This year at Toy Fair is a little different than the years before. This is the first year I’ve had to juggle the demands of the show with the demands of a baby who is still exclusively breasftfeeding (minus a couple of well-aimed spoonsful of rice cereal a day). Toy Fair has a stringent “No kids allowed” policy that extends to infants, so bringing him along in a stroller is out of the question. Instead, I’m bringing along childcare and setting up camp in a corner of the Javits center. I wasn’t sure how this would work out, but the first day went pretty well. I’m not moving quite as fast as I usually do, but Zev did fine.
I covered the lower level of the show yesterday, the area reserved for smaller or newer companies who just want a basic booth to showcase their wares. It’s not as dazzling as the upper level, but it’s more densely packed with interesting products. Right off the bat, I noticed some trends. Lots of nice, organic materials, more wooden toys than usual, and much less electronics. I will share a few highlights in just a minute.
If you aren’t already, you should follow me and Magic Beans on Twitter – we’re “tweeting” throughout the day with pictures and brief descriptions of the interesting things we see. I’ve also created a Picasa web album where you can see lots of great photos.
