Just got back from the studio. The segment before mine ran a bit longer…so my five minutes became four 1/2 minutes—but we got through all the great products. Natalie was great. To read the article with all the shopping information, click here.
I left without eating one of the delicious donuts! Oh well!
My view from across the street from the studio. It was absolutely beautiful out this afternoon. I went to set up without my mother who is battling some virus (Swine flu–we hope not)….it’s always odd when we’re not together for set up. Part of the pleasure of the toyportfolio has been working with my mother. We have rituals for many things. For example, before we start the first appointment for toy fair, we do a little dance…and then we do another at the end. We also get a drink (and a cookie) at Dean & DeLuca prior to set up. (Most rituals involve food, dancing and laughing). As usual I was too early for set up, so I looked into the main D&L…but the line was soooo long. Happily there is another one right around the corner—perfect! I passed on the cookie this afternoon. I’m doing the segment with Natalie…need to hold in my stomach!
The studio was sooo cold. Sean Kenney was there to help me with the Lego Mindstorm. Sean does incredible sculptures out of LEGO. He also has a new book coming out next week from Macmillian for kids…go Sean! He set up the Mindstorm–that came built as a reptile…and when I put my finger near the creature’s mouth, it chomped down..it really hurt! The Mindstorms are so great–if you have a teen into learning about Robotics…it’s the way to go.
I probably have more products on the set than I can get to…but I had so many favorites…to see them all visit www.toyportfolio.com
Also had a great time interviewing Jodi Norgaard from Dream Big Toy Company about her line of Go! Go! Sports Dolls.
not officially until the morning but the new site is up! Take a look….www.toyportfolio.com
Loving doing this new feature for the new and improved toyportfolio.com! Read my interview with Jacobe Chrisman of I Can Do That Games!
Getting things together to go up to the studio for set up…It’s very warm out…but the studio is always freezing cold. A wardrobe issue?
Focusing on Best Educational toys…probably have to many things to feature but there are soooo many good choices this year, it’s hard to leave anything out. The segment will be on in the 9 o’clock hour.
Working on the new site…forgot Biscuit was still on…yikes! Random dog noises.
Hasbro’s Fur Real Friends Biscuit My Lovin Pup is one of our favorite toys from last toy season. He’s still hanging out with us in the office and is always a favorite for our visiting toy testers (young and old). So we decided to introduce him to Playskool’s new Monty T-Rex. I was alittle worried about Monty–thinking his roar would be over the top scary for our testers. So we sent him to the same family that tested Fisher-Price’s Spike the Ultra Dinosaur. As you may recall, our five and three year old testers made Spike their house pet…and now they report that Monty has become the spouse of last year’s dino (they have renamed him Lizzy). They actually LOVE that Monty will roar back at them. They also report that Monty is easier to make work than Spike. (Spike is controlled with a remote control–Monty works by touching one of his touch points to activate walking, roaring, chomping, etc.) So you’ll have to decide if this type of safe scare is right on target for your child–or whether this toy will end up at the back of some closet. Watch the video.
All day I’ve been posting things to the new website..and as excited as I’ve been about getting the new site launched…something seemed wrong today. The lights have gone down here…and now I see the twin lights from Ground Zero. A reminder of what we witnessed that day from our window…and what we lost as a nation. Sometimes playing with toys seems both ridiculous and life affirming- all at the same time.