Hamleys appoints its first-ever toy designer

Hamleys has appointed its first-ever toy designer, University College Falmouth graduate Stacey Dix. The retailer has charged Dix with creating a luxury line for its own-brand toy range.

Hamleys supports an internal design team of about eight display, graphic and merchandising designers, but this is the first time in its 248-year history that it has employed a toy designer.

Dix caught Hamleys’ attention at the D&AD Student Awards last June. She had won a Yellow Pencil for her response to a brief set by the retailer to create a 3D toy encouraging interaction and imaginative play.

‘The day after the D&AD Awards, I got an e-mail from the PA of Nick Mather, the chief executive of Hamleys, inviting me to come in and talk,’ recounts Dix. ‘At first I thought they just wanted to look at my portfolio, but after a second interview they offered me the job.’

Freshly graduated from Falmouth College with a BA in sustainable 3D design, Dix took up her role at Hamleys late last year. She is based at its head office in London, around the corner from its flagship Regent Street store. Dix reports directly to pre-school buyer and own-brand development manager Claire Ralph.

Although unable to detail her current projects for Hamleys, Dix claims that she is working on several prototypes. ‘I am working across all age groups at the moment, having been given a loose brief from which to develop ideas,’ she says.