This year was my seventh time at Toy Fair, and finally I’m starting to feel like it’s a manageable task. My strategy this year was to start upstairs and go aisle by aisle. I was thorough and slow, but I finished it in two and a half days. The lower level is smaller and went [...]
Archive for the ‘Travels & Trade Shows’ Category
Toy Fair 2010 - Days 1 and 2
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010It’s after midnight, and I should be asleep. The battery on my computer isn’t going to last long, and if I go find the power cable, I’ll probably wake up the baby, who’s sleeping in my room (that’s a whole other story).
So I’ll keep it mercifully brief. Toy Fair 2010 is in full swing and [...]
Fabulous Freedom: Freestyle
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008Pumping sucks. Pun intended. But seriously, it does. For as easy and convenient as breastfeeding is, pumping is complicated and, well, inconvenient. I’ve always been in awe of women who are master pumpers. I have one friend whose sons both refused to breastfeed, and she pumped exclusively for nine months with each of them. Amazing.
I [...]
Clek got back
Sunday, September 21st, 2008I’m a huge fan of the Clek Olli booster seat, a fabulous option for on-the-go families. The simplicity and ease-of-use has made it a hit with parents, while the fun colors make it cool for the kids. My daughter loves her pink camouflage version. The only downside of the Olli is the lack of a [...]
Road Test: Mountain Buggy Swift
Saturday, September 13th, 2008I can’t remember the last time Mountain Buggy came out with an entirely new stroller, but at this year’s ABC Show, their new Swift was one of our favorite introductions. For years we’ve been waiting for Mountain Buggy to modify their compact Breeze stroller to offer a swiveling front wheel, and now the wait is [...]
Baby Sitter Redux
Saturday, September 13th, 2008Just weeks after my hubby declared our unwavering adoration for the Baby Bjorn Baby Sitter 1-2-3, they went and redesigned it. The overhaul includes a name change - the seat will now be called the Babysitter Balance. Structurally, the changes are (thankfully) minimal. The basic design of the seat hasn’t changed. But they have replaced [...]
Uppa Baby goes 3-in-one
Saturday, September 13th, 2008We had a chance to preview the new Uppa Vista model here at ABC, and there are some very exciting developments. For the stroller itself, Uppa has made some nice improvements. The harness features a new easy-adjust design, the basket has a softer spring to make access easier, and the weight capacity for the stroller [...]
Effortless PhD?
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008It was impossible to walk by the booth for the PhD Pocket Disc at ASTRA without stopping. First of all, the colorful display was arresting. And there were discs flying all over the place. So we stopped and we played a quick game of catch. We were sold immediately. The PhD is a crocheted disc [...]
Mini Micro G-Bike
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008This little, bitty training bike is perfect for helping kids get the hang of balancing on two wheels. It seems like stability bikes are all the rage right now, especially with so many experts advocating that the key to teaching kids to ride a bike is to lose the pedals - not to add training [...]
Days in Toyland
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008I just came back from the ASTRA (American Specialty Toy Retailers Association) conference, which took place at the new MGM Foxwoods resort in Connecticut. It was a really nice experience. I’d never gone to this show before, but since it was so close to home this year, we made the trip. I really enjoyed it. [...]
