NEWS Comment
A MUMMY BLOGGER’S VIEW Parent bloggers are an increasingly influential part of the pre-school landscape. We take a closer look at recent blog posts
from a mummy blogger… This month: Blogbybaby
FURBY HAS made a comeback this year, and considering I had one of the original ones, which was let’s face it, pretty lame, I was keen to see if there was any improvement to the new species. My eight year-old daughter obviously doesn’t remember the original Furby, but she has had other interactive toys before so she was excited when I opened the box and it started talking, moving and even blinking at her. The first obvious change to Furby from the original was the eyes. The old eyes were plastic balls, but these new innovative Furbys have LCD screen eyes which move and respond. The differences are amazing; it has come on leaps and bounds in terms of play factor. You get a leaflet included with some words to translate what your Furby is saying to you. But your Furby ‘grows’ with you, so how you treat it really affects how its personality turns out. We found this to be true as my daughter thought it was
hilarious to pull its tail. In fact, she pulled the tail so much that it turned evil. The eyes went evil, and it sings songs with its ‘evil’ voice.
But the fun doesn’t stop there; in fact it just began for
Brooke as you can download a free app on your iPhone or iPad, which means you have a whole new dimension of play for your Furby. With the app you can feed your Furby, either food on its own or even create the perfect burger. Each Furby has its own particular tastes, and it lets you know if it doesn’t like something. There is also a translator, where it will tell you what Furby is saying, plus a dictionary so you can learn to speak Furby. This has been an absolute brilliant addition. If you don’t
have an iPhone or iPad, you can still play with Furby and get lots of play out of it, but I think using one of these devices really brings the Furby to life. So do I think Furby is worth the money? Well £50-£60 does sound a lot for a toy, but considering what you get for your money nowadays I do think it’s a fair price. If you have an iPhone or iPad that
your child is keen to use too, then this would be a brilliant present as they will get loads of play out of it. However, make sure you have spare batteries around if you are buying one; it takes 4 x AA batteries which are not included in the box.
East Coast completes Tiny
Tatty Teddy nursery offering Full collection based on sentiment brand to launch in autumn 2013 following deal with Carte Blanche Group
by Samantha Loveday
EAST COAST Nursery has secured a deal with Carte Blanche Group which sees it add the Tiny Tatty Teddy brand to its portfolio. The licence covers a
comprehensive nursery range – featuring the baby bear with a blue nose and a warm heart – which is scheduled to launch in- store from autumn 2013. The deal also sees Tiny
Tatty Teddy expanding to cover the whole nursery offering, with the products joining existing items in the likes of clothing, travel systems, toiletries and nursery accessories. “In addition to developing our innovative proprietary range of plush, gifts and greetings cards, we’re thrilled to be working with a number of best in class licensee to drive our brands forward into new categories,” said Paul Haines, director of licensing and business development at Carte Blanche Group.
“We already work with some excellent licensing partners to offer Tiny Tatty Teddy clothing, travel systems, toiletries and nursery accessories, all of which are well received by consumers. “For the first time, our partnership with East Coast allows us to complete our nursery offering,” he continued. Eric White, CEO of East Coast Nursery, added: “We are delighted to be working
with Carte Blanche on this licence opportunity. Tiny Tatty Teddy has a huge and very loyal fan base. “The brand is well known
and loved across the gift, clothing and toy categories and we see a fantastic opportunity to create a nursery range with an instantly recognisable character that creates an emotional connection with mums.” Carte Blanche Group: 01243 792600
Spiegelburg line heads to UK by Samantha Loveday
NURSERY AND pre-school line Spiegelburg now has a presence in the UK, after appointing ABA Brands as its agent in the territory. The German company
Check out more from Blogbybaby online here,
http://www.blogbybaby.com;
on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/blogbybabypage; and on Twitter @danielleGparker
58 December/January
already has a significant following in its home territory and across Europe, with a range of books, shows, toys and gifts based on characters such as Capt’n Sharky, Princess Lillifee, Friendly Seven and Felix the Rabbit. “Although the
[Spiegelburg] brands are not as well known outside Germany, the products for their quality, consumer appeal and sheer diversity
are now proving a big hit in the UK,” said a statement from the company. Targeting the pre-school sector in particular is Baby Charm, while ABA Brands is also introducing the Baby Gluck line to the UK (pictured). Popular
products in the collection include baby soothers, soft toys, mobiles, bibs, toys, rattles, storage boxes, baby bed linen and blankets, musical toys,
www.toynews-online.biz
dishes and cups, towels and gift sets. ABA Brands: 01442 804455
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