{{Short description|British toy collector and YouTuber (born 1942)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}} {{Use British English|date=September 2017}} {{Infobox social media personality | name = Tim Rowett | image = Photo Of Tim Rowett for Wikipedia.jpg | caption = Rowett in 2015 | birth_name = Timothy Quiller Rowett | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1942|7|12}} | birth_place = Surrey, England | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = {{Hlist|Video presenter|toy collector|writer}} | youtube_id = UCnmgSO_4g6QcRzy0yFeglyA | youtube_display_name = Grand Illusions | youtube_years_active = 2008–present | youtube_subscribers = 2.1 million | youtube_views = 605 million | stats_update = 26 April 2026 | website = {{URL|https://www.grand-illusions.com/}} }}
'''Timothy Quiller Rowett '''(born 12 July 1942)<ref name="birthday">{{Cite web|url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=OfkfH7xJZcVNHD98tOlirg&scan=1|title=1942 Birth Records September|accessdate=20 November 2016|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref><ref name="birthdate_video">{{cite web|title=Perpetual Calendar|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW81aq9HV04|website=Youtube| date=June 2012 |publisher=Grand Illusions|accessdate=25 March 2017}}</ref> is a British YouTube personality and renowned toy collector, known for presenting videos about toys, optical illusions, novelties and puzzles on the YouTube channel ''Grand Illusions''. Rowett, known affectionately as "''Tim the Toyman''",<ref name="bbc_rowett_article">{{cite news|title=The man who brings 20,000 toys back to life|work=BBC News |date=23 December 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-30535365|accessdate=16 November 2016}} (BBC documentary video on page, 00:03:52 runtime by Neil Meads)</ref> is a former children's entertainer, and claims to have collected upwards of 20,000 to 25,000 toys over a 50-year period,<ref name="bbc_rowett_article" /><ref name="wired_rowett">{{cite magazine|last1=TUFNELL|first1=NICHOLAS|title=Meet Tim, a 71-year-old English eccentric whose toy collection has been charming millions online|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/meet-tim-rowett|magazine=Wired UK|publisher=Condé Nast UK|accessdate=16 November 2016}}</ref> many of which are featured in his videos.
In 2014, the ''Daily Mirror'' described Rowett as a "huge viral hit" and a "web sensation",<ref name="mirror_rowett">{{cite web|last1=POCKLINGTON|first1=REBECCA|title=Eccentric pensioner who collects weird and wonderful TOYS becomes web sensation|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/tim-rowett-youtube-pensioner-who-3111327|website=Mirror Online|date=4 February 2014 |publisher=MGN Limited|accessdate=16 November 2016}}</ref> while in the following year ''The Daily Telegraph'' published a piece naming him as one of "the best YouTubers over 50".<ref name="telegraph_over50">{{cite web|last1=Alexander|first1=Saffron|title=The best YouTubers over 50|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/goodlife/11782492/The-best-YouTubers-over-50.html|website=The Telegraph|date=13 August 2015 |publisher=Telegraph Media Group Limited|accessdate=16 November 2016}}</ref>
== Career == Rowett worked as an entertainer at children's parties from his late 20s until retiring in 2007 when he was 65.<ref name="bbc_rowett_article" /><ref name="reddit_ama">{{cite web |date=26 March 2016 |title=I am with Tim Rowett, the charming old man from the grand illusions YouTube channel. AMA |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/4c1f3g/i_am_with_tim_rowett_the_charming_old_man_from/ |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://archive.today/20251216024819/https://undelete.pullpush.io/r/AMA/comments/4c1f3g/i_am_with_tim_rowett_the_charming_old_man_from/ |archive-date=16 December 2025 |accessdate=16 November 2016 |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref name="newscientist_1987">{{cite journal|last1=Connor|first1=Steve|title=The Serious Side of Toys|journal=New Scientist|date=24–31 December 1987|issue=116|page=50}}</ref> He also formerly worked at British Telecom,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Misirlis |first=Nikolaos |date=18 April 2024 |title=Beyond Entertainment: The Role of Nostalgic Content-Creation in Shaping Healthy Digital Communities - the Unique Case of Tim Rowett and Grand Illusions |journal=Preprints |doi=10.20944/preprints202404.1194.v1 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and has a degree in Mechanical Engineering gained in the early 1960's from King's College London.<ref>{{Citation|last=Grand Illusions|title=Eulers Disc (HD reshoot)|date=2016-01-28|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHh6JsDbN-s|accessdate=2017-12-15}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Grand Illusions|title=Tim the Handyman|date=2015-05-21|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix_cNU-Xp3A|accessdate=2018-12-24}}</ref>
In a short BBC documentary, Rowett said that he considered the toys in his suitcases "dead" because they were no longer used, and that he took "great delight" in being able to bring them out and show them to people through his YouTube videos.<ref name="bbc_rowett_article" /> In the past he has also donated some of his old toys to children's hospitals.<ref name="reddit_ama" />
=== ''Grand Illusions'' === Rowett initially wrote about all the toys in his collection in a magazine called 'Tim's Toy Reports'. Starting 1998 he started making videos of the toys. Initially they were only available on a CD-ROM, titled 'Tim's Wonderful Toys', which could be purchased using details on the Grand Illusions website.<ref name="grandillusions_waybackmachine_2000">{{cite web |title=Tim's Wonderful Toys |url=http://www.grand-illusions.com/tim.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001018201056/http://www.grand-illusions.com/tim.htm |archive-date=18 October 2000 |access-date=22 December 2025 |website=Grand Illusions}}</ref> Since 2008, Rowett has presented videos on the YouTube channel ''Grand Illusions''. In each video, he demonstrates and reacts to at least one toy, puzzle, or optical illusion which is either part of his collection or will be stocked through an online toy store, run as part of the Grand Illusions brand (to which he is a director). There are now several hundred videos on the channel which are around 10 minutes in length each, and have collectively been viewed hundreds of millions of times.<ref name="grandillusions_about">{{cite web|title=Grand Illusions (About)|url=https://www.youtube.com/user/henders007/about|website=YouTube|access-date=16 November 2016}}</ref> The channel surpassed one million subscribers in June 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tim Says "Thanks A Million" |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_d4RQF-y94 |website=YouTube |publisher=Grand Illusions |accessdate=27 June 2019 |date=15 June 2019}}</ref>
''Grand Illusions'' was started as an online community for science and games in 1996. It was developed by Hendrik Ball and George Auckland (then BBC producers) who were exploring the role of the media and the World Wide Web during the late 90s. Rowett became involved early on due to his large toy collection, and is a personal friend of Auckland and Ball. Grand Illusions became an online store for toys and novelties in 1998, stocking hard-to-source pieces. Since the success of the ''Grand Illusions'' YouTube channel, and the attention it has received on websites like Reddit, the store has commissioned new toys and also stocks unique items that are handmade or produced in small quantities.<ref name="wired_rowett" /><ref name="grandillusions_about_web">{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://www.grand-illusions.com/about_us.shtml|website=Grand Illusions|access-date=16 November 2016}}</ref>
The videos for ''Grand Illusions'' are filmed in a 17th-century farm house in rural Oxfordshire, and developed by Ball and Auckland (both now retired from the BBC).<ref name="grandillusions_about_web" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Knowles |first=Tom |date=15 August 2020 |title=YouTube’s older stars keep it real to win fans |url=https://www.thetimes.com/business/technology/article/youtubes-older-stars-keep-it-real-to-win-fans-lqjqhdk29 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20260107093722/https://www.thetimes.com/business/technology/article/youtubes-older-stars-keep-it-real-to-win-fans-lqjqhdk29 |archive-date=2026-01-07 |access-date=2026-01-07 |work=The Times}}</ref> Since 2013, most of the intro and outro sequences for the videos have been designed by David Chaudoir, with music composed by Pete Diggens (of The Aurophonic Workshop).<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nv65HyEg6w |title=Tim Gets Graphical! |date=2025-12-19 |last=Grand Illusions |access-date=2025-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251219230929/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nv65HyEg6w |archive-date=2025-12-19 |url-status=live |via=YouTube}}</ref> The Grand Illusions online store is run from Oxfordshire although the items are now sent out by a fulfilment house in Newbury.
=== Other work === Rowett appeared on the television science programme ''Take Nobody’s Word For It'' in 1989 alongside Carol Vorderman, demonstrating optical illusions.<ref name="bbc_rowett_article" />
Rowett has been cited and thanked in a number of books as a toy collector and consultant.<ref name="nonplussed_rowett">{{cite book|last1=Havil|first1=Julian|title=Nonplussed!: Mathematical Proof of Implausible Ideas|date=2007|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=9780691120560|page=[https://archive.org/details/nonplussedmathem00havi/page/95 95]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/nonplussedmathem00havi/page/95}}</ref><ref name="sciencenews_rowett">{{cite web|last1=PETERSON|first1=IVARS|title=Tricky Dice Revisited|url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/tricky-dice-revisited|website=ScienceNews|date=9 April 2002 |publisher=Society for Science & the Public|accessdate=16 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="inksandwich">{{cite book|last1=Downie|first1=Neil A.|title=Ink sandwiches, electric worms, and 37 other experiments for Saturday science|url=https://archive.org/details/inksandwichesele0000down|url-access=registration|date=2003|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore|isbn=9780801874109|page=Preface (xiii)}}</ref> Rowett has also contributed his own writing and poetry to books in the past, first publishing a piece in the 1999 edition of ''The Mathemagician and Pied Puzzler: a Collection in Tribute to Martin Gardner'', and again in 2001 with a piece in ''Puzzlers' Tribute: A Feast for the Mind''.<ref name="pied">{{cite book|last1=Rodgers|first1=Tom|last2=Berlekamp|first2=Elwyn|title=The Mathemagician and Pied Puzzler : a Collection in Tribute to Martin Gardner|date=1999|publisher=A K Peters/CRC Press|isbn=9781568810751|page=[https://archive.org/details/mathemagicianpie0000unse/page/25 25]|url=https://archive.org/details/mathemagicianpie0000unse/page/25}}</ref><ref name="weirdside_video">{{cite web|last1=Huang|first1=Kai|title=I met Tim from Grand Illusions|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyxP0VvQgOs|website=YouTube|date=19 May 2016 |publisher=Weird Side|accessdate=18 November 2016}} At timestamp 00:07:55</ref><ref name="puzzlers_tribute">{{cite book|last1=Wolfe|first1=David|last2=Rodgers|first2=Tom|title=Puzzlers' tribute : a Feast for the Mind|date=2001|publisher=A K Peters/CRC Press|isbn=1568811217|page=206}}</ref>
== Personal life == Rowett lives by himself at his Twickenham home in England,<ref name="wired_rowett" /> and claims to have not owned a television or computer since the 1970s<ref name="bbc_rowett_article" /> (however in January 2017 he acquired a model Televisor for his collection).<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=14 January 2017|title=Tim Finally Gets A Television|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTSeUjvScUA|access-date=|website=Youtube|publisher=Grand Illusions}}</ref> He has been described as an "eccentric"<ref name="mirror_rowett" /> and "quirky"<ref name="cbs_rowett">{{cite web|last1=GOODMAN|first1=WILLIAM|title=British toy collector talks about staplers and an old college prank|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/british-toy-collector-talks-about-staplers-and-an-old-college-prank/|website=CBSNews|date=2 January 2013 |publisher=CBS Interactive Inc|accessdate=16 November 2016}}</ref> collector and first became interested in toys while attending boarding school as a child, allegedly when a matron showed him a catalogue featuring a variety of toys.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tim Rowett|url=http://www.egconf.com/presenters/tim-rowett|website=e.g. Conference|date=10 March 2014 |publisher=Two Bit Media|accessdate=16 November 2016}}</ref> Aside from this, he also has an interest in engineering and mechanics.<ref name="reddit_ama" />
In a 2014 interview with Wired UK, Rowett reflected on his age, stating "I see myself as an hourglass. A large part of me is 112, a small part is my physical age and the last part is a 12-year-old boy."<ref name="wired_rowett" />
Rowett claimed that his home was burgled sometime around the 1980s, but the toy collection was untouched, leaving him feeling "obviously relieved" but "offended they hadn’t valued the toys enough to pinch them".<ref name="bbc_rowett_article" />
=== Toy collection === Among Rowett's first toys as a child included a novelty wheelbarrow and a squeaking panda teddy bear.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tim's Very First Toy |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS-uS-OPBPY |website=YouTube |accessdate=19 May 2019 |date=19 May 2019}}</ref>
Journalists who visited Rowett's home noted that his collection, which spans over 50 years and contains an estimated 25,000 pieces,<ref name="wired_rowett" /> takes up a large amount of space. It was reported there were over 180 suitcases<ref name="bbc_rowett_article" /> which are neatly ordered by year, and most of his walls and bookshelves are filled with items, including novelty clocks and display cabinets with optical illusions.<ref name="reddit_ama" /> Rowett has made appearances at toy conferences to demonstrate his collection, including at Play Creators Conference 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Langsworthy |first=Billy |date=2023-05-22 |title=Toy collector Tim Rowett to showcase ‘Ingenious Designs & Great Gizmos’ at Play Creators Conference 2023 |url=https://www.mojo-nation.com/toy-collector-tim-rowett-to-showcase-ingenious-designs-great-gizmos-at-play-creators-conference-2023/ |access-date=2026-01-07 |website=Mojo Nation |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Hendrik Ball, a former BBC producer who works with Rowett to develop the ''Grand Illusions'' videos, said that Rowett will carry around toys and equipment with him and give demonstrations "whenever there is a lull". After a meal at a restaurant, he allegedly went outside and inflated a large balloon using a helium cylinder stored in the boot of his car, then lit and attached a sparkler before releasing it into the air.<ref name="wired_rowett" />
=== Family === Rowett was born during World War II to father William Berkeley Rowett, an ordained priest, and mother Elizabeth Chidell, who were married on 9 October 1934. He has four brothers.<ref name="family_tree">{{cite web|title=Descendants of Richard Rewet|url=https://www.angelfire.com/mi4/cornpage/d16.htm#i3287|website=Angelfire|access-date=20 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="parents_marriage">{{cite web|title=Family Card - William and Betty|url=http://www.williamdavidson.com/wc69/wc69_124.htm|website=Thomas & Mary Davidson|accessdate=20 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="birthday" /> Rowett has distant relatives in Canada, and his family tree has immediate connections to the country. Through his father, he descends from cryptogamist Miles Joseph Berkeley, politician Rowland Berkeley and painter Emeric Essex Vidal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FamilySearch.org |url=https://ident.familysearch.org/identity/login/?state=https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/portrait/GN2V-FLN |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=ident.familysearch.org}}</ref>
In 1968, his elder brother David, who had moved to Canada, died at the age of 27.<ref name="david_rowett">{{cite web|title=David Quiller Rowett|url=http://www.williamdavidson.com/wc69/wc69_384.htm|website=Thomas & Mary Davidson|accessdate=20 November 2016}}</ref><ref name="family_tree" />
== Awards == {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" !Year !Award !Category !Result ! class="unsortable" |{{Refh}} |- |2019 |11th Shorty Awards |Best in Weird|| {{nominated}} | style="text-align:center;" |<ref>{{Cite web|title=Grand Illusions - The Shorty Awards|url=http://shortyawards.com/11th/hendrik_ball|access-date=2021-01-20|website=shortyawards.com}}</ref> |- valign="top" |}
== References == {{Reflist|25em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowett, Tim}} Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:British collectors Category:Toy collectors Category:People from Surrey (before 1965) Category:British YouTubers Category:Alumni of King's College London