Items tagged “Education & Development”

By now, all merchandisers who have an ear cocked to the public pulse show lots of green products. Sustainable fabric, environmentally-friendly packaging, and companies that truly embrace their workforce are good for everyone. Some green companies may have taken their path to differentiate themselves from others. They may find setting a positive example makes customers think more highly of them. Often, the company really likes making and selling goods that don’t harm anyone, either in the making or the end usage. The Giggle Guide^® presents four companies with green profiles and offerings: Winter Water Factory, Bright-Brained Toys, trash-á-porter, and Dot&Co.

Even if they don’t bend your ear about it, your customers probably wish there were simple ways to teach kids the value of money. Raise the subject of time spent with TV or video games and watch the attention shift to you. Then, show them a system that uses today’s technology to get across the concept of managing time and money. My Job Chart is an online system in which a parent either registers online or downloads an app, inputs information about the family and assigns chores to kids with a reward value for each job.

When it comes to sharing from the heart, a hand-written note beats email every time. It establishes that the writer feels strongly enough about you to set aside time to put thoughts into words, etching them onto a blank page with endless possibilities. Stacey Valle and Gina Stock, co-founders of Buzzable, LLC, understand how deep the written word speaks to the heart. Their fillable Buzzable Baby Book is the perfect way to provide friends, families, and loved ones the chance to express themselves on that most important of occasions: the baby shower.

Tiffany Dekel and Laura Burch both have impressive resumes. Tiffany has a background in clothing design and launched three successful online agencies; Laura is an illustrator and art educator at a major university. While they’re both proud of their accomplishments, Dekel and Burch hold a special place in their hearts for handmade crafts, and they want to make the art fun and accessible for more people. In 2012 they launched lullubee, a company that takes a unique approach to crafts and crafting supplies.

American toymakers and clothing designers may appreciate tradition, but they also love innovation. They can integrate the best of old and new to produce products that are unique and functional. 3 Marthas, Two Bros Bows, Papersalt, and The Beaufort Bonnet Company are all very different enterprises. A clothing company reaching its silver anniversary, a business that makes a rugged outdoor sport safe and fun, a publisher that helps to inspire family values, and a designer who recreates novelties from the past. Each one embodies the American spirit in its own way and makes us proud.