Creative Mom Toys

From trend to craze to legitimate movement, buying local is catching on and fast becoming a preferred way to shop.

Search the words, “shop local” “buy local” and you’ll find quite the populated list of results on your computer screen. The movement has inspired a cottage industry of resources to help you find what you’re shopping for locally, too –from the aol.com partner Patch.com to local campaigns from RelyLocal.com, ShopLocal.com and more. And moms have led the cause.

In the spirit of buying local, this week I’m focusing on a few children’s specialty retailers in my own locality.

Creative Mom Toys. Owner Cheri Saburi opened Creative Mom Toys in Renton, WA’s The Landing on Black Friday 2010. Located south of Seattle, the store is a treasure trove of educational and developmental toys for children of all ages, including their parents.

This store is for parents who want to give their kids ‘toys with a purpose.’ Everything has been carefully selected for both its entertainment and fun value. Great toys and online store!

-Thomas K, Renton

Engaging Creativity. Cheri says the mission of Creative Mom Toys is to encourage children to play without the need for modern technology. “We know how hard it is to find rich and engaging products that stimulate, educate and enrich the minds of our children,” she says. Shoppers can find wooden toys, entertaining books and more from top notch companies such as Haba, Melissa and Doug, Automoblox, Manhattan Toy, P’Kolino, Plan Toys, Back Alley Traders, Workman Publishing, Kathe Kruse, Vilac, Seedling, Green Toys, Uncle Goose, Eeboo, Mudpuppy and others. She’s always excited to learn about new products, too -especially from her customers. “Send us an email explaining what you’d be interested in and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.”

In 2005, Cheri started her store online while living in Japan –and with its success, opened her first brick-and-mortar storefront based in the U.S. Since then, Creative Mom Toys has received the Parent Best Toy Store Award of 2011 as well as being honored as a finalist in Red Tricycle’s 2012 Totally Awesome Awards for Best Toy Store.

Cheri’s career specialty is education, having spent time working in several local school districts before taking time to raise her own children. Kids and parents can also enjoy custom birthday parties and other special activities and events held in Creative Mom Toy’s fun and colorful space. Shop for bags and children’s accessories, too.

Creative Mom Toys at The Landing in Renton, 840 N. 10th Pl. Suite A, Renton WA 98057, 206-388-3940

Children’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!

keekoo’s New BID2WIN Events

Beginning February 1, keekoo.com is launching an exciting new event for baby gear.

New Jersey-based keekoo.com, the flash-sale website devoted exclusively to providing discounted premiere bump to baby products, is launching a new daily bid event called BID2WIN.

“Necessity baby gear such as strollers are notoriously difficult to find in discount online or brick and mortar stores,” says keekoo co-founder Scott Whitley, “but keekoo’s BID2WIN events allow every shopper the opportunity to win baby gear at great prices.” Launching Friday February 1 (that’s tomorrow!), members can make a bid on a plethora of top-quality baby gear such as strollers, high chairs, carriers and more. The team at keekoo takes the offer to the manufacturer in real time, and if accepted, awards the gear to the shopper at their offer bid or better.

What’s more, the first BID2WIN STROLLERS event also includes free shipping on all strollers won by shoppers!

Become a registered member of keekoo today, using this special invite from Children’s Retail Today, and get it in gear with a winning bid, starting February 1. Membership is free – and remember, members enjoy up to 80% off fabulous maternity, beauty, nursing, baby apparel, gifts, accessories and newborn gear during special sales events created just for you.

Children’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!

Good For You Girls

All natural, organic skincare specifically formulated for the special needs of young skin.

“Good For You Girls® is a line of all-natural skin care for the beauty beginner,” owner Kim Grustas tells me. “Meant to be a girl’s first skincare routine, our products help moms teach healthy habits while keeping girls away from chemicals during a crucial time in their bodies’ development.”

Since 2008, Kim’s Connecticut-based company has been making a complete line of personal care products such as the Skin Care Starter Kit, Gel Cleaner, Blemish Wash, Purifying Toner, Moisturizer, Body Wash, Body Shimmer Lotion, deodorant and more using formulas created from the finest blends of organic extracts and natural botanicals.

True beauty comes from within. Respect yourself and take time to see the beauty in others.

Made in the USA. Kim tells me the Good For You Girls skincare line is the safest, most effective product line out there for young skin -a leader in fact. This means NO parabens, sulfates, phthalates, propylene glycol, mineral oils, silicone, synthetic fragrance or dyes. Products ARE gluten-free and vegan-approved, though!

We believe beautiful skin is natural skin. We are committed to making truly effective skincare without harmful or questionable ingredients.

Chemicals found in standard skincare products enter the body through the skin, and can be irritating as well as harmful. Committed to the belief that health should never be sacrificed for beauty, Kim and her team are taking responsibility for educating children about these dangers, making products that contain good-for-your-skin ingredients that are both beneficial and beautifying. “Good habits start at a young age,” Kim says. “We hope to give girls the confidence to face the world, knowing how truly beautiful they are on the inside and the outside.

Available online and in select stores.

Children’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!

kissy kissy

One of the premiere American brands of layette, the kissy kissy label showcases fine Pima cotton.

Award-winning kissy kissy is a charming collection from New Jersey-based Tatiana and Company, owned and managed by women. Featuring what’s considered the world’s softest fabric for babies, the line is made from Peruvian Pima cotton.

We pride ourselves in creating quality products with infinite attention to detail, resulting in Earnie Awards for Design Excellence. Known for our trademark softness, we use only the highest quality Peruvian Pima cotton so that the most luxurious and gentlest fabric touches a baby’s skin.

Named after the Pima Indians, Pima cotton originates on the Peruvian coast. Prized the world over for exceptional softness and brilliant luster, Peruvian Pima cotton is especially durable and highly resistant to pilling.

Tatiana and Company’s operation in Peru includes a team of local artisans -mothers and grandmothers who make by hand the embroideries that set kissy kissy apart from many other lines. Garments are produced in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Business Alliance for Secure Commerce (BASC).

Traditional layette with an innovative twist. Timeless details, whimsical prints and splashes of color characterize this 15-year-old brand, which has grown to include kissy kissy Premier, featuring delicate hand-embroideries; Besos by kissy, hand-made Christening outfits; Simply Kissy, comfortable, basic layette and accessories and Qt-Qt by kissy kissy, with fresh color combinations, textures, geometrical designs, stitches, ruffles and new shapes.

You can find the kissy kissy line in department stores and specialty boutiques around the world.

Children’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!

neve / hawk

The simple dreams of childhood inspire an entire collection that personifies joy.

Kris and Bob Galmarini enjoy a collaborative creative process of making art that is expressed as the clothing collection known as neve / hawk. Bob hand screens the original artwork, while Kris sews in the distinctive details you find in this American made children’s clothing line so hip and comfortable, you’ll wish the Galmarini’s were making it for big kids like us.

We’re about simple, deliciously comfortable clothes that speak to the heart of childhood.

The collection is made from soft fabrics and features the smallest amount of trim, buttons and zippers, in the name of true comfort. Designed to be layered and worn together, many pieces are reversible or convert into another garment –ultimately unique and personalized. What’s more, the graphics are exquisite and speak to the whimsy of pure idea. “Our designs come to life in the Lowcountry of South Carolina,” they say, “and neve / hawk is proud to source American made fabrics and employ stateside sew shops and manufacturers.”

The fight for kids’ creativity. neve / hawk is committed to this cause –and they use their God-given talent and craftsmanship in its name. Plus a portion of profits is donated to help keep the arts in public schools.

Kris and Bob recently launched neve / hawk into a full children’s collection with the help of popular crowd-sourcing vehicle Kickstarter, an internet-based way to fund creative endeavors. Watch their inspiring story here.

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Children’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!

the be{tween} collection

Clothing and jewelry made especially for tween girls.

Ashley Eiler was raised with southern style and classic taste, growing up wearing handmade clothing smocked and sewn by her mother, grandmother –and later on, herself. She has used this knowledge to create three successful children’s clothing businesses.

For 10 years now, Ashley has run her full-scale custom clothing and trunk show company, Blessed Be the Name, sells own brand, Favorite Laundry, at the wholesale market and currently owns a retail store also called Favorite Laundry in Alabama. Last year, she launched her latest brand, the be{tween} collection, a whimsical pima cotton line designed for girls sizes 7-14 to meet the needs of her loyal customers and their tween-aged girls.

I would love for each child to be well-dressed, feel beautiful, and together with their parents, take steps toward becoming a young lady.

From each original garment to the fabric it’s made from, Ashley and her team designed them to compliment another piece or be worn on its own. “The clothes are the result of an outpouring of our hearts towards an age group that we feel is not offered enough options in the retail market today,” Ashley recently posted to her blog. “I have the most wonderful team who has offered their thoughts and ideas selflessly to help bring this clothing line to you. Our efforts have resulted in an incredibly soft and original line of clothing for girls that deserve to feel great in their clothes and about themselves.”

The first collection includes nine pieces and jewelry, to which the team has added two more long sleeve options as transitional pieces. Future collections are meant to work with previous seasons “in an effort to help build a functional wardrobe that is comfortable and flattering to a sometimes awkward age, and appropriate for the formative years.”

Calling All Tween-Age Models! be{tween} is available as part of Ashley’s Blessed Be the Name trunk shows, in store and online. The team is currently working on the Fall 2013 collection and they’ve got a modeling contest going on! The company is giving two girls the chance to model the latest clothing from the be{tween} fall collection. Winners receive the chance to participate in a real fashion photo shoot, receive copies of all photographs, the clothing and complimentary jewelry. Enter here.

Children’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!

GiGi Childrenswear

Pink and sparkly sets make this diva collection shine.

Looking around on Facebook recently, I click on GiGi Childrenswear –I just love anything with the word “gigi” in it- and am thrilled to see this frilly girl’s collection is inspired by Gigi, “the little girl we all know and love. A spunky girl with a great personality. She represents a world where everything is whimsical, vibrantly colored and covered with sparkle.” Indeed!

And that’s what GiGi Childrenswear is all about –rhinestones, sparkle print tops, to twirl skirts and girly glam.

My daughter has several GiGi outfits. She loves wearing them. The clothing is top quality, well-made, uniquely one-of-a-kind … and did I mention beautiful? I know that when my daughter wears a GiGi outfit she will look fabulous.

-Deborah Scharff, customer

Launched in 2009 and recently featured on keekoo.com, Paula is currently taking orders her Spring 2013 line. Email her at paula@gigichildrenswear.com.

Children’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!

Do you keekoo?

Here’s your invitation! An online shopping experience that specializes in must-haves for new moms and moms-to-be … all at amazing prices.

Launched in 2011, keekoo is an online store featuring all of the latest and greatest brands that moms and moms-to-be need for their growing family, at up to 80% off. The keekoo team hand-selects the most fabulous maternity, beauty, nursing, baby apparel, gifts, accessories and newborn gear just for you.

keekoo is dedicated to all of the great moms and grandmoms out there … keep up the great work!

Exclusive Sales Events. keekoo offers fabulous new merchandise each day, through exclusive sales events that last only 24 to 72 hours. The retailer works with brand partners to offer limited amounts of the most special and in-demand items specifically designed for the new mommy and her little one. Each event is first-come, first-served, and members are encouraged to visit daily for all this awesomeness!

Members Only. Membership to keekoo.com is by invitation only. Registration is easy and it’s free, too –so read more for your special invite!

Baby Talk for Cookie. When one of keekoo’s founders was a little boy, he used to ask his mommy for a “keekoo,” his baby word for a cookie. His family loves to share this story, and the word “keekoo” became the perfect child-like expression of this company’s mission. Whether you’re a mom, mom-to-be, grandmother or auntie-gift-giver, keekoo helps you save money shopping.

Special Invite to Join keekoo from Children’s Retail Today

Every Children’s Retail Today reader who clicks www.keekoo.com/invite/ChildrensRetailToday and signs up as a member gets a $10 Instant Credit on your first purchase of $50 or More! Remember, only members enjoy daily sales with savings of up to 80%. You have a chance to invite your friends to join, too.

ON SALE Today!

The Grandparent Gift Co. – sweet sentiments on beautiful keepsakes. When founder Teri Harrison wrote her first poem, grandmothers and mothers started brushing away tears, and Teri knew her words had touched their hearts. These beautiful one-of-a-kind gifts will surely touch you in the same special way.

ON SALE Friday, January 18!

Razzleberry Kids – deliciously girly crib shoes, diaper covers and legwarmers for those chunky, squeezable little legs. Frilly and whimsical, animal prints and ruffles, ribbons and sports themes adorn these super-cute newborn accessories.

AFG Baby Furniture – the perfect foundation for your nursery. Since 1986, AFG’s luxurious yet affordable convertible cribs, changing tables and gliders have been available in a variety of styles and finishes and meet the highest quality and safety standards. FREE SHIPPING

Gypsy Kids – with a focus on easy-wear, easy-care quality clothing, this collection is inspired by colorful countries from around the world. Attention to detail, classic styling, exclusive prints and beautiful, pure cotton and linen fabrics are the foundations of the range and will make your little wanderer a standout in style.

Look for the KISS. Select merchandise receives a keekoo KISS, which stands for “Keekoo Inspected Seal of Support” and means keekoo thinks moms and babies will love the product as much as they do!

Become a keekoo member today!

Children’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!

The Colorful Whimsy of Zutano

The artful quality of a designer’s mind is expressed through the details of a finely made product.

Holding a magnifying glass over the intensely personal process of clothing design is often as satisfying as wearing the clothing itself. All the layers of a designer’s personality seem to wrap warmly around the work of creating a garment, just as the garment softly embraces the little one who wears it. A connection is made that simply feels good, an understanding that breathes, “Ahhhhhhh …”

Since 1989, Vermont-based Zutano has made this connection, as one of the industry’s leaders in market innovation and customer relations. “We decided that there was a gap in the market for well-made, reasonably priced basics,” co-founder Michael Belenky tells me recently. “We wanted the clothes to be for baby, with simple clean lines that they could wear day-in-day-out, and still have a fashion twist.” The Zutano look quickly evolved into baby’s first expression of style, as co-founder and head designer Uli Belenky’s designs help shape their uniqueness, something they will continue to explore for the rest of their lives.

As we expand our world, our innovative and exuberant approach to design is evident in every category we enter, from clothing and accessories to plush toys, socks, shoes, bedding and home.

Crazy for Color. “I live in a rainbow of my own making. I’m crazy for color,” Uli says. “I look at the global palette and if I like it, I’ll use it for print ideas.” Uli is also known for producing her own fabrics, where color is key. So is her reputation for sourcing only the highest quality interlock cotton fabrics and natural fiber blends.

ZUTANOBLUE Target® Collaboration. For instance, Zutano’s exclusive collection for Target captures Uli’s artistic spirit and bright, whimsical prints in clothing, hosiery and children’s bedding, with traditional craftsmanship of quality and comfort, part of Zutano’s signature style. Available at selected stores and on Target.com since last April, ZUTANOBLUE features limited patterns, body styles and sizing in the layette category. “I hardly think about trends at all. I like to produce clothes for people who are interested in design and fashion rather than trends.” Growing up in Germany and influenced by the Bauhaus design philosophy, Uli thinks of clothes as architecture. “I love the clear clean lines of German design and the casual practical way of American fashion. It is totally the philosophy of my look to mix both these cultures.”

For a company where the very name means “so and so” in Spanish, there’s nothing so-so about the attention paid to the details of running Zutano. Seeking connections that reward, nurturing relationships between people, celebrating individuality and painting the world with color.

That’s how Uli and Michael designed it.

Children’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!

Beautiful Girl

Celebrated women’s health and wellness expert Dr. Christiane Northrup writes a children’s book.

Christiane Northrup, M.D. understands what she calls the unity of body, mind and spirit. This visionary pioneer in women’s health and wellness helps empower women to tune in to their innate wisdom and transform their health. Author of several best-selling books including Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom, The Wisdom of Menopause and Mother-Daughter Wisdom, Dr. Northrup is poised to influence the youngest of girls with her first children’s book, Beautiful Girl: Celebrating the Wonders of Your Body.

To be born a girl is a very special thing and carries with it magical gifts that must be recognized and nurtured.

Written with writer mom Kristina Tracy, Beautiful Girl uses empowering words and illustrations created by Aurlie Blanz to teach little girls how their bodies are perfect just the way they are. According to publisher Hay House, Dr. Northrup believes that reading and discussing this book with your girls can help them to appreciate the importance of treating themselves with gentle care, and how life changes are just a part of growing up –and that these realizations can have positive benefits that can last throughout their lives.

Special Offer – Special Event! To celebrate the release of Beautiful Girl, pre-order or purchase the book and you’ll automatically be enrolled in Dr. Northrup’s upcoming two-hour live online event, Feeling Beautiful, premiering January 24, 2013. Watch Dr. Northrup’s special message below:

Now, this is a special opportunity!

Children’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!