The Biz

In a world of toys where everything makes noise and requires every type of battery, there’s something refreshing about going old school. Goodwood Deconstruction Blocks are designed by Aroundsquare for creative play for play’s sake. Aroundsquare sees play as a range of activities from manual to mental, from tangible to imaginary, from closed to open, from individual to group, from competitive to cooperative, and from silent all the way to rowdy. In short, there is no right or wrong way to play with Goodwood Deconstruction Blocks, making them the right choice for families, and for your store.

Having met Mike Berens several years ago while he was selling children’s apparel at trade shows, I contacted him with interest in 2011 when I heard he was the Sales and Marketing Director for Donita Fashions, a new brand of girls’ dresses from Indonesia soon to be launched under his leadership in North America. I made an appointment for Mike to preview the brand to me in Los Angeles, and was excited to hear about all the plans for selling the collection to specialty stores. But what really took me by surprise was when I saw the buyers’ reaction to this new brand over three seasons exhibiting at KIDShow Las Vegas. The buyer audience was SRO and Mike and his national sales reps were selling furiously fast throughout the show, staying busy until the lights were turned off!

Many of today’s children don’t spend much time in creative engagement or reading. They do spend a lot of time in front of the TV or playing video games. These activities are, unfortunately, displacing the more active and creative pursuits of yesteryear. While there is no turning back the clock on technology, retailers can give families a way to help develop their kids’ talents that don’t involve any screen time: the board game. With children, though, not just any game will do. That’s where Funnybone Toys really shines.

Sometimes a loved one is far away and a simple picture just isn’t reminder enough. Or maybe you just need to offer a more personalized gift for special occasions. Sure, there are standard recordable cards and books on the market that allow them to hear a familiar voice, but with no context. Now people can let the frame tell the story all on its own. Pictures truly are worth 1,000 words (assuming you can say that many in 10 seconds) with Chatterbox, a recordable picture frame that allows customers to record messages that can last forever, even when the picture changes.