---

Toy Fair 2010 - A Recap Of The Excitement

 

Manhattan, NY, February 17, 2010: The information to follow is but an in-depth recap of but a fraction of all of the excitement at Toy Fair 2010.  To fully encompass the full story of what it was all about would require volumes of content to deliver the full message.

Toy Fair 2010 has completed yet another successful year of hosting excitement and discovery of the most innovative designs in books, CD's, toys, games, juvenile products, and micro-robotics. It was a world of wonder in which a buyer could take their time in walking the show floor, taking a greater measure of time in looking at all of the products in each booth they would visit.

An interesting fact which we have now heard from several of the exhibitors at Toy Fair 2010 who:

• were on Level #3 and had their booth on Level #1 last year
• were under the wings of another exhibitor on Level #3 and had their booth in Level #1 last year
• had a booth on BOTH level #1 and #3 last year;

All of these exhibitors had a monumental increase in sales over last year.  Word has it that one of these exhibitors had more sales on the first day of Toy Fair 2010 than thay had the entire time at Toy Fair 2009!  It is only obvious once again that Toy Fair 2010 is part of  "Season of Change" that the industry has been waiting for.

 

---

greenBusiness™

Earlier in our recap of Toy Fair 2010 we had the special feature of Daryl Hannah and here new games she was introducing.  Daryl has gone well beyond what many of us would ever even consider doing when it comes to taking ecological concerns serious, including running a greenBusiness.  This feature is about other companies and individuals who have demonstrated their own effort to run a greenBusiness. 

Environmental concerns were being taken quite seriously at Toy Fair 2010. This was demonstrated by taking much of Toy Fair's printed materials being moved to a virtual online presence, a good representation of greenBusiness™.  There was even a section at Toy Fair 2010 which was dedicated to greenProducts™.  These products were all made a valid statement of the importance of products being "Earth Friendly".

There is a small comfort for us though to know that at Toy Fair 2010 there were a number of companies who have stepped out of the comfort zone and created earth-friendly products.  These products serve as a strong message to others that we CAN make a difference in ecological concerns. In respect to these companies we have featured images of some of them in our recap to give them recognition for their efforts they have taken to make a difference for others now and those who will follow us in future generations.

Kudos to not only the exhibitors featured here, but all others who were exhibiting at Toy Fair 2010 who were demonstrating their efforts to run a greenBusiness™ and/or were selling greenProducts™.

 

 

---

The "editor's favorite™", ef™ notation provides me, as the chief editor of The Toy Man® Product Guide™, an opportunity to provide recognition of the products that are my own personal favorites from Toy Fair 2010. My judgment is based primarily yet not entirely upon the following factors: Functionality Educational Value Contribution to Skill Development Marketability Visual Appeal FunFactor™ (If applicable)

 

The products that have received the "ef™" notation in this case, are products which were featured at Toy Fair 2010 and I feel are an invaluable investment and/or provide a substantial contribution to positive skill growth and productivity. Most important of all to me are the products which contribute to education. Education is the foundation of success and has a long term impact in the lives of everyone.

 

---

THE "EDITOR'S FAVORITE" AWARD RECIEPENTS

  

 

RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS

* Products which have the "Recommended Product" image are products which were not just a favorite product, but one which is highly recommended by The Toy Man® Product Guide for buyers to consider, whether or not it is an inductee of The Toy Man® Product Guide.

HexBug nano These are autonomous robotic creatures that are a sure sale for any retailer.  They behave like REAL bugs, providing a learning and fun experience.
Quiet Time Tales A full collection of 60 stories and 13 songs in one collectible 12 DVD box set for hours of storytelling and musical enjoyment with Grandpa Read.
Liebrary Liebrary is a party game designed by actresses Daryl Hannah and Hilary Shepard. A stimulating game which is very similar to Balderdash and others of that nature, but using books instead of word definitions.
Bridge Street Toys Design and construct magnificent buildings! Experiment with cantilever construction and unique architectual designs to build office buildings, a fire station, or even a bank building.
Mindflex Utilizing advanced Mindflex technology, the wireless headset reads your brainwave activity. Concentrate ... and the ball rises on a cushion of air! Relax ... and the ball descends. It's literally mind over matter!
Rocky The Robot Truck Rocky The Robot Truck™ encourages kids to interact with their new best friend - the hardest working truck on the block with the most engaging personality. His rugged design and full-tilting bed are great for manipulative play. Boys will love the hauling and dumping action as they get ready to load 'em up and move 'em out.
SepToys Seven Sided Design Blocks SepToys play contributes to the understanding of complex spatial relationships, incorporating emerging mathematical skills and reasoning. The varied angles help in the development of visual discrimination and exercise fine motor skills, simultaneously stimulating neural pathways in the brain.

 

 

Products

Products which have a image next to them are products which have been submitted to The Toy Man® Product Guide, a division of GreyWolf Corporation™, and passed the strict evaluation for induction.

 

BuckleyBoo
SENSEsational Alphabet
My Ami
Adoreable Kinders
Colorific Number Snail
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Playset
Marshmallow Shooter
3-in-1 Smart Wheels™
Moxie Girls
Magic School Bus Back in Time with the Dinosaurs
Bella Sara Velvety Miniatures

 

 

---

Venturing Into a New Arena

Throughout Toy Fair 2010, several products which were featured on the show floor, were also being featured along with a few others at various local businesses.  The images below are from one of these casual events which was hosted in the lobby of a hotel in Times Square. Games, toys, plush characters, and more were available for the guests of the hotel to sit down and play with, giving their feedback in regard to their personal impression of these products.

 

The same approach was taken at three other locations in New York City as part of PROJECT: Education Outreach - New York. These events provided an opportunity for spontaneous hands-on experience with the variety of products brought by The Toy Man® Product Guide. 

Each of the events had a fluctuating number of persons taking interest, some times next to no one around then suddenly an overwhelming number of people getting hands-on experience with these exclusive events.  The best part of all was the wide diversity of people taking part in our events ranging from local New York passers-by, to people from all over the globe.  The little girl in the middle is a perfect example of this; she was from Brazil captured in this image as she is holding Norman The PhartEphant and reading his new book about his life.

Mickey and Minnie At Night In The Big Apple While all of the locations we demoed products and gave them to the public, this one was one of the most unique.  Here we were in Times Square NYC, doing hands-on evaluations of products with Mickey and Minnie wanting to join in! In the image to the left you will see Mickey showing a copy of the educational game, Comet, (Family Edition).  Comet games are produced by Active Mnds, Inc. and are are now also being used in public schools.

 

 

---

PROJECT: Education Outreach™ - New York @ JFK

To take our PROJECT: Education Outreach - New York spontaneous hands-on evaluations even further, Norman The PhartEphant, a plush animal with a serious indigestion problem which was featured at Toy Fair 2010 was stepping out in the JetBlue terminal concourse at JFK!  Norman's problem with passing gas drew the attention of adults, children, and even JetBlue staff as people were waiting to board their flights.

Just Phart'n Around... Norman PhartEphant™ is an African elephant that was adopted by a US zoo. He is VERY special and is quite a gas when it comes to fun. Best of all, he is soft, cuddly, and is over the top in HugFactor™. There is no question about it, Norman is a one of a kind elephant, err, I mean PhartEphant™. It was beyond funny at JFK when Normal was making his way around the concourse at the JFK concourse.  People waiting to catch their flights were having the time of their lives squeezing Norman's tail and hearing him rip a big one!  There were one of two people who found the activity "disgusting", yet the majority of the people making light of it. Whether adult or child, almost everyone couldn't resist holding Norman, and just following the instructions on the yellow card..."Squeeze My Tail".

 

Never did we imagine how an airport concourse could be such a near-perfect environment to develop product branding, break the monotonous experience of waiting for a flight, and also serve as a medium to develop buying interests of the thousands of people who come thorugh the area each day.

As you can see in the picture at left, our test run event of our introducing a product into the JetBlue concourse to draw attention to the product was a success. We were able to take a simple product and with that same product stimulate the attention of both parents and kids alike.  It was a time of such immense enjoyment as we watched the parents interacting with their children and Norman.  The scene captured in this image was one which we saw repeatedly throughout the day at the JetBlue boarding gates..

 

---

The Final Act Of The Play

Just as with a play, a trade show, and event, any occurrence in our lives in a sense has a final act.  This section of The Toy Man eNews & Views recap of Toy Fair 2010 will be the final act in this instance.  Here you will have access to some exclusive videos and images from Toy Fair 2010, PROJECT: Education Outreach - New York events.

The Gallery Images from Toy Fair 2010 & PROJECT: Education Outreach - New York   eNews & Views Videos Exclusive videos from Toy Fair 2010 [ SepToys - I ]  [ SepToys II ]  [ SepToys III ] [ Bella Sara I ]  [ Bella Sara II ] Daryl Hannah Tic Tac Toe Piggy Paints Toy Fair 2010 Fun and Games Kentucky Female Quartet @ Toy Fair 2010

 

"This is just the beginning!™"