It's amazingly only 18 months since I first discovered Bigjigs after buying Little Miss C her first train set for Christmas. Today we've celebrated her third birthday and it was quite telling that the majority of gifts that we bought her came from Bigjigs – not through any obligation that I felt from working with them, but simply because I really love their toys, as does my daughter.
That first purchase was somewhat by chance, but then talking to the owner of our local independent toy shop I learnt a huge amount more about the company behind the brand and I really liked what I heard.
Bigjigs Promotional Material from 1991
Rather than being a big anonymous company, Bigjigs is very much a family brand. Started in 1985 the company was set up by husband and wife team Liz and Peter Ireland when they moved from teaching and started making and selling wooden string puppets. They expanded their range to include wooden jigsaws with large pieces and that's where the name Bigjigs came from – Big Jigsaws.
The Bigjigs Family
Now 27 years later Liz and Peter are still the directors of the company and their sons Sam and Tom (who featured in some of the early promotional material) are also now involved in the company – making it very much a family business. It gives the company a very human face and to me that speaks volumes. I'm much more likely to give my custom to a business like them than one which remains completely anonymous. I love the fact that the Bigjigs team are active on social media, regularly chatting to their customers, understanding what makes them tick and also making them laugh.
Sam's first bit of modelling work for Bigjigs
I'm therefore delighted to be sponsored by Bigjigs to attend BritMums Live! in London later this month. Fellow Play Patrol Agent Sussex Mummy and I will both be there waving the Bigjigs flag and telling everyone just how much we love them – be warned I'd probably choose Bigjigs as my Mastermind specialist subject! I really am passionate about making sure everyone knows about Bigjigs and their toys and why their children would love them too.
If you're going to BritMums please come and find us and say hello – from what I hear from we should be quite hard to miss. Also keep an eye on Bigjigs Twitter and Facebook accounts as there might be something special in store for you too…
Discalimer: Bigjigs are sponsoring me to attend BritMums Live! and we are also Bigjigs Play Patrol Agents.
Have fun at Brit Mums. I love BigJigs – they really are beautiful toys that last, and are nice to look at even when they get left all over the living room floor.