Our annual pilgrimage to Toy Fair is always interesting. We use it for our 'bread and butter' items. This means those items that are constant best sellers that we try to have on the shelves (the real and virtual ones!). There certainly are edgier trade shows than Toy Fair, but it's still an important event on the toy trade calendar. You don't go there expecting to be blown away by entirely new ranges, however there are always a few surprises in store. You have to look for them, but that makes it more fun; almost like a toy treasure hunt.
This was our 4th toy fair and we are starting to feel like we have got the hang of how to tackle it. You walk in and take a huge sigh as you see the enormity of it and figure out where to start. Our first stop is always the coffee stand for some portable pick me up. Then it's an initial walk though all the stands from start to finish. This way we can see where all the stands are that we need to spend more time in; and get a general feel for how much new product there is. We should point out that there are many stands that we walk straight past; anything with a licence or brand, most plastics, remote control, and anything that needs batteries. This probably makes up half of Toy Fair.
Contrary to what you might think, there are no children around. It is strictly trade only, although there are certainly some big kids around who like to play and demo their wares. There's also a fair smattering of grumpy men about, whose jaded demeanour suggests they have been in the industry for far too long. The reps on the stands need to be energetic and enthusiastic, and most importantly know their product. There are always stands that are staffed by personnel who clearly have nothing more than a cursory understanding of the products on offer, which really does them a disservice. We love spending time at stands where they staff (often owner operators) love their product and want to tell you about it.
So now you have an idea of the feel of the place, now to what we saw. Our prize for the most enthusiastic stand goes to the troops at Dr Wood Mind Challenge. They have an amazing range of unique mind challenging puzzles and games that we had heaps of fun playing. All the games were set up for demo purposes, and we worked the whole stand and tried each one.
We were also pretty impressed with the folks at Heebie Jeebies, whose stand was, like its name, full of quirky science and geeky gifts. Dinosaur kits, clip circuits and pothead plants (little grassy characters in terracotta pots) were some of the finds. Their optical products were particularly clever, especially a two way bug viewer that would go down a treat in a house with two insect crazy boys in residence (i.e.- mine).
The Kaleidoscope stand is always a favourite, as they supply some of our most popular items; Djeco craft kits, Folkmanis puppets, Papo figurines, Le Toy Van wooden toys and Wheely Bug Ride ons. The Djeco craft kits continue to amaze us for quality and value. There are lots of new sets on the way, several of these newbies are in our retail store already and will be on our virtual walls as soon as next week. Le Toy Van has added to the range with a new Honeybake tea set, plus a police van, new play food (the ice cream sundae is divine) and loads of new Budkins dolls. We were also delighted when the MD of Kaleidoscope told us that last year we were their fastest growing store! How exciting is that?
Other stands that made our hearts flutter a little? Fairy Girls new tutu dress ups that are just tutu sweet; Discoveroo; a unique scooter than converts to a trike/bike, new bamboo racers from Hape; Sparkle T wooden toys and Tiger Tribe stamp sets and magnetic play sets.
All of these will be arriving in store as soon as they are available. Stay tuned :)
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