NEWS Comment
A PARENT BLOGGER’S VIEW Parent Bloggers are an increasingly influential part of the pre-school landscape. Each month, we ask a different mummy or daddy blogger to write a special blog post for ToyNews, giving their views on the toy market.
This month:Mama Syder
I REMEMBER the day that I had to part with my Sindy dolls like it was yesterday. It was 1981, I was 11
years old and as I reluctantly handed them over to my younger cousin, tears stung the corner of my eyes, eventually rolling all the way down my cheeks, their salty taste hitting my lips. Sounds a bit dramatic I know, but it's true. Saying goodbye to those dolls marked the end of my childhood and I wasn't ready.
I didn’t play at perfect motherhood, pretend to be an obedient wife or imagine that I wanted to one day have an unrealistic body shape like my doll. I knew women didn’t really look like that. No, my fashion doll
inspired me to be creative by designing and making her clothes, she encouraged me to be imaginative, because my Sindy doll was a confident, intelligent, adventurous career girl with dreams and
My fashion doll inspired me to be creative and encouraged me to imaginative.
My fashion dolls had become my friends, having no sisters and a house full of very boisterous younger brothers, my dolls supplied me with the opportunity for girlie chats and pretty dress ups. I lived with them in their trendy Manhattan apartment (a 1970’s suitcase that doubled as a bedsit). I worked with them at their busy New York office (an old dusty shoe box), sometimes having to jet off to Paris or Milan (on my baby brother’s Fisher- Price aeroplane). I even had a boyfriend (Action Man with Eagle Eyes).
ambition. A girl who knew what she wanted and how she was going to get it. One day she was going to
leave that busy New York office and have her own fashion label, her own business, then she was going to become a mother. Sindy was my role model, not because of her physical appearance but because she was a girl who made things happen. A strong, independent woman, a loyal friend who with a bit of hard work, lived her dreams and achieved her goals, so yes, I wanted to be just like her.
Emma Syder is a busy parenting and lifestyle blogger, living and loving the good life. You can check out more online here:
http://thesyders.blogspot.co.uk, on Facebook
www.facebook.com/thesyders and on Twitter @mamamakes.
Clevamama eyeing up move into toy retailers
Company looking to make an impact in pre-school aisles with its Keepsake Suitcase and Baby Record Book
By Samantha Loveday
GIFT COMPANY Clevamama has partnered with the Make A Wish Foundation for the launch of its Keepsake Suitcase and Baby Record Book, which it believes can act as a complement to toy pre-school ranges in-store. ClevaMemories has been designed to save keepsakes of a baby’s first year, with parents able to personalise the suitcase with the number and letter stickers provided. Boxes to store items such as the hospital band, first tooth and first curl are also included, as well as a 28-page hard back record book to write down memories.
The book includes sections entitled ‘before I was born’, plus a record of the news of the day – such as the price of a pint of milk, average house price, the number one song and fashion trends.
Retailers on board include
Argos.co.uk,
Amazon.co.uk, Kiddicare and Smyths. “As each child grows, we all collect priceless items and treasures too precious not to keep,” said Suzanne Browne, MD of ClevaMama. “Increasingly parents are able to keep and share a digital record of their baby’s first days, weeks and months.
“ClevaMemories is for
everything you can’t have on your phone – the physical and immensely personal collection of cherished moments and items precious to parent and baby.”
In addition, 15 per cent of all proceeds from ClevaMemories will be donated to the Make A Wish UK children’s charity.
www.clevamama.com
New greetings line bolsters Guess How Much…? brand
Range of cards is latest extension for picture book classic
HALLMARK HAS launched a new collection of products for pre-school favourite, Guess How Much I Love You? Adapted from the best selling picture book, the greetings card line will feature Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare and will mark the key milestones experienced by families with babies and infants. The cards offer a range of captions including age one for girl, boy, niece and nephew, plus mummy, new baby, new grandson and new granddaughter. “We’re delighted to be adding this new collection
60 October
of products to our range,” commented Emma Read, brand manager at Hallmark. “With its powerful emotional sentiment and carefully crafted designs, the Guess How Much I Love You brand is the perfect fit for Hallmark and our customers. “Combining contemporary styling with a classic brand, the new designs are already proving popular in both the trade and consumer markets, and we look forward to broadening our offering within the nursery sector even further.” Hallmark: 0800 902 0900
www.toynews-online.biz
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