The Biz: The Grapevine

Cindy Cohn understands how much one meaningful gift can affect someone’s life. When she was 11 years old, Cindy received a gift of a shirt with her name spelled out in cute, colorful characters across the front. It quickly became one of her favorite possessions. Decades later, she still owns that shirt, and cites it as the inspiration for her company, Poseys People in Poses. The company, casually known as Poseys, offers a wide selection of keepsake apparel and accessories with unique, personalized touches. These t-shirts, pullover shirts, pillow cases and canvas bags are meant to reflect the hobbies and interests of the owner.

Looking for that unique children’s gift that will be a favorite for years to come? How about a Butterscotch Blankee? While the monogram design trend is hot at the moment, Butterscotch Blankees’ founder Jodie Roth has always believed that a monogram is a timeless, classic feature, which is why she decided to make it the cornerstone of Butterscotch’s design offerings. Each product is available for the customer to choose between numerous design, color and monogramming choices. All products are handmade in the USA and wrapped for gifting like a Butterscotch candy.

If you are the mom of a tween-aged daughter, you will appreciate how difficult it can be to shop for clothing. The changes that take place in a girl’s body at this important age can make beachwear in particular a challenge, especially with the self-consciousness and awkwardness that can be hallmarks of these transitional years. If this is an issue, for your retail customers, check out the Squirtini Bikini swimwear line. This line can take the stress out of choosing swimsuits for both parent and daughter.

Families have so many occasions to celebrate, from birthdays to holidays to weddings. Each milestone is a chance to get together with loved ones and observe rich traditions. Many times this means putting your best foot forward, wearing clothing that suits the day and fits just right. When there are kids involved, this can be a bit of a challenge. Most stores usually carry only a small selection of special occasion wear for children, and the choices don’t always have the style and quality that parents are seeking to find. Enter Mini Treasure Kids, also known as MTK, a line of eye-catching, quality upscale clothing for girls and boys.

A few years ago, Majorie Labrèque Lepage was asked to sew a stuffed toy for a friend’s new arrival. At once, she received copious praise from everyone for her furry creation. She soon realized the joy she felt for creating these unique creatures. As a daughter of an entrepreneur, she could not help but start her own business –– Velvet Moustache. The brand has a number of lines, including cushions, soft toys and fashion. The cushions are square-shaped animal and people-like characters with wide eyes and over-sized ears. Their furry fabric makes them a great accessory for beds and playrooms.

School is back in session and some of that summer brain drain is showing up in full force. As kids struggle to adjust to new schedules and schools, your store can help bring them back to basics with NumbersAlive! After more than 30 years of working with and teaching about numbers, Dr. Rebecca Klemm founded NumbersAlive!, an innovative framework for demystifying numbers and math. Presented as fun and friendly characters rather than complicated facts and figures, numbers come alive outside of math in areas like art, science, architecture, sports, nature, culture, and folklore.

Frazzled, overloaded, and out of breath. You’ve either seen or been this type of traveler at the airport, trying to carry a stroller, luggage, car seat, plus a child across a crowded airport to catch a flight. End the chaos with a Phoondi Car Seat Trolley. Put everything onto it, securely — yes even a child can safely ride on it too. Now getting to the next terminal will actually be an enjoyable experience for everyone. This is a must-have product for traveling families, especially around the holiday and vacation seasons. It will revolutionize how people travel with children.

There’s a new way to look at diaper bags. Up to now, no company had delved into the world of microbes (aka icky germs) or anti-stick coatings, but that’s changed due to this dynamic duo of new licensed diaper bags: Ju-Ju-Be has begun a collaboration with Hello Kitty, the iconic brand everyone adores. The new Kitty collection features signature diaper bag designs in a range of shapes with –– retailers take note –– a custom print; bow zipper pulls; and super-cute, functional hidden surprises such as embroidery details inside each bag. Invite shoppers to peer inside the bag to get a look at the “hidden” three apples, a nod to Hello Kitty who herself is three apples tall and weighs five apples.

After traveling the world attending toy fairs, Michael Sellinger noticed there were no contemporarily designed, open-ended toys in the U.S. market. So, he created Sound of Fun to “correct the situation.” Sound of Fun offers two lines: the Kiddimoto — a wooden balance bike, and the Roomii — a ride-on toy chest. Both Kiddimoto and Roomii are awarding-winning English brands that represent the best in UK design, while meeting all American and European standards.

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