Items tagged “Toys & Recreation”

Kids Travel Part 3: Creativity On-the-Go!

By lauren

Are we there yet? As part of our Kid’s Travel Series the Giggle Guide™ has found some of the newest and most inventive products out there to keep kids busy, and quiet, on those long car rides and extended layovers. When children are in the van, go creative (like “Van Gogh”!). These brands offer little artists great MPG (masterpieces per gallon) when on-the-road: Alex Toys, Klutz, Alfonsi Venetis Kids and Lap Desk.

Behind The Brand

le top — The Family That Works Together

By david gaunt

Happy 31st Anniversary to le top!

The people behind le top are highly respected, admired, and looked up to in the children’s industry as an example of so much that is great about the children’s business. Co-owner Chris Lun shares the birth, growing pains, challenges and triumphs of le top’s history. Chris always talks about the le top employees, and their retail customers, as “family.” Here’s a behind-the-brand look at this family’s success.

Show Reports

AmericasMart Part 2: Show-Stopping Gifts, Apparel, Toys and More!

By Leesa

The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market® - Atlanta, Georgia (7/8/09 - 7/15/09)

Here’s Part 2 of The Giggle Guide’s™ search of the AmericasMart showrooms. We’ve found some great stuff! These showrooms offer a sampling of the many unique gifts and accessories on display at the Atlanta showplace:Lace and Denim, Les Tout Petitis,225 Unlimited, Southeast Marketing, and Moonpies and Dragonflies.

The Grapevine

Snugaboo Teaches Children How To Be Good Through Imagination

By The Giggle Guide

Heard of “The Golden Rule”? Here’s The Platinum Rule!

The Snugaboo line of whimsical blankets takes the concept of playtime a step further by teaching children to “Be Good” through play and make-believe. Snugaboo is built on the Platinum Rule, “Do unto others as THEY would have done to themselves!”

The Grapevine

EzyRoller: What a Way to Get Around!

By lauren

Not a bike or a scooter (or a paint brush!), the EzyRoller makes snake-like movements using the principle of cambering motion, the same motion used by gondolas in Venice. The swift movement is a sensation that can only be experienced with the EzyRoller. Feet are placed on the motion bar, and with a right/left motion the EzyRoller is propelled forward.

Show Reports

AmericasMart: Atlanta Showrooms Present Can't-Miss Buys

By Leesa

The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market® - Atlanta, Georgia (7/8/09 - 7/15/09)

The Giggle Guide’s Editor and Co-Founder Leesa Valentino attended the recent Gift Show at AmericasMart in Atlanta, Georgia. She discovered so many peachy new products. Many of the showrooms and buyers she met were upbeat and excited about the current buying season. There was a lot more than traditional gifts on display. Since retailers keep hearing that “gifts are still selling strong,” they are seeing more potential in non-traditional gift categories that can be marketed for gift-giving, from apparel and fashion accessories through anything for baby, traditional or collectible. The South was certainly charmin’ buyers with new opportunities. Here’s Part 1 of The Giggle Guide’s hunt for “must-buys” in Atlanta showrooms…

The Grapevine

Part 2: CMC Gold Rush of Brand-New Riches

By david gaunt

Editorial Director’s Product Picks Here’s Part 2 of what caught my attention on a recent visit to the California Market Center, located in the heart of the garment district in downtown Los Angeles. The 6th floor is the showplace for everything in-fashion for children. Most of the permanent showrooms are members of the Kids on 6 co-op association. As you enter your open-to-buy season, make this a must-see destination. If buyers pick up a few new lines, they can reap a “gold mine” for their stores. You can also learn more about sales reps thru the easy-to-search Guide on The Giggle Guide™. Checking out sales rep showrooms in advance can help you plan your shopping itinerary. Tell them The Giggle Guide™ sent you! And let us know your discoveries!

Blogs

Birthday Bonanzas

By NoSlippy

In just two weeks my little niece will turn the big -1- year old. I simply cannot believe how fast time has flown. I remember when she had just been born, she was infinitesimally small. I could fit 10 of her little hands in mine. She was fresh and snuggly and held all the promise that new life affords. And now one year later she is all the more beautiful! She is deserving of the most spectacular of birthday celebrations, alas I will not be in close enough proximity to help facilitate this.

The Grapevine

Worry Woo Monsters Embrace Emotions

By lauren

Confused? Lonely? Insecure? Afraid to try new things? Happens to everyone. Maybe even a child you know! Now there’s Worry Woos, a new book series, with plush companions, to help children embrace many of the emotions that make us human. Monsters show us the way!

Blogs

Ensuring Success for You and Your Rep

By larabryn

A few weeks ago I wrote about key factors that influence why sales reps choose to represent your brand.

Those factors include:
• Good marketing; Branding
• Exclusivity of product
• Appropriate price points
• Focus
• “It” factor

Those points focus on your product. Some other key points that influence why a rep might work with you, or might continue to work with you, focus on, well… you.

The Rep Relationship

larabryn's blog
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Blogs

Two Tips for Successful Telephone Networking

By larabryn

I often receive phone calls from people in the kid’s industry. Usually from recruiters, sales managers, entrepreneurs or moms soliciting advice and ostensibly, building their network. These callers speed through the “niceties” portion of the call and, after their lightning-fast self-introduction, I often don’t know the name of who’s calling me, or why they’re calling.

Retail Reality

Baby Frenzy Caters to Natural Parenting

By The Giggle Guide

Retail Reality celebrates Baby Frenzy, a family-owned retail store in El Toro, Californiam run by Linda and Michal Byerline. The store is the public side of a cloth diapering manufacturer, Happy Heineys, that operates an upstairs manufacturing facility. The combination retailer/supplier educates local parents about the environmental and financial benefits of cloth diapering and other natural parenting methods, and the products available today that help save green in both the pocketbook and the environment! A growing trend has emerged where manufacturers of all sizes are exploring the options of retailing and wholesaling. We were happy to discover Baby Frenzy and Happy Heineys! Who do you know that combines both worlds successfully?

Items tagged “Toys & Recreation”

The Rep Relationship

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