When Rohit Nyss graduated from college, his professor asked him what he wanted to do with his life and his answer was, ‘I want to open a small toy shop in Kolkata!’ The aspiration may have sounded absurd compared to competing responses but Rohit worked towards it anyway, and today he owns a small toy shop in Kolkata (with a significant online presence).
A drive to Tiny Town at 1323, Survey Park Road (behind Hiland Park) reveals the most mesmerising miniature cars. The walls of the shop sport scale versions of the Jaguar MkVIIM — Queen Mother (this was driven by the Queen’s mother!), Bentley S1 Continental Fastback in Dawn Blue, Rolls Royce Corniche in Indigo Blue along with a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Coupé, VW Beetle and Jaguar E-Type Coupé.
A Mercedes Benz 300 SL and a Rolls Royce Phantom V
These draw you in until you’re a few steps further into the shop and you spot the model railway layout — which is a Hornby ‘Evening Star Steam Locomotive’ running through a tiny town equipped with a post office, fire station, tavern and school, all made from scratch by Rohit. “We’re currently redoing the town and looking to add a port with a bridge and a waterbody,” says Rohit.
‘We want to sell an idea, not a product’
“Setting up Tiny Town is an attempt to sell an idea, not a product. We want to sell the passion we have for a hobby, not the products themselves,” says the 47-year-old who worked in media and retail for 20 years before opening Tiny Town.
Rohit partnered with 37-year-old Rahul Roychowdhury and began Tiny Town in September 2018. It functioned out of a home garage for nine months before they finally moved to their current address. “The vision we have is a far-sighted one. The idea is to get people excited about hobbies. I’ve seen children nowadays glued to their mobile phones and tablets. They have very little interest and patience for hobbies. And that is something I would like to change,” says Rohit.
Rohit’s collection has many generations and variations of the iconic Land Rover
The entrepreneur explains that even though he wants to impact children, his target customers are adults. “Children emulate adults. They follow in their footsteps. So, if children see their parents spending time on their hobbies while they’re growing up, they’ll automatically do the same,” says Rohit. Tiny Town’s dream customer is one who walks through their doors asking for a car or helicopter similar to the one a parent purchased.
‘Once people enter, they end up spending hours here’
“We have people walk in here all the time, not knowing what exactly Tiny Town is all about. Once they enter, they’re usually in awe and end up spending hours here,” says Rahul. Both Rohit and Rahul are enthusiasts when it comes to locomotives, ships, automobiles, aeroplanes and helicopters and they keep customers engaged for hours on end with amusing anecdotes and fascinating facts.
Rahul Roychowdhury with a 60-year-old model Premier Padmini
“When I hire people the first thing I check is their knowledge base and the passion they have. I need a team that is equally passionate because what I am planning to build requires that,” says the collector, who works with a small team of four. Rohit’s collection, which is still growing and displayed at the store, has many generations and variations of the iconic Land Rover. Rahul’s collection on the other hand sees a stellar Premier Padmini — now around 60 years old — that his father gifted him at the age of eight.
A toy store with a dream ticket to a museum
“We want Tiny Town to be a museum someday (think: the museum Sheldon worked at in Young Sheldon). Right now, we have around 300 square feet squared away for our model, but we’re looking to expand,” says Rohit. Rahul tells us that once they have the finance to do so, they’re looking to have a fleet of vintage cars parked outside the shop so enthusiasts can have a real joyride when visiting. He elaborates, “What Tiny Town is right now is one-tenth of what we want to be. We want to inspire anyone who comes in to build the same thing — to think that someday when I have enough space, money and time, I too will build something like this. We want to sell the passion that we have.”
“I always knew that one small toy shop would give me joy and it really does! It's not about building a multi-national company, it’s about being happy,” signs off Rohit.
Tiny Town has every kind of model cars, bikes and locomotives a hobbyist could want
TINY TOWN TRIVIA
- Address: 1323, Survey Park Road (behind Hiland Park)
- Website: https://www.tinytown.in/
- Best selling model: Hot Wheels sells the most, around 10,000 pieces per year
- Price point: Miniatures start at Rs 199 and goes up to Rs 35,000 for the VW T1 with a Porsche transporter
- Cities with the maximum buyers: Bangalore and Mumbai
- Exclusive dealers for: Schuco from Germany and Oxford Diecast from United Kingdom
