Well, the Toy Fair is over, and the work is just beginning. We got home on Wednesday evening from NY Javits Center with lots of stuff in the car. Hardly able to see out the windows, the car was loaded. I couldn’t help myself, but before the end of the show, I had to walk the aisles and see what I could buy that you do not see in the stores yet.
Do you all know about “Squishables”? (http://www.squishable.com/)
Oh how fantastic! I know, I know, my bedroom is starting to look like a menagerie– I bought 3 of these marvelous stuffed animals! One is a big– a really really big lamb http://tinyurl.com/7rrpfkr! oh so soft and cozy to hug while I’m catching up on all the shows I’ve TiVo’d– and then I got a small raccoon (Rocky for short) AND! a mini cow. They are ALL so loveable!
As for my “better half”, David went and bought this fabulous building toy set for our nephew Joseph. It’s by a company called Eitech— and they have all these cool things that let you build amazing items. We got Joe this motorcycle that should take him at LEAST a few hours to put together. Joe is a whiz kid. He has concentration that no one else has– so something that might take me two days to do, he’ll manage in MAYBE an hour. He’s only 9, but he’s that smart!
Anyway, we had a great time at the show. The folks next to us created a game called “Wangle”. For every game sold, they will donate 25 cents to charity. Check it out: http://jessejamesgames.com/. They are a wonderful group — this company was founded by a Mom and her son, and now it’s a complete family business. Everyone in the family is involved in one way or another. How terrific is that?
I’m telling you. We met some really awesome people along the way. I don’t have enough time to mention them all! But, one last one: http://www.beabroadwaystar.com/. It’s like monopoly but then you go to acting school and get an agent… fun fun FUN. And created by an actual Broadway Producer!
As for how we DID at the show? Well, it was a whole new world for us. We normally go to sporting goods shows like the Snowsports of America Snow Show in Denver or the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in Salt Lake City… the Toy Fair was very different. Firstly, there were many more Buyers walking the aisles. (I think there were 30,000 registered) The other thing was that no one was afraid of COLOR! At the sporting goods shows, you wouldn’t see women in lemon yellow tights wearing shocking pink wigs with bright red lipstick walking on these rocking thingee shoes that made them shoot up to about 8 feet tall….. ok, ok, so you had little girls walking around in their bikini underwear and funny hats at the Snow Show. I guess, being female makes me think the tall girls were much more visible.
We met Buyers from stores that we really hope we’ll hear from again. I don’t want to jinx anything by mentioning company names– but they were some BIG box retailers with names that everyone will recognize — and we presented our 3 new spandex styles for boys tween and teens. They were definitely a big hit I am glad to report. Consumers will be seeing them in the stores this Fall.
Anyway, we’re back home for a while. The Skitzo the cat is happy. So am I!
Until later, everyone!
— crazeeBaby
