Soft goods for baby

We've been hard at work on a collaboration with Keep Leaf to create a line of organic nursery bedding options.  Stay tuned to find out when and where this will be available!

twirling & clicking

I let my daughter play with my iphone whiling standing in line at the post office last week.  There were lots of butt pictures, the underside of the table, etc and then this.  She must have been twirling and clicking -- the results were unexpectedly beautiful.

NY NOW - building my booth

This was taken before the show started, when the overhead lights weren't yet turned on.  Once the show started, I unfortunately forgot to take a better pic.

I realized a few months back, when I started a trade show board on Pinterest, that I'm not the only one struggling to figure out how it all gets done.

After only two shows at NY Now, I'm definitely not an expert but wanted to share some pics and resources that were very helpful to me while working within a small budget.

To start at the beginning, this is what you get when you sign up for an 8x10 booth in the Baby & Child section at NY Now (other sections offer different options).

It can be a bit of a shock to show up and see just how empty the space actually is.  But with a little foam core board, some double-stick tape and a level, it cleans up pretty nicely.

Using furniture that was lightweight and/or foldable was high on my list of priorities since we were driving to the show and setting up without help.  This is also a very useful idea post-show, when all escalators are immediately shut down, and elevators commandeered by hired show movers.  It can take hours to lug that furniture up the stairs.

I found a "pop up" metal table and shelf at Crate & Barrel, and used FLOR carpet tiles in our signature aqua color.  The chairs were tough to bring since they don't stack or fold, but I thought the wood added a nice, natural element to the design.  The horizontal shelf is from IKEA, it weighs about a ton and was left behind after the show.  The baskets are also from IKEA, and surprisingly, they fold flat.  IKEA is an absolute treasure for trade show furniture with it's flat pack boxes, low prices and clean design.

Some of my favorite design elements were: the greeting card shelves (J bead from Lowes, 10' length for $2.00).  It can be cut with sharp scissors! numbered map tacks in place of SKUs vinyl titles to make everything more organized

Trade show booth building tools I wouldn't want to live without:

• a lightweight level
• a folding step stool
• a folding flatbed hand truck (the bigger the better)
• carpet tape
• heavy duty double stick tape
• foam core boards in 4'x8'
• pencil
• exacto knife
• metal yardstick

Counter display boxes!

A sneak peek at some awesome new product displays we are working on (well, actually, a very talented wood works company is doing the hard stuff).
This will be a great way for retailers to display our products on a counter or in a small space -- easy to flip through and everything stays nice and neat.
As we gear up for the NY GIFT Show (NY NOW) in August, I'll be blogging more about new product developments and our experiences preparing for the show.

Bon Voyage!

Some of our new graphic tees for Toddler Girls at Gap !

tiny travelers

I recently created this group for Gap's International tee collection.  It was fun trying to figure out what a little girl would remember most about a trip to a big city.

My own daughter spent her first 3 1/2 years as a New Yorker.  What she remembers and looks forward to the most when we go back now is the pigeons.  Winged vermin to some, fantastically friendly wildlife to a toddler.  The pigeon on the NYC girl's head is in honor of that.

BabyGap - Cabana Collection

I was so excited to see this adorable little girl on the BabyGap website this morning.  As some of you know, I was a graphic designer at BabyGap until very recently.

It was either bravery or insanity, but after six incredible years with the Gap (and 20 in NYC), I was ready to make some big changes.  Cabana was the last collection I designed before packing it up and moving on to a new way of life in Connecticut.

Cabana is all bright colors and fun themes.  I got to include my chihuahua Lola sipping a cold one by the pool.  It's about a girl's dream vacation -- a nice way to celebrate summer and an easier way of life.  That sense of optimism must have been on my mind as I said goodbye to dirty, crowded sidewalks and hello to a backyard full of songbirds and deer.

It was a great collection to work on and I couldn't think of a more appropriate way to wrap up a really interesting time in my life.  If you like my work, please check out the collection at BabyGap.