January 24, 2018
Ristanc is a small space packed with a lovingly curated collection of both classic and innovative toys, all selected, and often sold, by Lucija, the wonderful, helpful and very multilingual owner.
A fixture of this part of town for decades, Ristanc is based on the simple philosophy of offering the best toys, in terms of quality, playability and growth potential, to children and their parents. A trip to the store is a delight, and a step back in time to an age when wood prevailed over plastic, hands and imaginations over batteries and screens, and original characters and games over licensed properties tied to movies and cartoons.
But this isn’t to say that Ristanc is stuck in the past, as Lucija and her team make annual trips to the biggest toy show in Germany to find the latest items to brighten the lives of new generations of children and their parents.
As I hope the following pictures show, this store is a treasure, with every shelf and half the floor crammed with items that Lucija will excitedly introduce and demonstrate, and as such should be your first stop when in town and looking for a child’s gift.
And if the items here seem a little young for your needs, then just keep walking a little further down the street, away from the centre, and you’ll come across the partner store To Je To, aimed at older children and adults, and no doubt the focus of a future story.
Lucija at work
Ristanc is open weekdays from 09:30–19:30, Saturdays 09:00–14:00, and Sundays 10:00–13:00. It can be found at Gallusovo nabrežje 11, 1000 Ljubljana.
You can also shop online here, while To Je To, with puzzles and games for older children and adults, is here
