New Toy Shop Opens at Dirty Janes Canberra

We have some super exciting news to share!!

We’re delighted to finally be able to share with you all the news that we’ll be opening a space at the fabulous Dirty Janes when they open their new emporium in Canberra in March 2020.

We can’t wait to have a store front again, and in, what is sure to be an Australian iconic location! We will be 1 of 90 stallholders in the former Geological Survey building in Fyshwick, which will have a new café, with an outdoor area, a veggie patch and a playground for kids! What more could we want!!

Be sure to follow @vintagetoybox for our updates and @dirtyjanes_canberra so you don't miss any news or updates on the build of this exciting new Canberra Vintage shopping and dining destination!

Dirty Janes Canberra officially opens on 25th March 2020, seven days a week between 10 am and 5 pm, and is located at 80 Collie Street, Fyshwick, directly behind Domayne Furniture.

We can’t wait to be part of this amazing new venture! In the meantime check out our online store for cool Christmas presents for the whole family.

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Vintage Toys in Australia

After moving over from the UK over 8 years ago, we've noticed that there is a wide shortage of vintage toys in Australia, compared to the UK. This really isn't surprising, considering the brief history of Australia, compared to Europe, where there's a huge abundance of toys from yesteryear flooding the market.

This makes it all the more exciting for us though when we go foraging and come across an old toy from decades ago, often still in great condition. We take great pleasure in then finding out from the owner a bit of history about the toy, particularly details about all the children who used to play with the toy, and who've had so many hours of pleasure holding it in their little hands.

Often though, more times than not, we find that whoever has the vintage toy in their hands often has no idea about where the toy has come from, perhaps picking it up from a market themselves, an antique fair, or perhaps a house clearance. In these instances we need to do a bit of research, in tracking down the history of the toy. Things to look for are details of the manufacturer, the year it was produced, which stores it was sold in, the location of the stores, and the original selling price of the toy. This will generally give you an indication of the demographics of the family that was the likely original holders of the toy.  From there you can piece together your own little story about toy ownership, the child, and their family.  We love doing this, as it takes us down memory lane, without ever needing to have our own memories to fall back on.  It's like stepping back in time, but without the step - what could be more fun?!