James Austin-Smith

The session will give an in-depth guide as to what life as a toy designer and freelance inventor looks like, delving into the various routes recent graduate can take to give themselves the best chance of working in the toy space.

“The September Mojo event has become a highlight in our calendar and we are really looking forward to returning to the pitch sessions for a third year,” said Moose Toys UK’s James Austin-Smith.

With a range of toys that includes Team Gem, Foam Alive and Scruff-a-Luvs, the Moose Toys team is a phenomenal factory of fun. We spoke to the firm’s Senior Product Designer, David Emblin to hear why comfort is his creative Kryptonite.

Following on from Moose Toys UK being named Toy Designer of the Year for Scruff-a-Luvs at last week’s Play Creators Awards, we caught up with Austin-Smith to learn more about his approach to design, and what the future holds for the Scruffs brand.

Making Things’ Fi Murray, Triclops Studios’ Rob Ames and Worlds Apart’s James Austin-Smith will look to convince creative consultant Deej Johnson that their pet hate deserves to go into Room 101.

Worlds Apart’s head of R&D and product design, James Austin-Smith, looks at the revolution that’s changing mainstream toy design (for the better).

The transformation aspect to Scuff-a-Luvs is so complex that Worlds Apart had to design and build a custom manufacturing process, as no one had done this with plush before.