Every year the Toy Fair seems to get bigger and better! With stiffer competition and the toy giants fighting harder to get the big buyers to spend with them. It is always a spectacle, and also some what of a dodge ball game. Ducking for cover from the more aggressive brands that are so pushy you almost want to skip their booth however cool it may be. But overall it is a day of play, fun, and a reminder that I feel so grateful to make kids happy for a living.
Being a new mom myself, I did have a fresh new take on toys. Though only four months in to motherhood, I can tell you I have already become a better toy buyer (for infants at least) by experiencing products first hand! Shout out to the Noggin Stick—the best infant toy ever that has saved my life for the past four months—I saw nothing to compete with it in the infant realm and will forever recommend it to desperate moms and clueless baby gift purchasers.
But back to Toy Fair 2015! There are a lot—I mean a lot—of toys that interact with smartphones, the Cloud, iPads, cyber space, and/or are robotically controlled coming out this year. From Hello Barbie by Mattel that carries on a conversation with you and remembers your voice, to an infant swing by Fisher Price that is controlled by your smartphone to help eliminate the need for parents having to get out of bed. There was also the Kitten by Spin Master coming out this summer that behaves like a cat and responds to you (minus the litter box). And of course there was Color Alive by Crayola that lets you use your smart phone or tablet to take a picture of one of the Color Alive coloring books and using their app, the characters will come to life on your device. We’re not in Kansas any more.
While the remote-controlled, the robotic, the streaming, and the virtual are all exciting, I am partial to good old fashioned imaginative play and more organic creativity. Which is why, given the opportunity to interview fellow Momtrepenuer , actress, and (I’ll admit it) my childhood icon from “Punky Brewster,” I jumped at it.
Soleil Moon Frye is an actress, host, author, director, screen writer, and more (those who don’t recognize her from “Punky” may recognize her from her popular turn on “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”). But her most important role, as I found out, is being a mom. Her recent partnership with Seedling, a creative toy company, is the perfect job for a mom dedicated to imagination, creativity, and quality family time.
As an avid fan and Seedling retailer I didn’t need to do any research on her brand. Seedling has had a presence in my store since I stumbled upon it four years ago at Toy Fair. I fell in love with the packaging, and the way it made creativity and crafts so magical. The introduction of Pocket Change to the line brought back that nostalgic feeling of saving your pennies for a small treasure at the local toy shop. From cool pencils, pens, whoopee cushions, creatures, bows, mini art supplies, and more, the items are adorable, unique and all the while and timeless.
I couldn’t wait to hear what Soleil had to say about what drew her to partner with the brand, how it enhanced her family life, and how she juggles it all! “I try and remember to be present when I am with my family. I may have a million things going on but I try and make the time with them really count. Sometimes I have a bad day or things don’t go as planned, but I take it in stride and am patient with myself and know that tomorrow will be better. I cherish the time with my kids,” Soleil says. “It is so special and I love being creative with them and having something pull us all together. Which is why I am so in love with Seedling. It allows for us all to do something together to decompress, to play, and to be creative.”
In addition to her spot-on ideas about imaginative play, Soliel was also eager to chat about her favorite items in the line that really help you bring the creativity out in her kids. “I really love the Create a Wooden Family kit. Just the other day one of my daughters spent a ton of time making a little wooden family and it was precious…she really got into it and they turned out great,” she says. “I also love the Mini Dig kits…we love getting our hands dirty and discovering. I just used a ton of the Pocket Money Items to make the most unique party bags for my 1-year-old’s birthday!”
It was a great moment with a wonderful role model who finished our conversation by asking me all about my baby and my store–it was so flattering and led to a full-fledged mommy gush moment about how much we love our kids.
Beyond Seedling I have to shout out to the other great creativity brands that never disappoint. Creativity for Kids kills me with their Pretty Kitty Headbands (Arianna Grande fans everywhere will be purchasing them in droves) and their Flower Crowns (Cochella-ready tots will be rocking them at musical festivals all over this summer). Play-Dough and their Can Heads that make clay can crushing superheroes will make even the most rowdy ones sit down to craft. Paper Punk which I picked up last year and sold a ton of, really impressed me with their new jewelry kit (if I wear their paper jeweled pieces in Williamsburg I will be the coolest). Crazy Aaron came out with a putty color experimenting kit to further make their made-in-the USA-by-people-with-disabilities company even cooler.
There were also a ton of “Jurassic World” knick-knacks and a Girl Scout branded cookie oven by Wicked Toys coming out this year that were both notable.
So while there are so many internet-based, smartphone-friendly, and robotic toys coming out this year that are really cool, my heart ultimately belongs to companies like Seedling, Creativity for Kids, and Schylling. I will forever love nostalgic old-fashioned play just like my girl Soleil. But who knows my daughter might be a techie! All I know is as enticing as it would have been and as exhausted and hard it was—I certainly wouldn’t want a remote-controlled swing to sooth my newborn—my tired sleepy arms and lullabies were just what we both needed to get by.
Lindsey Peers is the owner of the Craft Studio and a new mom! Learn more about her business at craftstudionyc.com!
