Tracy runs Mini Geek Boutique and is at UK Games Expo this weekend.
If you’re looking for screen-free and geeky fun for kids, then the stand (2-938) is worth a stop, as Tracy has 20 years of working in education and uses that experience to inform and enhance Mini Geek Boutique’s merch.
The “Dinos & Dice Bundle Box”, the boutique’s latest launch, will be available this weekend, but there’s more to the story than that. Tracy kindly agreed to an interview with Geek Native.
I love how Mini Geek Boutique brings together ‘geek culture’ and screen-free fun for kids! It’s such a unique idea. I’d be fascinated to hear a bit more about how it all started and what sparked this wonderful concept, especially with your 20 years in education.
It actually started 12-13 years ago when my son was very little and we couldn’t find anything other than the usual Star Wars, superhero, clothes for him, it lacked what we thought was “geeky”, and so I decided to create my own ranges!
I wanted to produce items that celebrated how cool it was to be a geek. I learned how to print onto t-shirts, sublimating onto mugs and creating products that were for geeks of all ages. It wasn’t until post covid that I created the characters of Derek and Irene to bring a sense of fun into the ranges I created.
Derek and Irene sound like such fun characters in your zines! I’m really curious, how do their adventures help bring alive that fantastic Mini Geek Boutique spirit of boosting pride, sparking curiosity, and exploring through friendship and science?
It was purely by accident! I wanted to promote a new Christmas Jumper, I had created and found some old Dinosaur Toys and used them to explain the features on the jumper with some information about the dinosaurs on the design. I wanted it to be a fun a unique way of promoting my clothing. I then started creating little scenarios and dioramas for them (They have played DND and gone into Space), then I started writing stories about them and developed the zines. I hand illustrate each one, refine them digitally and have them printed by a fellow small business.
The adventures are short but within those stories I try to portray Derek and Irene as inquisitive, like when Derek asks Irene how Rainbows are made, they go and ask their friend Professor Brian Fox who gives the science explanation. Tied in with all that are activities that you can do with your kids at home where you can make a rainbow in various different ways! Another adventure is where they get sucked into a magical computer and as the pages progress the graphics improve (I was a child of the 80s and 90s and I used the Commodore computers as influence).
Those Bundle Boxes with themes like ‘dinosaurs playing D&D’ sound amazing and so thoughtfully put together! Would you be open to sharing a little peek into your creative process? I’d love to know how a new theme comes to life, from that first spark of an idea to all the cool activities and stories that make it into the box, all while keeping that educational magic!
The Bundle Boxes came about because I remember my mum would get us these activity packs to keep us occupied over the holidays and weekends, they were called Humpty Dumpty packs, and I loved them as a child.
I wanted to create my own version of that but with my own characters and themes. I include products I already have such as the zines and stickers but also try to get some exclusivity with them by including the activity book and contents such as the potion stickers or the jigsaw. I try to include items that are themed around a topic, so far the Dice n Dinos box has DIY dice and decorate your own bunting, whilst the Steggies and Stories box has a dice you make then roll to determine what story you should write. But I also want to include fun calming activities so I included a jigsaw puzzle.
The next box will be a video game themed one and will include a “Make your own binary bracelet” as well as some other fun stuff!
It’s wonderful that your mission includes helping adults feel proud of their passions, too! Besides the fantastic products for kids, are there ways you hope Mini Geek Boutique can nurture a wider community, maybe through your blog or other outreach, that champions everyone’s unique hobbies and interests?
I write a blog to help parents navigate through various aspects of parenthood, as a secondary school teacher and parent (and grandparent) myself, I think it’s important to support parents wherever you can without prejudice. I’ve written posts about introducing your child to miniature painting, tips for preparing for exams, going to a convention with your mini geeks and how to make it fun and as little stressful as possible.
Mental Health and well being is so important to me that I try to create products that encourage a positive mind set.
The idea of ‘fairytales with a twist’ sounds so intriguing! I’d be thrilled if you could share an example of how you’ve reimagined a classic. What kind of brilliant messages or fun learning moments do you hope kids (and maybe even us grown-ups!) get from these fresh takes, especially in terms of sparking creativity and making everyone feel included?
I wouldn’t say that I’ve reimagined the classics, only used the structure and messages that Fairy tales were originally written for. I like to think my stories (albeit short tales) convey a message of positive action, rather than a tale of woe though. A lot of fairy tales were Dark and were written to encourage positive behaviour or face the consequences! I’d like to think my stories are more of dealing with the outcomes in a positive way.
I’d like to think the main message the adventures convey is that of good friendship and being kind.
Lastly, where can we find your stall for gamers at UKGE this weekend?
You’ll be able to find Mini Geek Boutique in Hall2 at stand 938!
Quick Links
A special thanks to Vortex Verlag for sponsoring Geek Native’s coverage of UK Games Expo. You can meet them at stand 3A-758 and find out about the exciting new Serenissima Obscura crowdfunding campaign.
