Janet Muniz

25th Anniversary of K.I.D.S.


To help celebrate K.I.D.S. 25th anniversary, check out the Kids In Distressed PSA airing on one of the jumbo screens in New York City’s Times Square through October 15. It details instructions for mobile phone users to text “Happykids 25” to 27138; this triggers a $25 donation to the organization, helping put desperately needed new merchandise in the hands of those who could use it most.

In this 25th anniversary year, K.I.D.S.’ goal for donated new product is $100 million. “K.I.D.S. is unique in its ability to reach 4.5 million children in need every year, helping them strive for a better life than they have,” says president Janice Weinman. “By tapping into the new technology of mobile phone giving, we are asking many more people to help us continue to make a difference in the future of our youth, by giving them new product, one child at a time.”

See the PSA – bigger than life – every hour, 18 hours per day  on the CBS big screen, north side of 42nd Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues. The PSA can also be seen on KIDSdonations.org and on YouTube – but you don’t need to see the PSA to celebrate with K.I.D.S. Simply make a donation – of money, merchandise, time – it’s all good!

The K.I.D.S. website offers information on how people can directly join the mission to help children in need.  The “Get Involved” section of the site has suggestions for personal and group projects such as product collection drives and fundraisers.

K.I.D.S. officially commemorates its past on December 1 during the 25th Anniversary Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York.

-Janet Muniz

Sanrio celebrates 50 years


Last Wednesday, Hello Kitty was joined by Sanrio COO Kunihiko Tusji and Maxine Clark, founder, chairman and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop to ring the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange – all to commemorate Sanrio’s 50th Anniversary.

This week, the popular lifestyle company kicked off an entire year of events to celebrate their distinct philosophy, ” small gift, big smile,” that a small act of communication, friendship and sharing brings happiness to fans of all ages. Build-A-Bear is one Sanrio’s many business partners joining the celebration.

Check out the Focal Point story in our current issue, which highlights Sanrio and all of their plans! Visit Sanrio online for more, too.

Congratulations!

-Janet Muniz

Back To School


Are your customers shopping for back-to-school?

Sama Baby‘s newest line is a must-have for every baby and kid this fall: organic jeans. They are high quality, organic and affordably priced at $40 a pair for babies from 12 months old to six years old.

Founders Shivani and Neha Gupta have dreamed about offering a modern, stylish organic denim collection and are excited to finally share it with babies and kids worldwide. “We spent months testing the organic eco denim and wanted the jeans to look sophisticated, yet easy to play in,” explains Neha, who is head designer.

The result: Each pair is designed for the kid on the go:

-super soft, pre-washed denim in rich dark blue

-an adjustable elastic waistband on the inside to create a stylish outer

-laser-etched tags instead of itchy sewn-in labels

-signature embroidered elephant logo on the pocket

-rock star elephant lining

-square pockets on the Dylan for boys

-diamond shaped pockets on the Bridget, for girls

The organic cotton jeans are lightweight for mobility and all day play, and designed to accommodate various shapes, sizes, and growth rates. “We tested and tried our organic cotton denim out on children to find out exactly what level of fabric to use, and get the right amount of durability so that kids can play and have fun, while not feeling like they are wearing a heavy pair of jeans,” they say.

Sama Baby also follows the highest standards for organic cotton garments like using eco-friendly dyes, an environmentally-safe dying processes, and biodegradable bags to store their fabrics. Staying true to their heritage, the Guptas produce Sama Baby products at a family-run, fair-trade factory in India where the family frequently visits their cotton fields and oversees production.

Sama Baby Denim is sold online, at high-end boutiques across the country, and is currently in Whole Foods Markets, around the country. “Despite the recession, Sama Baby is extremely proud to be steadily growing and continues to fill stores nationwide while creating healthy, happy babies and a better planet for all,” they tell HCRSourceBook.

On another note, Shivani and Neha are managing editors of the newl Greenista.com, full of eco-friendly “tid-bits” delivered daily that launched on Earth Day.

-Janet Muniz

Custom Tricycle for Charity


Visiting Playtime New York? In town for ENK Children’s Club?

On Saturday July 31, Ovarian Cancer Research Fund‘s 13th annual Super Saturday takes place at Nova’s Ark Project in Water Mill, NY. Exclusive preview shopping begins at 12 noon and continue to 6 PM. This famous one-of-a-kind designer garage sale features a kids’ carnival, gourmet dining and exciting activities galore.

This year, Blindmice has designed a custom tricycle with Giant and is putting it on display – and it’s for sale! Catie Foster of Catiedid Sales, Inc. in the California Market Center in Los Angeles, CA tells HCRSourcebook  the custom tricycle is offered for a $500 donation at their retail partner Baby Shock in Westhampton, NY today through Friday, or at the Baby Shock booth on Super Saturday. Along with the tricycle, Blindmice has socks for sale, partnered with goods also sold by Baby Chai, Lucky Jade Products, Knuckleheads, Hula Mula and Jannuzzi Clothing.

“Any product not sold at the event will be donated to Little Threads Foundation to help foster kids,” says Catie. Little Threads is the brainchild of Knuckleheads’ Melissa Nash.

Super Saturday 12 raised nearly $3.4 million! The money was used to support the mission of OCRF, which is the formulation of early diagnostic treatment programs and research toward the ultimate conquest of ovarian cancer.

-Janet Muniz

Wonder!


Click on the current HUDSON’S cover on our website home page to view the electronic version of the July issue!

Marketed as “the first-of-its-kind children’s retailer,” Wonder is set to open its flagship store this November, providing the world’s largest collection of young children’s products and services under one roof. Based in Deerfield, IL, the 135,000-square-foot store focuses on children ages birth to seven and offers a wide assortment of brand name, value-priced children’s basics and consumables that includes everything from apparel and shoes to toys, electronics and furniture, as well as unique, high-quality specialty and boutique merchandise.

Wonder founder and chairman is entrepreneur and father of two Shane Christensen, who developed the concept upon recognizing a hole in the marketplace. Tired of having to travel to multiple destinations to meet his family’s daily needs, he evaluated the current children’s retail environment and found that the existing model was fragmented throughout a variety of retails channels – boutiques, specialty chains, mass merchants, and play and party. His solution is to create a single destination and one-stop shopping solution for all of a parent’s needs.

Focused on something the new company calls a Passion for Parents™ philosophy, Wonder also features a 21,000 square-foot indoor park as well as party areas and a restaurant, coffee bar and bakery allowing kids to play while parents shop – and enjoy some adult time, too. Admission to Wonder’s play area is based on a membership model. Wonder currently employs seven people; management is hoping to launch 19 stores in the next five years.

Taking an eco-friendly and cost-effective approach to the flagship store’s development, Wonder is renovating an existing big box retail space using recycled and repurposed materials and fixtures, hiring Gensler to design the store’s interior and exterior, with the goal to create a retail icon that can become a case study for a cost-effective and sustainable design.

The vision of Wonder has attracted a talented group of former c-suite retail executives including Bill Colaianni, former Walmart chief marketing and merchandising officer for Central America, and former president and chief executive officer of VTech Industries Rick Mazursky.

“I’m truly excited by the Wonder concept,” Bill says, who is now Wonder’s president and CEO. “It’s a great opportunity for me to use 35 years of consumer marketing, retail and general management experience from some of the world’s biggest companies to build something new and exciting.”

Bill also mentions that he thinks it’s an ideal time to launch the new children’s retail concept because spending on children in this age group is largely “recession-proof” – plus, the state of the commercial real estate market allows for  acquiring great properties at very reasonable prices.

Visit WonderWarehouse.com and watch a video of a recent CNBC story about the new company’s progress.

-Janet Muniz

BabyHawk


Creative Mom Develops Custom Baby Carrier That Fills Many Needs

Recently featured in the San Diego Union-Tribune, BabyHawk is a multi-million dollar business run by Robyn Collar, who designed a baby carrier that has simplified her life – and now, helps other moms as well. “My kids were born with some severe birth defects,” Robyn tells writer Nina Garin. “Both were in diapers and my son had some bonding issues to the point where I couldn’t put him down even just to change my daughter’s diaper. I needed to find a solution, quick.”

She couldn’t afford to buy something off the rack, so she developed the BabyHawk Oh SNAP, inspired by the traditional Chinese mei tai style that can hold a baby both in front and on a parent’s back. At first she sold them on eBay and then in 2005, she started BabyHawk.com and recruited her mother to help with the business.

Today, Robyn makes BabyHawk slings from a spacious Oceanside, CA warehouse and has eight employees, including her mother, some sewers and a customer service representative based in Indiana. She sells in more than 200 retail stores and has expanded her product line to include the BabyHawk Mei Tai and BabyHawk Hoodies, a soft and warm lining/head covering to add to the Babyhawk Mei Tai. Customers can also design their own BabyHawk products, too.

It’s all been a learning experience for Robyn, who dropped out of high school because she never really fit in and became a teen mom. “People have to find their niche and go with it,” she says. “A lot of people don’t realize their potential. It just takes a push, and my extra push was having kids who were disabled. None of this would have happened otherwise.”

-Janet Muniz

Baby Potential


Every baby has the potential to be whatever he or she wants to be.

Start here. Grow far. HCRSourceBook thinks this company tagline says it all! San Antonio, TX-based Baby Potential was founded in 2008 by Dacia Napier, M.D., a full-time radiologist and mother of two, and Allison Zeller, a philanthropist and mother of three. It’s a line of infant and toddler apparel featuring colorful career patches. The company’s core mission is to affect change by nurturing education through social marketing and community outreach.

“We think that access to education is something that America – with all its strength, should be able to provide its children through the joint cooperation of the public and private sector,” Dacia says. “Everyone has something to contribute. It is every individual’s obligation to help each other achieve it.”

Featuring classic styling and tailoring, one-pieces and t-shirts are made of 100% fine cotton, combed for softness and comfort, are durable and won’t fade or shrink. The Baby Potential signature, though, are the 12 different silk-screened career patches: Artist, Chef, Philanthropist – even Rancher – in addition to Teacher,  Doctor and of course, Rocket Scientist among other career options adorn them and they coordinate with pants, skorts, bibs and burp cloths.  The products are gender-neutral and available in six contemporary colors. Double-needle stitch detail reinforce the seams and shoulders are form-fitting. The one-pieces have a three-button style closure with premium snaps. Continue reading →

Kids Fashion from Europe


An HCRSourcebook first – video!

Three fun European children’s brands presented their new Spring Summer 2011 collections at several major European trade shows including Pitti Bimbo in Florence, Italy and FIMI in Valencia, Spain.

Tutto Piccolo. This new collection inspires visions of a romantic evening in Italy’s coastal town of Portofino in the 50’s, when elegance, sophistication and innovation defines the Italian lifestyle – in red, white and blue! Watch the fun frolic!

Cri Cri. In addition to presenting its new brand image, this collection incorporates classic shades of beige combined with pink and blue, dressing babies in soft, tender pieces.

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada Baby. Designed with unique tenderness and enormous creativity, this collection is full of color and contrasts.

-Janet Muniz

Enchanted Enfant Returns


Paula Franco joins the Enchanted Enfant team as newly appointed sales director.

News from a much beloved children’s brand: luxury line Enchanted Enfant returns to market!

Designer and founder Michele Brulé recently took some time away to mourn the loss of her mother to breast cancer, and now she’s back with a collection for spring summer 2011 inspired by historical works of art, vintage Parisian photographs and images of her mom as a child.

The Printemps 2011 Collection could be her strongest to date, emanating the signature romantic elegance that Enchanted Enfant has made its trademark. The Joséphine dress is a dreamy confection of silk chiffon with delicately ruffled cap sleeves, smocked empire waist and a sprinkling of jewel-like metallic trimmed rosettes available in plum, putty and blush.

Michele tells HCRSourceBook she is extending the brand with Couturier Collection, truly special, special occasion wear. Notable pieces include the stunning L’Opéra gown and Place Vendôme dress with glistening metallic lace trim and the must have Estelle Italian brocade coat, named after her six-year-old daughter and muse.

The Essentiels Collection is also extending the brand, chic easy pieces for everyday wear offered at a moderate price point for broader distribution. Key pieces include the Rue Cler pima cotton pointelle smocked top and legging, the raffia wide brimmed floppy sun hat and silk rosette headband.

What’s more, Michele and Enchanted Enfant is donating a portion of all sales from the Printemps 2011 Collection to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the first and only National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children .

View the collection at the next edition of  ENK Children’s Club August 1 – 3.

-Janet Muniz

Bass Pro Shops Family Summer Camp


This summer during the Bass Pro Shops Family Summer Camp, families can spend time together at a very affordable price – absolutely FREE.

The Bass Pro event continues through Sunday, July 11 at 54 Bass Pro Shops across the U.S., including two stores in Canada (others run through July 18). Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 2pm, and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-5pm, kids get to enjoy free crafts like coloring their own backpack, painting a wiggle fish, designing their own birdhouse, making a camping photo frame, creating plaster animal tracks and making a leather key chain for Father’s Day.

The whole family can learn the basics of hiking, camping and fishing.  Other workshops include bird watching, archery, animal identification and plants & insects. New this year: families can learn important summer safety travel tips for their pets.  Kids can earn a collectable pin for every workshop completed. Plus families can take part in the time-honored tradition of making campfire s’mores, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 5-6pm – all while supplies last.

“This is our way of helping families enjoy affordable, fun activities together and create lifelong memories,” president Jim Hagale tells HCRSourceBook. “Bass Pro Shops is committed to helping adults and children put away their laptops, video games and cell phones this summer – and head outdoors.” Customers can pick up the FREE Summer Guide booklet full of different outdoor activities and tips, ideas and product checklists to help make the most of summer outdoor adventure.

Plus, the HUGE Ultimate Outdoor Giveaway includes more than $74,500 in prizes!  Five winners drawn nationally receive special  packages including a Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge Vacation Package. And one lucky GRAND PRIZE winner receives a complete outdoor package worth more than $60,000, including a Barna Log Cabin, an Arctic Cat® Prowler™ UTV, Tracker® Pro Team™ 175TXW fishing boat and an ASCEND™ kayak. See store or visit ESPNradio.com for more details and to register.

Get your summer on!

-Janet Muniz