February 13, 2024 - Page 2 of 2

Page 2

Bluey Takes Over Bunnings with a ‘For Real Life’ Hammerbarn Transformation

A new collaboration between two Australian icons has officially launched, as home and lifestyle retailer Bunnings reveals their Bluey Hammerbarn transformation – Wackadoo! Bluey, the globally recognized animated TV series and homegrown favorite, will take over the exterior signage of six Bunnings stores around Australia and one store in New Zealand with a Hammerbarn rebrand this month – inspired by the popular Bluey ‘Hammerbarn’ episode from Season 2 of Bluey.

All in the Family: The Valenta Family

How did your family first enter the toy industry? – It all started back in the early 90s. As a child, we spent our summers in Japan going to school and visiting relatives. One year, our uncle gave us a toy set called Pythagoras, which provided hours and hours of entertainment through open-ended play for my siblings and me. They were opaque magnetic building tiles invented by a math teacher in Japan. They consisted of 5 shapes and would always click together. My parents would watch us play with these for hours – cooperatively with no fighting – and a light bulb clicked in my parents’ head with the realization that they needed to bring Magna-Tiles to kids in the US to enjoy. My parents, Rudy and Noriko Valenta, decided to change careers and become entrepreneurs in the toy industry at that moment.