In This Issue Upselling is about helping customers, training staff, and believing in products...
6/1/2010
Top-10 Most-Wanted Toys: June 2010 Kids (and their parents) continue flocking to perennial favorites like kites, puzzles and LEGO, but a more recent and fad-crazy release, Silly Bandz from BCP Imports, tops this month’s list of best-selling toys...
6/1/2010
Top-10 Most-Wanted Construction Toys There are newcomers to the top-10 list of best-selling construction toys in specialty — namely, Shoptaugh Games’ Jawbones (from Be Good Company)...and Lego-like sets from Cobi...
6/1/2010
Take 2: Wooden and Construction Toys Construction toys are building up and up with tower-friendly pieces from Hape International and Fat Brain Toy Co., and Holztiger's wooden semi trucks have trade-out parts...
6/1/2010
My Best Sellers: Jillie Beans Toys & More At Jillie Beans Toys & More in Westminster, Colo., a knowledgeable staff is ready to help choose the perfect item for every taste. Owner Valerie Elsea told TDmonthly what 10 products customers have been taking home...
5/1/2010
April Staff Picks This month in TDmonthly Magazine's Staff Picks, brinca dada gives the dollhouse family modern appeal, used crayons find a second life, and classic wooden blocks adopt a unique attraction in a line called Tegu...
4/1/2010
In This Issue The toy industry may not break any big records for the decade in 2010, but things are definitely looking up this year...
4/1/2010
Top-10 Most-Wanted Wooden Toys Melissa & Doug. We could almost stop there, based on responses from 38 specialty toy stores across the United States, but there are other top-selling wooden toys, too...
3/1/2010
My Best Sellers: RoundTable Toys Online Store Although Roundtable Toys just opened its brick-and-mortar store in fall 2009, the company’s been delighting kids via online toy sales for more than 12 years...
2/1/2010
TDmonthly Retailer Spotlight: The Toy Shop of Concord The Toy Shop of Concord in Concord, Mass., has a different feel than most other toy stores. It’s based on Owner David Hesel’s “shop within a shop” branding concept, which he counts as one of his biggest successes...
1/1/2010
My Best Sellers: The Toy Shop of Concord At the Toy Shop of Concord in Massachusetts, the customer is always right, Owner David Hesel told TDmonthly Magazine...
Toy Fair Preview: The Toys YOU Want to See There’s a LOT to see at Toy Fair, so we’re giving you the chance to preview vendors in some of the most popular categories now...
1/1/2010
Reviewers Stitch, Snap and Shovel for Fun TDmonthly Magazine reviewers have given their opinions on everything from fish-hunting penguins to recycled bracelets with a customizable message. What do these six products have in common?...
12/1/2009
Top-26 Most-Wanted Holiday Toys If you’re wondering what your fellow specialty retailers are selling out of this Christmas, just take a look at the 26 products and brands detailed below ... For a post-Christmas report on sales, see "Did You Order the Right Toys for Christmas?" — http://www.toydirectory.com/monthly/article.asp?id=4009 — in our January 2010 issue...
Top-10 Most-Wanted Toys for Tween Boys Notoriously difficult to select products for, boys in their pre and early teens may not be so fixated on electronics and video games after all...
My Best Sellers: Golden Apple Learning Store Originally founded as a teacher supply store, the Golden Apple Learning Store in Pleasanton, Calif., has developed over three decades into a toy store that also caters strongly to educators...
10/1/2009
My Best Sellers: The Tutoring Toy At The Tutoring Toy in Salt Lake City, Utah, Owners Diane and Bill Sartain believe that “play is the work of children...
Why Twitter May Be Worth the Time Near the end of July, Flying Pig Games was celebrating its first order via Twitter — direct from a toy store that had recently been introduced to the new Jukem football card game during an in-store demo by the inventor...
8/1/2009
Holiday Preview - Construction Toys Even a ride-on for tweens isn’t too big for the construction category. This year, creative kids can build everything from vehicles and animals to homes and gardens. Check out basic blocks, gears, marbles and more in TDmonthly’s Holiday Preview of Construction Toys...
6/1/2009
Kids' Gifts for the Holidays Last month in TDmonthly Magazine’s Holiday Preview, you got a glimpse of some eco-friendly art projects, exciting books and costumes fit for a princess. See this month’s featured categories...
6/1/2009
Top-10 Most-Wanted Construction Toys In April 2009, TDmonthly Magazine surveyed 49 specialty retailers about their sales of construction toys for children. This foundational category continues to provide strong sales in independent stores...
6/1/2009
Regional Reports: What's Selling … And Where Magformers by Rainbow Products are hot sellers for Mike DiAndrea of Hardware Centre Inc. in Paoli, Pa. He noted that between the brick-and-mortar store and the website, they sell about 100 to 150 sets per month. “I’m reordering every three weeks,” he told TDmonthly Magazine...
6/1/2009
Video Review: Watch Kids Build a House The four Flamenco brothers spent a Sunday afternoon constructing a playhouse with the Zinkotek building system. Aided by their foreperson, Aunt Elba, the boys astounded themselves...
5/1/2009
Recession Gives Way to Retro Resurgence Quality. Simpler times. Hands-on play. According to retailers, buyers and industry experts who spoke with TDmonthly Magazine, these are some of the key reasons retro toys continue to enjoy a resurgence among consumers...
3/1/2009
TDmonthly's Top-10 Toy Fair Toys Among the tens of thousands of products on display at Toy Fair, there's always a select few that stand out, especially in terms of their promise for the specialty market. This year, TDmonthly Magazine was pleased to find an even broader variety of eco-friendly goods...
TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Toys: February 2009 This month, the story is much the same with best-selling specialty toys. In short, PlaSmart's PlasmaCar is still on the list (joined by the EzyRoller), Legos are still making their mark in the construction category after decades of success...
2/1/2009
Why the Recession Is Good for Kids … and Toys “The recession could be the best thing that's ever happened to children's toys,” Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a child development expert and professor at Temple University, told TDmonthly in late January...
2/1/2009
Innovations of 2009 From plush and blankets that turn inside out to multi-use furniture inspired by animals, there are plenty of fun, new products to ring in the New Year...
1/1/2009
Top-10 Holiday Toys on VIDEO! Ever wonder why most top-10 hot toys lists show you the same old things over and over? Many of the biggest toy companies pay spokespeople to inundate the media with their products during the holiday season...
12/1/2008
TDmonthly’s Psychologist Mom TDmonthly Magazine’s Psychologist Mom focused on gaming in her most recent reviews, finding fun with frogs, watching kids become a wizard’s apprentices, and seeing how the features of Blue Orange’s Double Shutter Jr. added up...
12/1/2008
ZinkoTek Constructs “Instant Smiles” It’s big. It’s colorful. And it takes children’s construction toys to a whole new level, giving them the ability to build life-sized forts, characters, and anything else their imaginations want to attempt...
Innovations of 2009 In the January issue of TDmonthly Magazine, check in to see which toys will be turning heads throughout 2009...
10/1/2008
The Specialty Toys Report Is Here! ToyDirectory and TDmonthly Magazine are excited to announce the release of TDmonthly's 2008 Specialty Toys Report, "Positive Toys for a Promising Future."™...
9/1/2008
TDmonthly In the Lab 2008 Awards For the first time ever, TDmonthly Magazine has given In the Lab awards to two deserving prototypes...
8/1/2008
TDmonthly Top Toy 2008 Awards It's not easy deciding which toys deserve the most prestigious of TDmonthly Magazine's awards...
8/1/2008
Uberstix Kits Construct Eco-Friendly Play Überstix building system is unique. You can build buildings as tall as your ceiling, and airplanes that fly and boats that float...
8/1/2008
TDmonthly’s Top-10 Most-Wanted Construction Toys Of the 50 specialty retailers who spoke with TDmonthly about construction toys, more than 30 percent named LEGO as their best-selling construction toy...
6/1/2008
Get These Toys! A TDmonthly Magazine survey of 66 specialty retailers last month showed that many of the toys and games that have topped best seller lists for months are, in fact, still right at the top.....
6/1/2008
TDmonthly's May Staff Picks Sunny summer days are just around the bend, and with kids on break from school, there's lots of extra time to play...
5/1/2008
Grade Schoolers: I-Gami Offers Folds of Fun A twist on the ancient craft of origami, I-Gami from PlaSmart Inc. awakened creativity in TDmonthly Magazine’s Grade-School Roundtable as the moms and kids who participated, despite some difficulties in disassembly, enjoyed constructing bright and educational creations...
5/1/2008
Preschoolers: Clics Build Creativity Clics, a three-dimensional building set from ToyLinks Inc., really “clicked” with some of TDmonthly Magazine’s Preschool/Early School Roundtable participants, while other children experienced some difficulty...
Homeschoolers: Building an Animal Kingdom This month, TDmonthly Magazine’s Homeschool Roundtable experimented with Überstix’ Animal Kingdom, constructing Überfrog, Übercrab, Überbird and Überbat as well as open-ended creations...
12/1/2007
TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Gifts for Boys Specialty retailers recently told TDmonthly Magazine that popular holiday gifts for young boys this year should include Learning Curve's Percy and Carnival Set as well as action figures from Playmobil and Papo...
11/1/2007
Überstix Builds Creativity Around the Globe Most toy manufacturers want their toys to do better than the competition, but Dane Scarborough, founder, CEO and president of Überstix, is not your typical business owner...
Tinker Minds Builds Big Dick Liou and the folks at Tinker Minds Inc. know that kids love to build, and their goal is to give them the perfect materials to create the fort — or boat, plane, train or canoe — of their dreams...
6/1/2007
That Towering Feeling Any kid unsatisfied with the status quo can build a new world to order...
6/1/2007
Construction Toys: Building With H2O The Aquastruct Toy System takes construction to an unfamiliar place — the shower — employing pipes, hoses, sprayers and more so that tweens can enjoy the laborious task of getting clean...
2/1/2007
River Dolphin Toys Makes the Connection A flying dog, a fish that walks on elephant legs, a seal with a lizard tail. Children can make these fantastic creatures with Zoomorphs...
1/1/2007
Building Holiday Spirit Myriad construction toys are building up the market this holiday season...
12/1/2006
TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Gifts for Boys LEGO and Thomas the Tank Engine are still popular classics that make great last-minute gifts for boys, according to 48 retailers surveyed by TDmonthly Magazine...
12/1/2006
TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Classics Thomas the Tank Engine keeps chugging along, bringing with him dolls by The Alexander Doll Company and Corolle, construction by K’Nex and plush by Gund...
i-gami Builds Interest By transforming the ancient art of origami into an easy-to-use plastic building toy, Plastic Play has been turning heads in the toy industry...
10/1/2006
ToyDirectory: Build an Online Trade Metropolis In celebration of ToyDirectory’s 10th Anniversary, Bob Naimi — founder of ToyDirectory and publisher of TDmonthly Magazine — explains how using the online trade metropolis he's building will strengthen the specialty toy industry...
Stained Glass Construction … Or Is It Art? Systems engineer Jay Simmons discovered that the television screen is like a tapestry with rows of colored dots, and PixelBlocks was born...
7/1/2006
Toy Vehicles Entice Young Mechanics Toy vehicles — perennial favorites for kids — become even more desirable when youngsters can construct the cars, trucks or trains themselves...
6/1/2006
Building Toys on a Small Scale Although building blocks have been around for years, brands and sets that offer a different twist enjoy strong sales, particularly at Christmastime...
6/1/2006
Fort Materials Take on New Life Watching children construct forts out of boxes and household wares has inspired a number of construction-toy manufacturers...
6/1/2006
TDmonthly’s Top 10 Most Wanted Boy Toys Ages 9 to 12 TDmonthly Magazine editors and regional correspondents talked with over 30 retailers across the country to divine what the “young lions” were playing with and why...
Automoblox Is One Happy Customer Patrick Calello, president of Automoblox Co., shares what he's learned after resolving problems with his supply chain...
12/1/2005
Construction Toys Zoom Two new surprise great sellers are both construction toys, retailers have told TDmonthly Magazine over the past few months: RollerCoaster Tycoon by Miniature Amusements and the low-tech, high-fun Zoomorphs by River Dolphin Toys. Also high on their list are old-reliables with new twists...
12/1/2005
Clic-ing It Together When CLICSTOYS USA, LLC, based in Grapevine, Texas, opened for business in December 2003, the company started with building toys available from its Belgian counterpart...
7/1/2005
TDmonthly´s Top 10 Most Wanted Lists TDmonthly compiles a list of 10 products broken down by category that may be likely to succeed if placed in your store...
7/1/2005
Building Connections Through Cyberspace Now, manufacturers of building and construction toys are offering a new kind of demonstration – online interactive sites – that allow kids to get hooked on building before they even step in the door...
7/1/2005
Building Sales With Building Blocks Construction toys for young children run the gamut from a bag of blocks for less than $20 to high-style European design...
7/1/2005
Mic-O-Mic Lands in America Mic-O-Mic designer Klaus Micklitz created and patented a sleek new take on the traditional construction and model toy...
Adults Are Ready to Build Called toys that make you think, construction or building toy sets are more than the wooden blocks of yesterday — and they’re not just for kids...
7/1/2005
Construction Toy Roundtable Recently, TDmonthly Magazine interviewed several up-and-coming construction toy innovators to get the low-down on how their unique products fit into the marketplace...
TDmonthly’s Top 10 Most Wanted Building Sets According to the NPD Group, building set sales totaled $416.3 million in 2004. Winners with kids of all ages, these sets also get a thumbs-up from parents, encouraging active involvement rather than passive observation...
2/1/2005
Making A Fun Geometric Connection Whether you love geometry, science or just like having fun, Roger’s Connection Construction System is a unique building toy that will keep children thinking about how to create an architecturally sound structure...
Construction Character Toys, Here to Stay Through most of its long history, the success of the construction toy had been built squarely on its ever-increasing level of playability. While many can debate the birthdate of the construction toy, few can argue that its popularity continued over the decades is due to the constantly-evolving engineering that accompanied its development...
12/1/2004
Chaos: A World of Motion Jim Rothbarth, designer of the Chaos kinetics system, has been an entrepreneur and inventor since college. Rothbarth learned from development and marketing that nothing is more important than quality. Flaws and reliability issues are never tolerated...
10/1/2004
BUILDING KITS/BLOCKS pFlexitoys Flexitoys are the fun building toy that snap and hinge together and are easy to grip and hold in a small child’s hand. Flexitoys stimulate creativity in open play with the limitless things children can build. Flexiswivels allow for even greater creativity with their bendable features. Large sets...
Featured Products in TDmonthly Magazine: Construction
Arkansas native and architect Steven W. Hurd, AIA, designed his first set of building blocks some 15 years ago at the prompting of his mother-in-law, whose father – also an architect – built models of castles and cathedrals for her when she was a child. What began as a new hobby – to relive his childhood passion for building models, then as a way to build toys for his son to enjoy – eventually became an avenue for Steven to share his passion with the... More information on WESTWORK DESIGNS products.
We design, develop, manufacture, and sell original LaQ construction toys.LaQ is an innovative toy block from Japan which consist of 7 types of blocks in 10 different colors! The LaQ block pieces make fun snaps! and clicks! when piecing the parts together so a child knows that the pieces are firmly connected. The clever angles on the joint block pieces can create flat, 2 dimensional, 3 dimensional, and spherical objects.For more info contact us below or visit KumoTek (US Distributor) http://www.roboporium.com/... More information on YOSHIRITSU CO. LTD. products.
The original Block-N-Roll™ marble maze construction toy was created in Silver Lake, New Hampshire in 1995 by five young brothers, Adrien, Aaron, Damien, Daniel, and Curtis Yule.Using various construction toys they had available, they constructed grooves to race their marbles with.Intrigued with his sons' creations, their father created various marble maze prototypes. He used wood, Styrofoam™, plastic and whatever else was at hand. From these beginnings Block-N-Roll™ evolved into the action packed construction block system you have today... More information on TAURUS TOY products.
KnuckleStrutz is the brainchild of inventor Jim Bagley. Jim, a graduate of Brigham Young University, constantly strived to improve his designs, and would sometimes use plastics for parts in his inventions. The inspiration for KnuckleStrutz came from the experience of creating injection-molded plastic parts.The first KnuckleStrutz part, designed December 8, 1999, underwent many revisions until it became the revolutionary construction toy it is today. This rough and tumble KnuckleStrutz set is ready to get down and dirty! With its massive 8 tires, the Trekz 4x4... More information on KNUCKLE STRUTZ products.
