sent from: Esher, Surrey, UK. destination: Long Beach, California, USA

We went to the Toy Fair at Kensington Olympia. It’s a trade fair, so big brands, suppliers, distributors, all looking to make deals. Lots of suits, discussions about licensing opportunities, properties, brands-confidence. Lots and lots and lots of Star Wars. Angry Birds. Star Wars Angry Birds. We feel like foxes in the henhouse, as soon as people understand we’re not buyers, it’s as though someone nearby farted and they just got a whiff. This is, I understand, the real business of it all, and it’s very helpful in understand what we need to know. I feel uncomfortable, however, I need the designers, inventors, creators. I want to play with the toys. They want us to buy them. We leave.