Wallace & Gromit fans will be able to embark on a dog walk with a difference in Bristol next month.

Giant statues of Wallace’s faithful companion will be popping up all over the city from July 1st.

Five-foot tall fibreglass models of Nick Park’s loveable animated pooch have been created for a new art project in the city entitled Gromit Unleashed.

Each of the sculptures will be individually designed by a different artist, designer or celebrity, creating a trail of 80 unique pieces of art across Bristol.

Designer Cath Kidston has decorated Gromit in her renowned floral print, while Simon Tofield, award-winning illustrator of the cartoon series Simon’s Cat, has covered Gromit in mini cat illustrations.

Comedian Harry Hill, children’s illustrator Sir Quentin Blake, fashion designer Sir Paul Smith and Gromit’s creator Nick Park have also got their hands on one of the models.

Kelly Ballard, Head of Marketing at Destination Bristol, says: “Having the world’s first Gromit trail is a fantastic coup for Bristol. Gromit is one of many Bristol icons and is much-loved among global audiences, so we wanted to create a film using him to showcase the city’s great landmarks and destinations.

“The aim is to inspire people from across the UK and beyond to come and sample the city’s heritage, attractions and creative vibe.”

A variety of trails will take visitors from one Gromit to another across Bristol’s most famous landmarks.

Visitors will be able to spot the sculptures at various locations across the city, including Windmill Hill City Farm, Bristol Tourist Information Centre and Bristol’s harbour. They will also be able to collect embossed mini Gromit stamps in a special commemorative passport.

Find out more about the Bristol sculptures at www.gromitunleashed.org.uk

Story courtesy of The Daily Mail

July activities aim to raise awareness of local businesses including toy retailers.

Indie toy store owners are being encouraged to take part in Independent Retailer Month in July.

Retail champion Clare Rayner is urging stores to get involved with a host of footfall-boosting activities.

July marks the UK’s third Independent Retailer Month, aiming to raise awareness of local businesses and retalers across the UK.

The month-long celebration calls on retailers to come together and create promotions, activities and events to capture the imagination of the local community.

“Just last month it was revealed that the number of empty shops across the UK has hit an all-time high according to the British Retail Consortium, and the Centre for Retail Research forecast that by 2018 one in five shops could have disappeared from our high streets,” said Rayner.

“The only way to try and stem further closures is for retailers to be proactive, not only reminding local customers that they’re here, but to give them more reasons to visit.”

All retailers taking part in Independent Retailer Month have access to a range of free, downloadable materials and resources, from promotional posters and window stickers to media liaison templates and more. The tools can be accessed at www.independentretailermonth.co.uk/resources/.

The campaign team will share every independent retail event at www.independentretailermonth.co.uk/events to help drive footfall.

“There are more than 192,000 independent retail businesses in the UK, and almost 250,000 premises are occupied by them – the more of them who take part in Independent Retailer Month to celebrate their input and impact into the retail environment, the stronger they will become,” Rayner added.

You can also follow @IndieRetailUK on Twitter.

Courtesy of ToyNews

Working with bloggers and reading the online reviews makes our work so interesting.  Hearing what their children really think of some of the toys we have tested is great fun and hugely informative.  Today we’ve spotted the Smart Trike on test…

Our friends at Mummy’s Shoes are hosting a give-away too…

In 2011 the Smart Trike Recliner won a Highly commended award in the Rainbow Toy Awards.

Head over to Mummy’s Shoes to read about the Smart Trike 3 in 1 Deluxe and enter the give-away.

If we spot any other toy give -aways and competitions we will keep you posted!

BinWeevils.com has partnered with Aardman Animations and Sony Music to find the best pop video animator in the UK.

The competition will offer, as first prize, the chance for four children to create the official pop video for the Bin Weevils debut album, Bin Tunes, released by Sony Music on 29th July. The winners will visit the Aardman Animations in Bristol. There, they will work with a professional director to create a unique pop video, which will be seen by up to two million children on BinWeevils.com.

Entrants are invited to submit a short pop video clip, featuring Bin Weevils characters, using the Animate It software which was created by Kudlian Software in association with Aardman Animations.

Story Courtesy of ToyWorld

Toy specialist PR company, Rainbow 360 Media Ltd, has announced new courses in social media.

The courses are aimed at complete beginners who wish to take their first steps on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. The company provides a choice of either office-based intensive, one-to-one personal training, or an email alternative for people to follow at their own pace. The aim is to enable companies who know they need to become more social media savvy take their first steps and really understand what they can achieve for their businesses.

Rainbow 360 Media Ltd has had many companies, retailers in particular, say they want to begin promoting themselves on social media platforms but are just too nervous to begin on their own.  The courses not only provide all the information needed to open accounts and begin interacting with the online community, but also Rainbow 360 Media Ltd offer support packages which companies can purchase month by month until they feel ready to ‘go it alone’.  The courses so far have provided companies with the confidence to promote their own businesses knowing they are keeping within the many online rules and guidelines.

For more information email Rainbow 360 Media

Tomy has announced a Guinness World Records title attempt scheduled for Saturday, May 11, 2013, for the Chuggington StackTrack Railway System.

Tomy will be constructing a larger-than-life toy train layout in an attempt to set the record for World’s Tallest Toy Train Track.

The public is invited to join in, which will be a featured part of the Grand Centennial Parade of Trains in Vanderbilt Hall in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. Tomy’s Master Builder, Jason Moreno, will be on site constructing the sky-high layout beginning at 10am until the 1pm world record attempt is officially completed.

In order to set the Guinness World Records title for World’s Tallest Toy Train Track, Moreno and his helpers must construct a towering layout utilising the Chuggington StackTrack die-cast railway track that meets or exceeds 9’ 8” inches in height, and a commercially available Chuggington StackTrack die-cast railway train must then travel from the top of the track to the bottom.

A Guinness World Records adjudicator will be on site to authenticate the record-setting event and, if the effort is successful, to present a certificate that officially proclaims Tomy as the world record holder. Families and kids of all ages are invited to participate in the event, which is free and open to the public from 10am until 4pm. Attendees may also visit the Chuggington areas in the Kids Junction, which will feature train activities, games, giveaways, and entertainment. Entertainment will include Radio Disney AM 1560, who will be there from 11am-2pm providing interactive entertainment and prizes.

More information on the Chuggington StackTrack Railway System can be found at Tomy.co.uk

The testers for the 2013 awards are at the ready.  Take a look to your right and see the blogroll, you see many of our testers have their own blog and will be reviewing entries on there for us, as well as filling in their forms.

Utilising bloggers for our testing panel means we have a huge reach, in excess of over a million unique readers.  Any blogger who displayed the button (code sent on request) can be named on the blogroll.