This Little Place in Gospel Oak

2016, 6 minutes

A journey inside a magical toyshop

A docudrama exploring a magical 40 year old toyshop, its amazing collection of miniature toys and its 80 year old owner's eccentric attitude to shop keeping. The film was shot over a 3 days on location in Camden, North London by a local crew. The Story A girl discovers a magical toy shop and its enchanting collection that includes a mechanical circus troop, exquisite miniature models and dark tableaux. As we follow the girl's journey a mysterious narrator describes the shop, its rules, customers and her passion for it. About Kristin Baybars 80 year old Kristen opened her toy shop in 1973 and has spent the last 40 years sourcing toys for it. Severely dyslexic, Kristen hid herself away at school in the woodwork studio, where she started building her first doll's house, a grand Georgian mansion, aged 15. It took her three years, but when it was finished the house was so beautiful that it was featured in the Essex County Standard and she became something of a local celebrity. Kristen went on to set up the first toy department in Heal's on Tottenham Court Road in 1954, before opening her own shop in 1973, where she has been amassing a vast stock of toys and miniatures ever since.

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