Shop: Totem Toys

In October, a new toy Walhalla opened on the famous "Pita street" behind the Grand-Place: Totem Toys.

Maïlise Loits, who is from Brussels, and the Swiss Sebastien Reichel had been dreaming of starting their own shop for a while. They had had the "Made in Europe" concept in mind, but it just wasn't completely clear in what direction they would go. When their baby was born, they immediately starting focusing on toys. "Initially we thought we would find about 30 products, but very soon we had found 550. Then westopped counting. You'll find a shortlist in our shop," Reichel tells us.

From the very first cuddly toy to a board game to challenge your grandparents, you will find these things and everything in between at Totem Toys. There are a lot of wooden toys for the very youngest children from Poland and Germany, puzzles that are so beautiful that they could be decorative items in your house, objects made of cardboard that you assemble yourself and then paint, original hand puppets, simple but colourful marble alleys, and ceiling mobiles to help you sleep. There are also Belgian toys made by a company whose core business is wooden constructions. They transform refuse wood into castles and catapults.

You will not be immune to childhood nostalgia when you see the (wooden) toys that you played with as a child. "It is a challenge for us to offer teenagers an alternative to the iPad," Reichel explains. Totem Toys also aims to prove that European-made products don't always have to be unaffordable, because there is something for every budget.

The impressive historical building is a veritable labyrinth with lots of staircases and mezzanine floors which over time will be occupied with play corners where kids can test the toys and join creative workshops. Totem Toys is definitely an address that Saint Nick will be keeping in mind come December!

Totem Toys, rue du Marché aux Fromages, Brussels. 0476-73.59.93
open: Tu > Fr 10.30 > 12.30 & 13 > 18.30, Sa 10.30 > 18.30, Su 14 > 18.00