After more than 30 years, the Sylvanian Families shop in Highbury, London is set to close its doors on April 22nd. The shop, which has been a magnet for thousands of collectors of the eponymous toy animals and their habitats, has been a beloved destination for many since it opened in 1992.

The shop’s closure was announced in January, prompting a surge of customers from all over the world, including Europe and the Far East. Nineteen-year-old Molly Bell from Brisbane, Australia, was one of them.

She said, “We saw on TikTok in Australia that the shop was closing, so we bought air tickets even though that might seem absolutely mad. I collect them, but they are hard to get in Australia. The look of this shop also seemed irresistible.”

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The Sylvanian Families concept was created by Japanese toy company Epoch in 1985. The idea was to create a sylvan world of toy animals, including rabbits, bears and cats, for children in the high-rise flats of Japanese cities. This is partly why they have been so successful in other urbanised Far East countries such as China, Hong Kong and South Korea.

The appeal of the toys has been huge in Britain as well, with more than 60 million Sylvanian figures sold since the late 1980s. The toys have been seen as a hankering for a past age and escapism from today’s fast-moving world.

The Highbury shop was opened by Angela and Simon Harwood, who in their spare time had run a Sylvanian Families collectors club. Though still owners, they are retired and the shop has been managed for several years by Ben Miller-Poole, who turned his love as a child collector into his career. Miller-Poole said, “Sylvanian Families are timeless classics. There’s a wholesomeness to them – a life where there are no problems except deciding what to eat at a picnic.”

The shop’s closure has also prompted a surge in demand on eBay for animals and characters that are no longer being produced
Sources: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/apr/15/london-sylvanian-families-shop-shuts