On Tuesday 8th September, Tollers will open its first shop, on the retail mezzanine at Glossop Market Hall. After building this business entirely online, we're finally opening a proper shop, somewhere in Glossop you can walk into.
Where it started
If you've been with us a while, you'll know how this started. Last year I took my eldest son with me to buy birthday presents for my twin boys, and we stood in a toy aisle full of flashing plastic that would be broken, or forgotten, within a month. We left with nothing. I went home that night and started researching properly instead: what toys were actually built to last, who was making them well, and why so few of them seemed to make it onto UK shelves.
Weeks of late nights later, Tollers was born. We named it after a rocking horse that's been in my family for four generations, bought secondhand in the 1930s, repainted and repaired more times than anyone's kept count of, and still being ridden today, ninety years on. That horse is basically the whole business in one object. Made properly and loved by generations.
We built the brand online first, curating a range of toys against a clear set of rules, no screens, no batteries, sustainable materials, nothing that wouldn't survive being handed down to a little brother or sister. That's still where most of you found us, and it's still where this business lives day to day. The shop doesn't change that; it just gives it somewhere else to live too.
The next chapter
A shop has always felt like the natural next step for Tollers. Somewhere people can see the range properly, let their kids actually get their hands on things, and put a face to the brand they've been ordering from for months. I like the idea of a parent picking up one of Elou's cork blocks and watching their toddler chew, throw and generally try to destroy it, right there in front of them, rather than just reading that it's hard-wearing on a product page!
There'll be a proper play area too, somewhere kids can play with our toys rather than just browse from a distance, which is honestly one of the parts I'm most looking forward to seeing used properly.
Finding the right location
We'd been keeping our eyes open for a while, waiting for the right location, when the opportunity at Glossop came up. It's a town that's quietly become somewhere young families are choosing to put down roots, close enough to Manchester for the commute into the city, but with the Peak District sitting right on the doorstep for everything a city doesn't give you, space, fresh air, and somewhere to actually let the kids run about at the weekend. It's exactly the kind of place Tollers was built for.
Glossop Market Hall fits that same story. It's become one of the genuine hubs of the town, a proper mix of independent traders rather than the usual chains, full of the kind of small, considered businesses that remind you a high street can still feel like somewhere worth visiting rather than somewhere you pass through. It's already a place families spend their Saturday mornings. Being part of that, alongside other people building things they actually care about, felt like the right room to be in.
What you'll find inside
Everything we love from the online range will be there in person. Le Toy Van's imaginative play sets, the kind of thing that's kept our own kids occupied for entire afternoons. Elou's cork building blocks, made in Portugal, and genuinely some of the toughest toys we stock. All of it, curated the same way it always has been, now somewhere you can pick it up, turn it over, and try it before you buy it.
Address: Glossop Market Hall, Market St, Glossop, SK13 8AP
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm. Closed Mondays.
Behind the scenes
This shop is also becoming the operational home of the wider business. Online orders, which we've had a third-party partner pick, pack, and post on our behalf, will be handled directly from the Glossop unit instead. It's not the most glamorous detail in this whole announcement, but it means the entire business will finally run from one place, which should mean a more consistent experience whether you're ordering online or walking through the door.
Building the team
None of this happens without the right people running it day to day, and that's the part we're genuinely excited about next. We're building a small local team in Glossop right now, a Store Manager to lead the shop and help shape our content, and a handful of part time Retail Assistants to support the rota alongside them. Real people who'll get to know our regular customers by name, not just a job title on a rota. If that sounds like you, or someone you know, we'd love to hear from you.
Follow along
We're filming the whole thing, from the empty unit as it stands right now through to opening day, the good bits and the inevitable stressful ones, all going up on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook between now and September. If you want to see exactly what it takes to turn an empty unit into a working shop in a month, come and follow along.
Off we go on our next adventure. See you in Glossop.
Simon
