Out of the Toy Box

November 10, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

I have been thinking about Toys R Us’s decision to place FAO Schwarz boutiques in its Toys R Us stores. I like the idea of Toys R Us getting the most out of the FAO Schwarz name but I wonder if it is a brand that still has meaning to much of America.

Many of us can remember a time when FAO Schwarz was the nation’s iconic toy store. A visit to the mid-town store was an absolutely essential part of any visit to New York (whether you had kids in tow or not). Over the years, however, FAO Schwarz had lost much o...Read More

November 8, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (6)

Full disclosure: Bruce Lund is a friend of mine. I was therefore extremely pleased when I heard that he was receiving an award at this year’s TAGIE Awards banquet in Chicago on November 20. I was even more surprised, however, to learn that it was a Humanitarian Award he was receiving. I knew he was a great inventor and great guy but had no idea he had done such important charitable work. 

Here is a partial list of the charities Bruce has supported:  The Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, Safe Passage Project/Camino Seguro in Guatemala City, Lutheran Child and Family Service Found...Read More

November 4, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

I, for some crazy reason, thought that kids were watching less television. What with so many distractions like the Internet, cell phones and video games, I assumed that television watching among children was in a steep decline. No more glossy stares; no more drool  and no more incoherence as they laid on the couch watching yet another cartoon show.

Wrong! Kids are watching more television than ever. At least that is what a New York Times article aptly entitled, “Children Watch More TV Than Ever” had to say: “Nielsen reported last week ...Read More

November 2, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (15)

I have written in the past about the enormous impact that toy inventors have on society. Toy inventions have a steady and prolonged impact on children and they can therefore help shape the future of the world.   Adults choose careers and even clothing styles based upon the toys they favored as children. (If you doubt this, take a minute to talk with an architect and ask them what they played with as children. I bet an Erector Set, Lego or some other construction toy will immediately and passionately be mentioned).

Reuben Klamer, this year’s Toy and Game Inventor Lifetime Achievement Award winner, has had such an...Read More

November 1, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Toy Nation needs to attract the best and the brightest if it is too grow and prosper.  That is why it was so great to read Sharon Diminco (CEO of Learning Express) state in a October 23, 2009 Daily News Tribune article that the Learning Express “…franchising model has been a magnet for bright entrepreneurs who were either forced out or decided to leave jobs at big companies. The store owners enjoy working for themselves for a change, and they become passionate ambassadors for the products.”

This comment was particularly pleasing to me as...Read More