Press release -
Toy Fair 2020 to host tenth annual Design Student Seminar
(London, UK) 10 December, 2019 – The British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA) has today announced the lineup for the tenth annual Design Student Seminar at Toy Fair 2020. The event will take place on Thursday 23rd January in the Apex Room at Olympia, London. More than 120 students are registered to attend.
The Design Student Seminar is an annual event organised by the BTHA at Toy Fair. The event is aimed at current design students to encourage them to consider a career in the toy industry, and features presentations from leading industry experts. Talks cover diverse subjects from the process of designing a toy, to legal and IP protection.
This year, speakers include Billy Langsworthy, co-founder of Mojo Nation, who will give an introduction to the world of toy design. He will be joined by Emma May, CEO/Creative Director at Emmerse Studios Ltd, Matt Burtonwood of Open2Designs and David Fry of Agile IP LLP.
More than 100 students attended the seminar at Toy Fair 2019, which included speakers from iLLUMiARTi Ltd and Toy Pioneers Club.
“It’s integral that, as an industry, we do all we can do to encourage a fresh wave of product design talent to choose the toy and game space as a career destination,” said Billy Langsworthy, co-founder of Mojo Nation Ltd. “The Design Student Seminar remains a brilliant means of showcasing the sector to the next generation of top inventor talent.”
Attendees at the Design Student Seminar 2020 will include students from universities including Brunel University, Kingston University, University of Sussex and University of Portsmouth.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Toy Fair last year. I found the seminar incredibly useful at giving me an insight into what it would be like to work within and build a career in the design industry. The talk on patents was also especially interesting, as protecting designs is a part of the industry which we haven't gone into such depth about on my course yet,” said Ellie Parkinson, a Brunel University student who attended the seminar in 2019.
“The Toy Fair itself was an amazing opportunity to both network with potential employers and gain inspiration for my own design work, in addition to being able to test lots of incredible new toys on the market,” added Ellie. “I would really encourage anybody to go, it's such a great exhibition to experience and incredibly valuable as a design student."
“We’re so excited to be hosting the tenth annual Design Student Seminar at Toy Fair 2020,” said Rebecca Deeming, Public Relations & Events Manager for the BTHA. “The UK is renowned for its creative and innovative toy industry, and we’re proud to do our part in supporting future talent from our best universities.”
Toy Fair takes place at Olympia, London from 21-23 January 2020. To register for a free pass to the show simply visit www.toyfair.co.uk.
Follow the latest Toy Fair news on Twitter at @toyfairuk. For operations and sponsorship enquiries, please contact Majen@btha.co.uk.
Note to editors
For more information please contact
Jordan Tunnicliff or Emma Withington
Bastion, 35-41 Folgate Street, Spitalfields, London, E1 6BX
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About Toy Fair
Toy Fair is the UK’s largest dedicated toy, game and hobby trade exhibition taking place at Olympia London. The event takes place over three days at the end of January each year and plays host to hundreds of exhibitors, from start-ups to some of the biggest toy companies, launching thousands of new toy lines.
Toy Fair 2020 takes place from Tuesday 21st – Thursday 23rd January. Press day is 21st January, Influencer day is 22nd January. To register for a press pass, visit www.toyfair.co.uk.
Please note the opening times are 09:00-18:00 Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd, and 09:00-17:30 Thursday 23rd January.
About the BTHA
The British Toy & Hobby Association was established in 1944 to represent the interests of British toy manufacturers and to raise standards of practice in the industry. Today it has around 150 members ranging from international toy giants to small family-run businesses that together account for more than 80% of the UK’s legal branded toy market. Membership of the British Toy & Hobby Association shows the member’s commitment to adhere to the BTHA Code of Practice under the umbrella of the Lion Mark which includes assurances covering ethical and safe manufacture of toys, toy safety, a ban on counterfeit goods, an assurance to market responsibly, a commitment to improving sustainability and a desire to promote the value of all play through support of the Make Time 2 Play campaign and the design of fun toys. Our members are manufacturers committed to making good quality toys in a responsible way. The BTHA also administers the Toy Trust - the industry’s charity.
