droolicious : ABC Kids Expo 2008

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Animal Memory Game and Animal Dominos From Plan Toys

Chris Ford — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:29:00 GMT

I've told you already about the really cool Adventure Set from Plan Toys, and another product I saw from them is a lot more simple but no less cool. The Animal Memo and Animal Domino are beautiful versions of classic games, and are great for kids of all ages.

All the toys are (as are all of the Plan Toys products) made from recycled rubber wood and completely safe for kids. The Animal Domino game has 28 wooden tiles with seven different animals. The memory game has 24 picture tiles of 12 different animals. All the tiles are also rounded on top, which requires children playing with them to use all five fingers (which is better apparently than just using the thumb and forefinger).

Animal Domino, $25 and Animal Memo, $22 both available from PlanToys.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Sama Children's Clothing

Chris Ford — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:31:00 GMT

I didn't write much about children's clothing from ABC but the organic clothes from Sama were too nice not to share. The clothes have a decidedly Indian feel to them, though they're not overly Indian. In fact, the company's motto is "Inspired by India, Made in India for the Benefit of India."

I was a big fan of the "Rock Star Dress" (available in February of 2009) and the Double Layer Strap Dress (pictured). Everything is certified organic and they have sizes from infants up to six years old.

Check out the line at SamaBaby.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: 123 Caterpillar and ABC Snake Books

Chris Ford — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:02:00 GMT

123 Caterpillar and ABC Snake are toddler books that illustrate numbers and the alphabet by expanding like an accordion. Every parent needs a quick distraction for their kids to put in their diaper bag, and these books seem like they'd do the trick. And they also feature my favorite toddler book activity - flaps to lift.

Both books are small, contained and have flaps to lift. The ABC book has the letters on one side and an animal on the opposite side that begins with that letter. The 123 Caterpillar book has the number on one side and on the other are countable groups.

Both books retail for $8.96 (but can probably be found cheaper elsewhere) and can be found on the publisher's web site, Abbeville.com (123 link, ABC link).

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Dabba Walla Lunch Bags And Backpacks

Chris Ford — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:58:00 GMT

In India, the "dabbawalla" (Wikipedia entry) is the guy who collects the hot lunches of office workers from their home, brings them to the office, and then returns the empty boxes back. In America, Dabba Walla is a company that makes really cool neoprene lunch bags and backpacks.

What I liked best about Dabba Walla are the designs. Big and colorful, they're a lot cooler than the typical mass produced cartoon character stuff you'll get at a normal department store. And they had a stop light design, which I totally loved.

Dabba Walla bags, $38 for the luch bag and $48 for the backpack. Available at the end of October 2008. Check them out at DabbaWallaBags.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Plan City Adventure Set From Plan Toys

Chris Ford — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:31:00 GMT

Plan Toys are really awesome. They're all made from recycled rubber wood trees, stained (as opposed to painted) and fun to play with. Every kid I think who was at ABC with their parents probably stopped by the Plan Toys booth at one point and played with their stuff. My favorite is the Plan City Adventure Set.

The Plan City Adventure Set is a play set that you can buy in parts, and the great thing about it is the tracks build out into four different levels. I can really see lots of parents and kids playing with this together. All of the parts are compatible with other Plan Toys products, and they're also compatible with Brio and Thomas the Train toys too. In the Plan City Adventure Set they drive cars and not trains (as you can see from the picture) but it you're a train family you can get trains too.

Plan City, Table $220 and Adventure Set is $190. Check out all of the great stuff at PlanToys.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Ritmo Prenatal Audio Belt

Chris Ford — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:27:00 GMT

This one is way outside the "normal" baby products at ABC, but that's what makes it fun. The quickest way I can describe it is the Ritmo are headphones for your baby, while your baby is still in utero.

The RItmo is a belt with four small speakers (that pop out for easy belt cleaning) that you put around your pregnant belly. The speakers are placed in the four places your baby (in theory) should be. There's also a small amplifier that you plug your iPod or other personal music device into. Then the music you're listening to can be the same music your baby is listening to. I've seen other "womb sound" music devices before, but never one so elaborate.

The Ritmo should be available January of 2009 and will cost around $99. Check it out at nuvo-group.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Lascal M1 Carrier

Chris Ford — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:29:00 GMT

The Lascal M1 Carrier is a baby carrier that differentiates itself from the many, many other baby carriers out there by focusing on flexibility. It has all of the back support and other features that all well made baby carriers have, but you can also remove and replace the top for easy washing or to change your look for the day.

It's a cool idea to me, because the part that gets dirty on baby carriers is the top part that babies drool on. The tops are made of soft eco-friendly bamboo cloth and can be bought individually.

Lascal M1 Carrier, $130 for the carrier and one top, and $25 for the tops. Check them out at RegalLager.com

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Sippy Express Water And Juice Bottle Topper

Chris Ford — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:29:00 GMT

Another small, unknown product I saw that I thought was pretty cool was the Sippy Express. It's a bottle topper that turns almost any water bottle or juice bottle (even the wide mouth bottles) into a sippy cup.

The Sippy Express goes on over the top of an open bottle with a twist, and even though it doesn't use the threads of the bottle top itself, it still would be hard for a child to remove. The representative demoing it for me turned the bottle upside down, and while a couple drips fell from the bottle, it held the liquid in really well. There also isn't any valve that removes (like all my sippy cups). It's BpA free and dishwasher safe and fits 99% of all widely available water bottles and juice bottles.

It's a brand new product, but should retail for around $2.99. Check it out at SippyExpress.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Bumkins Drity Duds Bag

Chris Ford — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:40:00 GMT

Bumkins is a company that makes some of the best cloth diapering solutions out there. Now they've taken their waterproof cloth technology and used on something a lot more simple (and less messy) - tote bags.

The Dirty Duds Bag is a small waterproof tote bag for keeping anything - wether that might be a wet pair of underpants (for those accidents when your kids are away from home) or even a wet swimsuit. They come in twenty two different prints (all are rather feminine and none are very good for dads unfortunately) and are $12.95.

Check them out at Bumkins.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Luxo Crib from Bloom

Chris Ford — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:02:00 GMT

The Luxo Crib from Bloom was another great crib at ABC. It's one of the few "modern" cribs I've seen that has actual moving side rails that slide up and down. And like a lot of cribs these days, it also converts into toddler bed.

The curved sides and open air slats all the way around the crib make it stand out from a lot of the other cribs I saw at ABC, though those curved sides mean you'll have to buy the custom mattress and sheet set too. It will be available in mocha/white, natural/white and all white and is appropriate for newborn to 4 years old. Another cool feature is that when you take the mattress out and the rails off, the center folds up and it collapses down to twenty two inches wide.

It's not on their web site yet, but you can check out other stuff from Bloom at BloomBaby.com

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Crib Grass Crib Bumper from Boon

Chris Ford — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:29:00 GMT

I'm not a fan of crib bumpers. To me they don't really keep the baby safe from anything, and I when I had infants I ended up worrying more about the baby pulling on the bumper or getting caught in it. Boon has a whole new take on crib bumpers that seems to solve those concerns, all while looking pretty cool too - Crib Grass.

As you can (hopefully) see in the picture, Crib Grass sticks up all around the crib and is soft, plush, and can be easily pulled down and grabbed by babies. It kind of works like an upside down fitted sheet. You put it on under the mattress after putting on the normal fitted sheet. When you flip over the mattress the crib grass sticks up where the bumper goes.

It's not available until early 2009 and they didn't have a price point yet. Check out other products from Boon at BoonInc.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Book Buggee From P'Kolino

Chris Ford — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:29:00 GMT

In addition to the Toddler Bed, the other thing I saw from P'Kolino was this cute "Book Buggee." It's a wheeled toy that young toddlers can put stuff in, especially books, and then tow around.

The representative from P'Kolino said the idea was to create something to get children to interact with books at an early age. I'm not sure my kids ever used a toy that they pulled around, but that's not to say many kids do.

The Book Buggy comes in orange only and is brand new at a retail price of $44.99. Available at PKolino.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Hip Kid Art

Chris Ford — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:29:00 GMT

Hip Kid Art is a company that makes customized and personalized wall art for your child's room or nursery. All of the designs seem to be playful and modern and would fit the bill if you're looking for something to hang in the nursery that you might actually like to look at.

Hip Kid Art has sixty designs and each one is made individually and is unique. You get to personalize it with your child's name (or not if you don't want to and is made on a heavyweight canvas. My favorite is the "Monsters Keep Out" design, but there are sixty others to choose from.

Hip Kid Art costs from $75 to $125 and is available from hipkidart.com (and in retailers coming soon).

ABC Kids Expo 2008: DadGear Billboard Series Diaper Bag

Chris Ford — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:30:00 GMT

I mentioned new diaper bags from DadGear last week, but there was another type they were showing off that I'd never seen before either. The Billboard Series diaper bag is made from a piece of a real billboard, making each one durable and one of a kind.

I never knew, but the material that makes up the billboards that we drive past every day is a kind of vinyl with nylon "cloth". The stuff is extremely durable (as it would have to be to hold up to the elements) which is also great for dad diaper bags.

The way it works is the guys from DadGear get a used billboard, clean it thoroughly, and lay it out on the floor. Then they go around with a template and decide where they should cut the cloth into the shape for a diaper bag. So each diaper bag is unique and one of a kind. The bags have all of the standard diaper bag stuff that DadGear provides (including the "Quick Access WIpes Case") and are all very graphical and look cool. They're definitely my favorite bags in their product line.

The Billboard Series diaper bags are eco-friendly (they're made of recycled material after all) and cost $99.00 at DadGear.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: New Skip Hop Bath Time Products

Chris Ford — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:33:00 GMT

We've already told you about the new bath toys and ladybug organizer from Boon, but Skip Hop was also showing off some new bath products at ABC. The Tubby toy organizer keeps the tub tidy and the Moby spout cover is a cool rubber duck alternative for the faucet.

The Tubby organizer is made of washable neoprene and mesh, and has suction cups to stick to your bathroom tile. The Moby spout cover is adjustable to 80% of tub spouts. Both will be available in January or February of 2009.

The Tubby will retail for around $20.00 and the Moby will retail for around $13.00. Check out other Skip Hop products at skiphop.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Maclaren Seat Covers

Chris Ford — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:29:00 GMT

One thing Maclaren had at ABC that a lot of Maclaren users will be interested in (in addition to the wheel covers) is a new line of seat covers. All kinds of new prints, from stripes, diamonds and everything in between.

Each seat cover will cost $30 is reversible and quilted. For $30, it seems to me to be a cheap way to make your old stroller seem new again.

Available soon from Maclaren.com

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Calla High Chair

Chris Ford — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:48:00 GMT

The Calla High Chair is kind of a puzzle for me, because while the shape of the chair really makes it stand out, even from all the other "modern" highchairs at ABC, it's still just a high chair. It's still just a piece of furniture with a very limited practical shelf-life that your kids are going to inevitably make very, very messy. But your kid has to sit somewhere and eat, right? More details after the jump.

The Calla highchair was designed by Yves Behar for Fleurville and has all of the normal high chair type stuff - a tray, a foot rest etc. It's also height-adjustable, raising all the way up to bar height (which is a nice feature). But what you're really purchasing is the look. It really was something to look at - I'm pretty sure there isn't a ninety degree angle on any part of it.. And although they didn't allow me to take a picture I still wanted to write about it.

The chair is a bright yellow and will undoubtedly stand out in your home, so it might be a hard fit with the rest of your decor. I suppose though that if you've got a room full of furniture already that the Calla would be at home in, then you probably aren't worrying about it standing out. And you probably aren't sweating the price either.

The Calla highchair will be available in the Spring of 2009 from Fleurville for a retail price of $580. Check it out at callachair.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Week Two?

Chris Ford — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:35:00 GMT

The ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas was last week, but there are so many things to share with you, dear Babble readers, that we're extending the coverage into a second week. As you can see from the picture, there was a massive amount of stuff there. Actually, what you can see in the picture is only about half of one convention floor (there were two floors in total). In fact, the total square footage of the hall where it was given is about 1.3 million square feet (the South Hall, per Wikipedia), so that should give you some idea.

Read all of the coverage of ABC Kids Expo 2008 here.

ABC Expo 2008: Little Life Animal Pack Backpacks

Chris Ford — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:32:00 GMT

OK. So my picture isn't the greatest, but the Animal Pack backpacks from Little Life are seriously cool. Well, more like seriously cute and useful, which together I suppose adds up to cool. A small daypack for your little hiker, a rain hood for fun and a tether for mom and dad? Never mind, it's seriously cool.

The Animal Pack comes in four animals (ladybug, cow, bee and turtle) and the hood of each is designed for each animal. So the bee has antennae, the ladybug has eyes etc. It's also designed for those parents who want a tether for their child and a have a child doesn't want to be tethered. "See Billy, I'm not putting you on a leash, it's just a fun backpack that daddy can hold on to at the same time!" (The tether is not for me, but I can see how it would be useful hiking).

It's been available in the UK for a while now, but it's coming to the USA on November 15th and will cost $40 to $42. It will be distributed by Rock Gear Distribution, but you can check out the product pages at LittleLife.co.uk.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Snacker Catcher

Chris Ford — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:28:00 GMT

It was fun to check out all the new products from the brands that we all know, but it was also fun to find new products from people who had a good idea and are trying to make it happen. The Snacker Catcher, a "big snack" tether, is one of those products.

It basically looks like a pacifier tether - you clip one end to your child's clothes and you cinch the other to a large piece of food (like half a bagel or a cookie or something. Then when your child inevitably drops it, it won't fall on the ground.

Each Snacker Catcher is BPA free and has gone through the lengthy FDA approval process (which isn't something I've seen before in a product like this). There are four ribbon styles available and each should retail for around $9.99. Check them out at Bebalee.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: New Bath Toys From Boon

Chris Ford — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:30:00 GMT

There were a lot of fun things at the Boon booth at ABC this year, like these new bath toys - Odd Ducks, Water Bugs, Splat and Scrubble. All are BpA, Phthalate and PVC free and under $9.99.

Odd Ducks are rubber ducks with modern graphics, and my favorite part is they don't have any holes where water can get in and get moldy (bottom left in picture). Water Bugs (bottom right) is a game of sorts where kids can scoop up floating bugs (that kind of look like jacks) with a net. Splat (top left) is a floating ring toss game and Scrubble (center) is an "interchangeable scrub set" where kids can practice scrubbing themselves in the tub.

All should be available in six weeks. Check out all the bath toys at Boon.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: P'Kolino Todder Bed Converts Into A Chair

Chris Ford — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:30:00 GMT

P'Kolino makes children's furniture that we've spoken about before on Droolicious, but they had a few new things that are definitely worth mentioning. My favorite was the P'Kolino Toddler Bed - a bed that converts from a toddler bed to a chair once your toddler grows up.

There are a ton of Toddler beds out there that convert to a toddler bed from a crib, but I haven't seen any that convert from a toddler bed to something else. And did I mention the price? The P'Kolino Toddler bed costs $189, and that comes with the padding you'll need to make it a chair.

Available in white or orange (both pictured) available at P'Kolino.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Spirit Collection From Baby Bjorn

Chris Ford — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:31:00 GMT

The new thing Baby Bjorn was showing off at ABC this year was their "Spirit Collection" of baby carriers. Now the Baby Bjorn Baby Carrier Original, the baby carrier that spawned an industry of baby carriers, is available in a rainbow of colors, Now they have a color to match your every outfit because, after all, it's you that's wearing the thing not your baby.

Oh. And there was one other interesting thing I learned about Baby Bjorn at the ABC Expo. The company originally got their start making baby seats (their "Baby Sitter"), not the famous baby carriers. Who knew?

Check out the Spirit Collection and their latest Baby Sitter the Babysitter Balance at BabyBjorn.com

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Sok-O Handmade Stuffed Animals

Chris Ford — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:39:00 GMT

Every stuffed animal from Sok-O is made by hand from only one or two socks, and no two are exactly the same. They've only been around for about a year, but they instantly caught my eye when I was walking past them at ABC.

You can buy just one Sok-O stuffed creature (with no buttons sewn on them) for $30, or you can buy a special Sok-O creature $50. The special edition comes with a gift box, story about the animal and a birth certificate. Check them out at Sok-O.com.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: The Tri-Chair 3 In 1 High Chair

Chris Ford — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Wondering what you're going to do with that high chair once your kid outgrows it? Well, apparently there's more than one way to skin that cat. The Tri-Chair is a brand new high chair / rocking horse / desk that doesn't require anything other than the initial assembly. Stand it upright and it's a basic "at-the-table" high chair (center in the picture above). Put it on it's side and it's a rocking horse (left). Then flip it over and it's a toddler desk (right).

It's made of 100% recycled wood fibers and powder coated for durability. I'm not sure how many parents out there were looking for something to do with their high chairs other than use them for letting their kids eat, but after checking it out I have to say it was pretty cool. And I can pretty much guarantee you've never seen anything like it.

The Tri-Chair retails for $159.00 and is available at Trichair.net.