Santa Claus in January

Like Santa Claus no one really wants to talk with us in January. Most parents have spent nearly 60% of their toy dollars during the holidays. Time to take a break. We do too. Both Joanne and I take the time to write and work on other topics. Joanne is working on a great civil war story and I’m having fun working on a new screenplay. It’s nice to change gears.

This week, the toy-related  emails and phone calls have started again.  All in in anticipation of Toy Fair that will take place in New York in mid-February.   The UPS delivery guy has resumed delivering boxes to our office of toys that are ready for Spring. In other words, toy season will be here any minute.

I’m often asked about how you get into the toy business. Since we only review toys, I’m of very little help in this regard.  I know it can be a daunting prospect.   For example, if you have a great idea but little capital, how do you move forward?  This morning I got a twitter message (more about that in a moment) about a new construction company called Qubits. We haven’t tested them yet. They are taking an interesting path by using kickstarter.com to get on their feet. Here’s their page if you’d like to read more about their product. We look forward to testing their sets with our testers.

Twitter. Finally took the plunge in a meaningful way this month.  I’ve been enjoying the process of connecting with companies, moms, dads about play and toys – not to mention my non-professional interest in sporting events and award programs.  Much like my first few weeks on facebook, I found twitter can be all consuming. There’s always some interesting link someone has pointed me to– articles that I might not otherwise have read.  Then there’s the fun of connecting with people about the daily things (in case your counting, I’m approaching nearly a week without a Diet Coke).  So if you’re  on twitter, let me know. My twitter name is…toyportfolio.

 

 

Update: Complying Companies

Good news! The following companies have sent in verification forms for several of their products.

Edushape, Mudpuppy, Lego Systems, Publications International, Little Tikes, Step 2, Kidsgive, Lisa LeLeu

We hope now that the new toy season in underway that more companies will submit forms!  We are not independently verifiying with a lab, but we are encouraged that these companies have listed their lab and signed off on the form that their products are lead and phthalates free.