Dispatch from the ABC Kids Expo

We just got back from our annual trip to the ABC Kids Expo in Louisville, KY. As always, it was an overwhelming experience. It's hard to convey how huge this trade show is, but we heard that to walk the entire show (which we did and then some) was a full eight miles.

We visited with a lot of our new suppliers and found lots of great new products, too. Watch our facebook page over the coming weeks as we announce new arrivals! Specifically, we got a chance to see new products from bumGenius, including a new one-size all-in-one, new colors and prints, and a new Flip training pant. We should be among the first stores to receive those. Also arrivng soon are new styles of the Beco Gemini and Ergo baby carriers.


We also had great conversations with the folks from Thirsties, Naturpedic, Bummis, SoftBums, Haba, Doodletown, and many more.

In conjunction with the trade show, we attended the annual meetings of the Baby Carrier Industry Alliance (BCIA) and the Real Diaper Industry Alliance (RDIA). We got to meet Peggy O'Mara, the founder of Mothering Magazine, and lots of other retailers and manufacturers. We also got a chance to talk with Neal Cohen, the CPSC's small business ombudsman, about current product safety issues. These meetings were probably the highlight of our trip.

The Bad Idea Fairy Awards
As always, there were a lot of goofy products on display. There's always something there that seems to go out of its way to promote detatchment parenting. This year's standout was the Laptime infant lap seat by Infant Affection. It's basically a padded infant seat to use when holding your baby--presumably so that you won't have to actually touch your baby. Or maybe because mom and dad's arms are just too hard. We couldn't quite understand why this product was necessary.


The oddest product we saw was a flowery headband gift for a baby that comes on a card suggesting that the headband should be saved and used later as a bridal garter belt. Talk about great expectations! We probably won't be ordering any of these, either.

Our Trip to the ABC Kids Expo

From Dan: Once again, Millie and I made the trek to the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas. If you can imagine ten gazillion square feet of convention space on two floors jam packed with cribs, strollers, diapers, gadgets and gizmos--that's where we were.

We got a chance to catch up with a lot of our favorite vendors, including Moby Wrap, Ergo, Beco, BumGenius, Thirsties, Babyhawk, and Green Toys. Sarah from SoftBums (yeah SoftBums!) was there for the first time, too. (Although on the day we were there the booth next to her was using a large, mostly naked Sumo wrestler to demonstrate their diaper rash cream, which was somewhat distracting.) We got to see lots of new offerings from many of these companies, several of which will be arriving in our store soon.

There were a whole bunch of new cloth diaper companies on exhibit, which was incredible. There must have been 24 different companies where just a few years ago there were only 2 or 3. Cloth Diapers are really reaching mainstream proportions. We have quite a few choices for new products to add, but we'll probably need to greatly expand our diaper section first--a project which is already very much in the works (more later on that.)

Like last year, there were quite a few "green" vendors, some of whom understood the concept better than others. We asked one company what kind of plastic their product was made with and they said "um...plastic plastic." One the other hand, the rep from another company had a whole report on the low estrogenic affects of his baby bottles versus other similar products, complete with cell growth data. We'll probably be ordering from him.

As always, the Bad Idea Fairy was busily at work this year. We saw a motorized stand for an adult to stand on behind a stroller that propels both adult and stroller (so, who's getting any exercise now?). We saw a special bag designed to lower a baby out the window of a burning building (this might be something we've neglected to worry about so far). And, although we love babywearing, we're not sure about Kindergartner wearing. Yes, there was a contraption designed to carry a 5 year old on your back, standing on a small platform near your waist. It looked somewhat uncomfortable.

All in all, we had a great time. It was a pretty intense 2 days, but we really enjoyed talking to our suppliers and other shopowners. And, next year the show is in Kentucky! See you later, Las Vegas!

Dispatch from the ABC Kids Expo

From Dan: Millie and I just returned from the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas, which seemed to be about 50% bigger than last year.

Las Vegas was the same as always--hot, loud, and crowded. On Monday, we got to witness a rare thunderstorm, though, which flooded the streets up to our taxi's wheel wells. I guess they don't build real big storm sewers in Las Vegas.

The expo itself was a huge mixture of strollers, diaper bags, baby carriers, toys, and just about everything else you might buy for a kid. We visited with a lot of our suppliers that we've worked with for years, like Moby Wrap, Ergo, Bum Genius, and Maya Wrap. And we found lots of new items that we hope you'll like when they arrive in our store.

As always, the Bad Idea Fairy has been busy in the past year. We saw several products designed to help toddlers keep track of their food, including a strap that attaches a sippy cup to a child's wrist so they won't lose their juice and a silicone band that performed a similar function for bagels. The worst idea we saw was the "Baby Beehavin"--a stroller with a built in DVD player. Why look at the world around you or even at your mother's face when you can just sit and watch Dora?

We also saw dozens of products designed to solve problems that don't really exist, like a tether that you connect to your kid when you go out so that you don't accidently leave them in the car; or a sticker with a hand print on it that you put on the side of your car and tell your kids to keep their hands on the sticker while you load groceries. Well intended, both. But needed?

Finally, we saw LOTS of celebrities!!!!! Well, not really celebrities, but pictures of them either caught in the act of using a baby product or quickly photographed at some event where a free diaper bag or swaddle blanket is shoved into their hands. Some of them we didn't even know--like a soap star who was going to make an appearance at the Foogo booth to help them sell sippy cups. We paused to ask about a certain baby sling and all we got was a bunch of nonsense about how many celebrities owned it.

Hello baby product makers everywhere: We don't care what Angelina Jolie uses for diaper rash or which baby shoes Adam Sandler's kid wears when he's shopping. LEAVE THOSE CELEBRITIES ALONE! NO ONE CARES!

So, that's our report from the baby gear trenches. It was nice to come home to September in Minnesota.

ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas

From Dan: We just returned from 3 days in Las Vegas to attend the ABC Kids Expo, which is a trade show for baby products stores. This year, we decided to make it a family trip with Millie's mom Jule and our three kids.

We managed to eke out a few fun times in Vegas, but I have to say that, all the marketing to the contrary, Las Vegas is NOT a family friendly place. This may not be news to some, but we were truly surprised. We've never been anywhere where our children were so unwelcome. Trying to get from one side of our hotel to the other involved dodging cigarette butts and numerous withering glances that said. "Why did you bring those here?" One forty-something man, passing our skipping two year old Duncan, actually said "Ishhhh...." An older woman at the car rental agency just scowled at us. At the FAO Schwartz store in the Forum, we overheard a man with an armful of toys exclaim "What are we doing? I didn't come to Vegas to shop for toys!"

We came to think that kids somehow are antithetical to the Las Vegas mojo. A reminder of the family left at home and why adults are not normally allowed to act like children.

Although we dearly wish the ABC Kids Expo would pick a different city, we did enjoy the show. It was amazing to see so many small companies like Bum Genius, Ergo, Hotslings, and Moby Wrap alongside the likes of Graco and Chicco. Only a few years ago it was hard to find a single cloth diaper or baby sling at a show like this. We also found a few new items that we hope you'll like. More on those later.

One other observation: the trend in smarmy baby t-shirts has officially gone too far. Sure, a onesie that says "Boob Man" or "Party, My Crib, 3am" is cute and funny. But this year we saw one with a picture of two crossed M-16s that said "Booby Hunter". Not cool.

Anyway, we're glad to be home with own overgrown lawn and quiet lives.