Young adults are spending their hard-earned cash on toys, and who’s to stop them? This trend toward childlike wonder has slowly made its way into Cape Town and here is where to shop.
Legacy toy brands are also rebooting and reprising themselves, releasing toys that young people of today would have owned or wanted to own when they were children. This nostalgia factor is definitely a leading factor in the recent toy-buying craze. Being able to relive one’s childhood and revive that childlike wonder poses as a reprieve from the hustle, bustle and work-related stresses of adult duties.
Some toy brands are even catering straight to adults. Brands like Sonny Angel and PopMart are producing ranges of art toys and blind boxes that seemingly bring out the child in young adults with ease.
Art toys are designed and created by artists and are meant to be collected and displayed rather than played with. Young adults have risen to the occasion, collecting entire lines and releases and displaying them in cases. Bedrooms are turning into toy museums of sorts, because once you have one, you have to complete the set.
Blind boxes are also highly popular among young adults. These toys are enclosed in boxes and the buyer will not know which toy variant they are getting until they open said box. This mystery adds to the fun, with people online trying to guess which variant they might get before opening their blind box.
Blind boxes usually overlap with art toys. PopMart exclusively sells art toy blind boxes and has a wide range of series and lines for people to choose from. Series featuring sweet characters and IPs allow for anybody and everybody to find one that they resonate with.
IPs like Labubu – a cute, fluffy monster with a vinyl face – have become endlessly popular within fashion communities as of late and several young Cape Town locals have been spotted sporting the character as a bag charm or accessory.
Adding plush charms to handbags and backpacks has become a trend within fashion communities of the young and old around Cape Town and PopMart has caught onto this trend. Currently releasing a variety of lines that double as bag charms, allowing for buyers to accessorise their bags and outfits. One of these lines being the popular Labubu.
WonderPort Collectibles
WonderPort Collectibles also has their PopMart game on point.
With a large catalogue of PopMart blindbox toys to choose from, every customer will leave with their cart full and their inner child happy.
Cape Venison & Biltong
Cape Venison & Biltong has recently started stocking these art toys along with other imported goods and sweet treats. The store carries a wide range of IPs, some of which have already sold out, but do not fret, as they have already stated that a restock is imminent.
- Location: 12 Suikerbos St, Blomtuin, Bellville, Cape Town
- Time: Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm | Saturday, 9am to 4pm | Sunday, 10am to 2pm
- Contact: 064 678 5493
- Online: @cvbblomtuin | facebook.com/cvbblomtuin
Retailers selling art toys are exploding in popularity and are receiving a good amount of support around Cape Town. There are even trade communities being set up for blind box figures; should someone unbox a toy they already own – as is the way of the blind box.
With such a wide range of toys to choose from, work stress and commitments, and hard-earned income, it is no wonder then that young adults are tending towards spoiling themselves like a kid again.
Also read:
Cape Town’s Ouzeri makes its debut on World’s 50 Best Discovery list
Picture: facebook.com/cvbblomtuin
