fabulatoys.com. Fabula Toys will be at Autumn Fair 2021 in Hall 7, Stand 20C62, and welcomes all trade visitors to its stand to discuss retail opportunities. The company can be contacted at: play@fabulatoys.com/020 3633 9684.
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Miko – on a mission Michael Beckett, director of Licensing and Content Acquisition at Miko, tells Toy World about the kids’ robotics company, its flagship products, and why innovative content is key when it comes to learning. Tell us about Miko and how the company was founded. Miko was founded six years ago in response to a couple of key societal issues. Our extensive global research showed that parents were concerned by the amount of screen time their children were consuming but did not wish to take those screens away. Miko therefore set about creating an interface for technology that provides maximum value to kids and supports parents with key areas of their child’s development. Since then, we’ve successfully launched Miko 1 and Miko 2, which sell in 140 countries worldwide. The way that children spend their free time has evolved over the last 10 years, moving from traditional media towards increasing levels of screen time. Children are becoming increasingly tech savvy from a younger age, and this has been further accelerated during the pandemic. When you add internet security issues and screen addiction, parents understandably find themselves concerned about how technology may be affecting their children. Miko aims to address some of these challenges.
Tell us about Miko - what are its key features? Miko supports parents in the development of their child through an AI guided conversational experiences, fun and informative apps, and guided knowledge journeys. Kids can launch their favourite content using voice commands to learn about their favourite subjects, while Miko can dance and tell stories and jokes too. Soon we will launch Miko Missions, which will challenge children with daily fun engaging missions that aid their overall growth and development. The Missions consist of activities designed to offer a guided process supporting mental and physical health, cognitive and academic growth, and strong social skills.
What is special about Miko? Miko is an AI companion that educates, entertains and engages in ways that a standard phone or tablet can’t. The product is packed with the latest technology, incorporating AI, machine learning, robotics and voice recognition, allowing Miko to initiate conversations which both educate the child and allow the robot to learn more about them in return. Miko also delivers content in the form of video, audio, games, podcasts, live tutorials and much more.
Do you create your own content for Miko? We do create our own content, but we’re always looking for great content to add to our platform too. We’re particularly interested in content that can be adapted to Miko’s capabilities. Instead of a simple story book, for example, we consider whether we can create an interactive story in which children decide the outcomes, and if Miko can discuss the key themes and quiz the child about them. And instead of just learning about healthy food on a video, we want Miko to send a notification to mum’s phone with a game parents and kids can play together the next time they are at the supermarket. The possibilities for creating fun and unique learning experiences are endless, which is why we’re looking for key partners to help us create this magic. I urge anyone with great children's content to get in touch with me at Michael@Miko.ai to discuss opportunities.
What does the future hold for Miko? As our AI develops, we want to revolutionise the way we interact with technology, creating innovative ways to support families in an emotionally intelligent way. This is just the start of a very exciting journey which could see Miko supporting people through old age, or people with learning difficulties. For now, however, we are focused on making sure Miko is the best companion to children and their parents that technology can offer.
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