Ripon’s only toy shop has moved to a new location in time for Christmas.
Although The Easy Learning Shop has only relocated a matter of feet, owner Pete Wilkinson believes it can make a big difference.
He has moved from inside the Duck Hill Shopping Quarter to a unit on Duck Hill with a street frontage.
Mr Wilkinson told the Stray Ferret:
“This is something I’ve wanted for some time, as it gives me the opportunity to do window displays that change through the year, with Christmas an obvious time to try and catch people’s eyes.”
Animal glove puppets at the Easy Learning Shop
The shop, which sells traditional wooden toys and games, alongside puppets, books and goods designed to help educate children as they play, opened four years ago, when Mr Wilkinson was forced to change career.
He said:
“I was a bus driver for 18 years and used to drive the 36 double deckers, but that came to an abrupt halt after I sustained serious back injuries in a fall, which made driving buses too painful.
“I had to look for something else to do to earn a living and that’s when I decided to go into retail and I’m pleased to say that things have worked out.”
Since the move on Monday, he has already attracted new customers and he looks forward to building on that as the festive season rapidly approaches.
