Kids of Lismore will be happy to hear that the famous toy shop at 64 Woodlark St has reopened, better than ever, since the February 28 flood closed its doors.

Owners Carmel and Carey Horner told the Lismore App of their experience rebuilding and recovering since the floods destroyed everything in their shop, and took most of their stock through the 5 broken glass frontage windows. The February 28th flood came so high, it came close to the ceiling in their two-storey shop.

Carey said that despite their preparation plan, which had them move everything to above the '74 height, like many others in the area, they lost everything and are still waiting to hear back from their insurers, 6.5 months on.

"We have been in business selling toys here in Lismore for 27 years, and I have lived in the area since I was 4. I recall being a kid in school and spending school days on clean up due to floods, instead of doing school work, but this flood was way beyond anything we had been through before," Carey said.

"The past 5 years of those 27 in business here, have been the most challenging even prior to Covid, due to the changes in face-to-face retail." 

"The thing is, you don’t get the same experience when you shop online. The touch and feel, the sensory thing, it’s such an important part of the experience for children and for parents to see what captures their interest and attention." 

"We also care deeply about what we stock, and make sure to stock brands which adhere strictly to Australian Standards and offer a high calibre product, including those which are eco friendly or organic. This is important to us."

"Since the floods, we stock even more sensory products, to support young people who may need extra support after the floods to process their emotions using their hands. We have stretchy things, and fidget toys of all styles, and infinity cubes for example. Sensory toys are such a big thing these days. And you get to do that in here when it's in front of you".

"And there's things that you don't even know exist until you see them. You usually only search for something you're interested in, but when you walk into a shop, this whole range sitting right in front of you and you're not flicking through pages and missing stuff".

"Opening by the September school holidays was a mark we wanted to hit like that was our benchmark," Carey added.

"Our new preparation plan doesn't include moving up, it's all about moving things out. Even our light fittings unclip, and I was very blessed to be supported by friends and customers, who are friends too, who came to help with the preparation, the cleanup and the recovery parts of getting Toyworld open."

"We have rebranded from Toy Kingdom so that we can offer a larger range, and we are happy and excited about that.

"The customers who have come in since we re-opened on Saturday have all said great things, it's been a really warm and happy place."

The Horner's are offering a Toy Raffle for all who come into the shop, whether they choose to purchase something or not. Something Carey says he chose to create, when he called all the suppliers to ask for them to donate goods, which he says are plentiful.

The Toy Raffle is free for all the community to enter, and is drawn on October 6th.