NYIGF Names Baby & Child’s Best New Products

Five companies were presented with Baby & Child Best New Product Awards at the recent NY International Gift Fair. The Wonder Forge™ received the “Blogger’s Best” distinction for its Angelina Ballerina Dance With Me interactive game.

In addition to the “Blogger’s Best” award, Baby & Child Best New Product Awards winners are recognized semi-annually for excellence in four categories: Toy, Décor, Gear and Apparel. A panel of editors from print and electronic media outlets selected products exemplifying innovation, design and style.

“These winners were clear stand-outs in a competitive field of outstanding products in Baby & Child,” said Randi Mohr, Baby & Child sales manager. “The judges recognized design innovation and creativity which set these products apart from all others.”

The winter 2012 winners and finalists, selected from 100 products, are:

BLOGGER’S BEST:
The Wonder Forge™ (Seattle, WA) for its Angelina Ballerina Dance with Me, an interactive collaborative game where kids take the center stage.

TOY:
Winner: Tegu (Darien, CT) for its Tegu Mobility Dart, a wooden car with 10 classic Tegu blocks, a signature magnetic styling top, and 4 magnetic wooden wheels, Dart is a member of the Compact Line of Tegu Mobility.
Finalist: Hape North America (Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada) for its Pancakes.
Finalist: Juratoys US Corp (Fort Lauderdale, FL) for its Janod Wooden Toys.

DÉCOR:
Winner: Swankie Blankie (Plano, TX) for its Citron Marbella Receiving Blanket, a receiving blanket that is wash and dryer safe, with a unique design.
Finalist: Magicforest (Portsmouth, NH) for its Sevi Fly With Me Growth Chart.
Finalist: My Boy Sam Ltd (New Milford, CT) for its Baby Stroller Blanket.

GEAR:
Winner: 7 A.M.^® Enfant (New York, NY) for its Pookie Poncho, a baby carrier cover and stroller cover in one, made of waterproof materials.
Finalist: MadPax, LLC (Phoenix, AZ) for its BUBBLE by MadPax.
Finalist: GroVia^® (Bozeman, MT) for its Curious About Cloth Kit.

APPAREL:
Winner: Zutano Inc. (Cabot, VT) for its Bowtie, the new accessory for little boys in Zutano’s hallmark colors.
Finalist: Dabbawalla Bags (Seattle, WA) for its Lunch Knot Purse.
Finalist: Tutu Couture^® (Atlanta, GA) for its Officially Licensed Collegiate Tutu Line.

The Best New Product Award judges included: Joanne Fallon, Baby & Kids; Jennifer Cattaui, Earnshaw’s; Joanna Dreifus, MyMomShops.com; Caroline Kennedy, Playthings; and Leesa Valentino, TheGiggleGuide.com.

Baby & Child at NYIGF featured 125 companies offering a wide range of products for children 0-10 years. Here are some that especially caught the attention of The Giggle Guide^®:

Life’s a Beach with Sandy Feet

Want to build store cred as a place that provides unique ways to remember special parent-and-child moments? Then stock Sandy Feet, from Spots and Ladybugs, an intergenerational activity that brings to mind happy memories of sun, fun and family. With Sandy Feet, a child steps into the sand, which an adult then fills with plaster mixed with water and pours in. Voila! A personalized memento of a great day to keep the experience alive, long after those little feet are a lot bigger.

The kit has everything necessary, including a cup for mixing, two wooden paddles for stirring, a wood stylus for personalizing and enough plaster for two child-size casts up to size 2 as well as two lengths of jute cord with which the finished cast can be hung. The keepsake craft comes attractively packaged in a vintage-inspired printed tin pail.

The same step-and-pour technique is also available as Sandy Foot, a kit variation that comes with sufficient plaster for making sand-prints of a single footprint up to size four in white or five other sun-and-beach inspired colors including pink, pale green and light blue. Sandy Foot is perfect for larger families with a lot of little feet to celebrate and makes a great favor for beach parties. Any kind of sand will work — sandbox or from the ocean –– and ocean water works as well as water from a faucet. It’s fun, easy and a great memento.

Another delightful way for little ones and parents to collaborate is Spots and Ladybugs’ Original Easter Grass Kit that provides an eco-friendly, all-natural alternative to wasteful plastic grass The task involves planting a starter disk in a bowl; covering it with water and waiting two to three days to watch young, green shoots appear from the dirt as if by magic, that can be put into a lined basket (Easter or not) from which grass will grow almost an inch a day . What fun to have a beautiful, grass-lined basket ready for Easter goodies!

For beachy-keen fun: www.spotsandladybugs.com

On Your Mark, Get Set, Twirl!

For little girls inclined to twirl, nothing beats a tutu, that short-skirted dancing dream. Tutu Couture offers skirts that are the “real deal” –– no manufacturing shortcuts and only top-quality designs here. The new Collegiate License line offers pettiskirts with colors and motifs officially licensed from the universities they represent. Available in small, medium and large, these tutus give a new meaning to “co-ed” with elastic waistbands so the fit is simple and secure. Satin printed top layers sport official school logos over the chiffon tutu pettiskirts.

Offer designs that proudly affirm the dreams of the Arkansas Razorbacks, as well as the University of Alabama, Kentucky or Georgia. Go team! Tutus for older princesses are also available in a range of colors including bright pink, light pink, red, black and raspberry.

To please those shopping for complete costumes, show off the whimsical fairy costume that features a pixie-cut multi-colored tutu in shades of lavender, pale pink, and mint green, handcrafted from over seventy yards of premium tulle. It also features fanciful crown, wand, and wings so it’s perfect for anytime the dress-up urge strikes.

The Woodland Fairy offers a lavender and fuchsia tutu with a floral bouquet and halo while the Western-inspired cowgirl costume includes a red, poufy princess tutu and a hat complete with rhinestones and feathers. Annie Oakley never had it so good; little girls who deck themselves in this get-up can whoop, holler and dance the house down.

Give shoppers additional options with the Bumble Bee costume with a yellow and black tutu, black wings with intricate golden detailing, a black head band with a buzzy-as-a-bee headband complete with antennae and a bumblebee wand. The Ladybug is all dressed up to delight in red and black, with wings, wand and marabou fur antennae. The base of the adorable bunny costume is a pink ballerina tutu with a fluffy tail and faux fur bunny ears. All costumes are available for girls from age 1 to size 12.

Fanciful tutus also come in wowie-zowie combos like the zebra print skirt rimmed with shocking pink and the light pink pettiskirt that ends in a froth of rainbow colors.

Take a spin shopping at www.tutucouture.com

Organic, Eco-Friendly Items from Wee Urban

For improved peace of mind when a baby is ready to graduate from being swaddled in a blanket and move to a crib, snuggle him into the Wee Dreams wearable blanket from Wee Urban. It’s made from a blend of organic cotton and bamboo viscose and provides a cozy way to bed down baby and know there’s no chance of a problem from loose bedding that might cause problems.

The sleep bag has a duo-sliding zipper that opens at the bottom for rapid-fire diaper changes and has three strategically placed, nickel and lead-free snaps that open in a flash for easy dressing and undressing. The practical sleeve and neck openings are designed so baby can’t slip down inside the blanket, but will spend a warm and peaceful night. Available in a range of colors and designs including Espresso with giraffes; Green with two hooty owls on a branch; Dark Pink with a blossom design for little girls; and Turquoise with a friendly whale and Teal with an elephant.

To outfit toddlers so they can play all day in comfort, Wee Urban offers a Romper Collection for a one-piece, go anywhere look. Rompers are made of 100% organic cotton interlock, using lead-safe, eco-friendly inks for the prints and have an added gusset in the rear for a great fit over diapers. Rompers are available in sizes 0-6, 6-12, 12-18 and 18-24 months in vibrant colors and patterns like pink blossoms and a butterfly or three inquisitive turtles on an espresso ground; playful brown monkeys on blue; and owls lined up on the front of a green suit.

The Wee Urban Cart Cozy protects little ones from germs when shopping. The large leg holes make it easy to slide into and the rear-bucking strap keeps the child securely in place. Cart Cozy comes both as a single and double version for parents shopping with more than one youngster; has an interior side pocket to house snacks or a bottle; and a toy loop to attach an amusement to occupy the little one. The cozy will also fit most restaurant high chairs so parents can be sure about what touches their baby.

As part of the company commitment to our planet, Wee Urban relies on eco-friendly dyes, packaging and tags: www.weeurban.com

Super Soft Goods by Auggie Home Collection

Sugar, spice, hearts, flowers and cute little toes and noses, that’s what babies are made of; the inspiration for a collection of divine items for infants. From the Auggie Home Collection come fitted crib sheets to deck out that special rest area, made of super-soft, 200 thread count 100% cotton in soft prints to fit standard crib mattresses. Choose among the painted stripe in gray, pink, ocean or fern; little round pebbles in ocean, gray or fern; or “little flutter,” a sweet butterfly motif in pink or fern.

Complement those sheets with crib bumpers in a coordinating cross-stitch. Add a crib skirt, also in the same pattern as the sheets for a look that says “elegance.” Offer shoppers the option of taking the theme one step further with printed quilts that can be washed in cold water and tumbled dry. Quilts are available in solids with a decorative stitch running through or in winsome prints including Auggie’s own colorful Marching Robots backed in solid gray, blue and green ponies, a Rabbit Patch garden with trees, flowers and bunnies; or Pink Flowers, as well as quilts in the cross-stitch pattern.

There is also a go-with 12”x18” printed quilted pillow to nestle in a nearby chair. Contrast the pillow with the rest of the linens by displaying them in white with a solid color band or in matching prints. To keep baby warm and totally in sync with his or her bedding, there is even a wearable blanket in the Rabbit Patch, Pink Flower or Robot March patterns. They are made to fit little ones 0 to six months and six to eighteen months You can offer the same winsome patterns for those shopping to outfit a “big kid” bed as Auggie also makes printed duvet covers and shams in a larger size.

Delicate but not cutesy, a room decked out in Auggie style is a decorative touch of class. Dress up your nursery collections at: www.littleauggie.com