Write Stuff

To the editors:

Playthings just keeps getting better and better. The breadth of editorial topics and the global perspective—including the new series written by members of ITMA—show Playthings to be truly connected to industry issues and committed to finding effective solutions. Well done.

Keep up the great work.

—Nancy Raup, Marketing Consultant Hainesport, N.J

To the editors:

Concerning your recent article regarding scrapbooking (“Paper cuts,” December 2005), I want to commend you on your very astute assessment of the current state of affairs within the scrapbooking segment of our industry. As an inventor of toys, games and yes, scrapbooking devices, I have found that of all the companies that review my ideas, the scrapbooking folks are by far the most open to innovation and experimentation. As your article points out, “The biggest challenge... is customers' seemingly insatiable hunger for the next new thing.”

I would argue that this same aggressive openness towards new ideas would benefit the entire toy industry. Not withstanding the very real economic factors in the age of consolidation, innovation for the sake of innovation is like opening a window in the middle of a busy work day, fresh air circulates everywhere, rejuvenates everyone and inspires the company as a whole. I would liken it to the launch of the Jeep Hurricane, a carbon fiber Jeep with two engines and a 0-degree turning radius. The vehicle is completely impractical from a consumer standpoint, unrealizable from a manufacturing point of view and absurdly expensive as a public relations caprice, yet the inspiration the Hurricane generates inside the company, inside the industry and within the hearts and minds of the “customers' insatiable hunger for the next new thing” is immeasurable.

My vision is to see more such innovation spilling over into the toy industry, if for no other reason than to breathe fresh air into everyone's daily routines.

—Michael Cucurullo, Teplow Cucurullo Communications, Boston, Mass.