Passport to Products from Around Our Small World

Join the The Giggle Guide^® as we continue our globetrotting journey to discover the latest international hits to offer customers. The Internet Age has truly made the world smaller, with instant accessibility to terrific new products, no matter where you call home! Today’s trip takes us from Canada’s Monster Factory and Italy’s Baby Graziella to Hooligans of South Africa, tante martha from the Netherlands, and Blabla products made in Peru. Brilliant colors, fun-loving critters, beautiful fabrics and creative genius offer a world of retail opportunities!

Canada’s Monster Factory Screams Creativity!

What started out in 2003 as a playful group art project among three young film, art and fashion students has quickly become a frightfully successful business venture! Monster Factory is a fun-loving character toy brand created by Adam Dunn, Rhya Tamasauskas, and Bliss Man, who have a blast creating personable critters who, despite their quirky appearances, are just regular folk making their way in the world.

The energy and creativity of this grassroots trio produces monster characters who appeal to both children and adults and interact in an amusing world of storytelling situations that people of all ages can appreciate. The company includes hilarious “write-ups” about its kooky monster characters for an in-depth and entertaining glimpse into life as a monster. Monster Factory is also experimenting with bringing its characters to life in puppet form, and numerous videos of these colorful and quirky monsters are available for viewing on the company’s Web site.

Don’t miss out on the impending invasion of Canadian Monsters! Join the smash monster mash at www.monsterfactory.net

Italy’s Baby Graziella is Amore

It’s amore! For the past 40 years, Baby Graziella has produced the highest quality knitwear and outfits for children, infants through 12 years of age. Three different lines span the ages and clothing needs of families who insist on the very best.

The high-end Italian clothing line uses only the most valuable materials to develop the collections of Baby Graziella (0-3 years), BG Boys and Girls (2-12 years) and Coccobirillo (0-3 years). The delicate finishing touches, richness of color, and originality of each piece are a celebration of children by a company devoted to their comfort and tenderness. Molto bene!

The Baby Graziella brands dress children for a first-class journey. Get on board at www.babygraziella.it

Hooligans Celebrate a South African Safari

Devoted to using Fair Trade fabrics, and committed to helping disadvantaged communities, the entrepreneurs of Hooligans Kids Clothing create vividly colored apparel in authentic designs, embellished with whimsical African animals. From lions and zebras to giraffes and elephants, Hooligan’s gorgeous clothing offers a menagerie of fun, expressive designs in rich colors.

Hooligans ensures that every item is composed of 100% South African cotton that is “soft as a baby’s bottom” and completely non-toxic according to all CPSC regulations. Little details, including satin labels, ensure added comfort. A stringent code of ethics make certain that child labor is forbidden and employees are paid excellent rates, which enable them to provide a healthy lifestyle for their families.

To become part of the beat of this different drummer, explore the world of www.hooliganskids.com

tante martha is a Dutch Treat

Eclectically appealing and delightfully heartwarming, the Netherland’s tante martha has been selling her handmade namesake creations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since 2009. With demand soaring, her creative, colorful products are now available internationally.

tante martha’s children’s clothing and accessories are made from carefully selected materials that boast cheerfulness and skin-soothing softness, blended with a touch of tender loving care. The broad selection includes colorful shirts with strikingly bold designs, unique belts that add instant pizzazz to any outfit, appealing sunglass and makeup cases, cute keyring pendants, and even gorgeous photo albums, notebooks and stationary, which are highly popular with the tween-age crowd.

Visit the imaginative world of kid’s fashion from the creative mind of tante martha at www.tantemartha.com

Peruvian Blabla Products Are the Talk of the Town!

Children love the soft, tactile textures of hand-knit toys and apparel. That’s a big reason why the handcrafted creations offered by Blabla are so popular! The wide range of sumptuous products are designed by talented artist, Florence Wetterwald, based in Atlanta, and are then knitted by skilled Peruvian artisans from ultra-gentle, natural fibers.

Babies and parents can’t help themselves from blabbing on about Blabla’s beautiful clothing, dolls, whimsical critters, cuddly back packs, rattles, puppets, key chains, softie blankets, crib mobiles, and large selection of paper goods. Each item is hand loomed from yarns of alpaca, virgin acrylic and 100% cotton to create look-and-feel-good clothing and toys that are durable enough to pass along through generations.

For fun, colorful, impulse-buy baby products that are anything but blah, visit www.blablakids.com