Ready for some fun? Companies new and old have lots to share this fall, from the whimsical and silly to the more traditionally clever and competitive, even edifying.
P.Puff Industries, St. Paul, Minn., makers of colorful, tradable Wordstretch rubber band bracelets and rings, goes freeform with Write-On Kits for design-your-bands fans. The kids' and teens' kit comes with an assortment of brightly colored rubber band bracelets, rings and "magic" decorating pens, engagingly packaged in a six-inch plastic tube—perfect for birthday and school parties, arts and crafts, autograph collecting and just plain trading. The adults' kit, with retro-sophisticated graphics, contains 12 green and white rubber band bracelets and a black marker. Blank bands, for the self-expressive, are mixed with such sayings as "Hello, my name is..." and "I'm with..." for some much-needed variation on the name-tag scene. The littlest wrists can now get into the Wordstretch act with the introduction of Q.T. Pie bracelets and rings, which come in vibrant colors with fun sayings—just like the original big-people versions. Continuing to stretch the possibilities, Wordstretch also launches Book Bands, giant versions of the bracelet rubber bands, sized to fit around a book. The company's NBA-licensed bracelets continue to be a hit with sports fans and players, with custom gold bands spotted on the wrists of the USA Dream Team during the 2000 Olympics. Now they can draw their own. Call (651) 222-5992, fax (651) 222-5991, www.wordstretch.com.
Those wild and crazy guys and gals at Klutz in Palo Alto, Calif., encourage our wrist fetish with Slappies Animal Bracelets, a cross between a slap bracelet and your favorite teddy bear. Each of the eight different Slappies animals (zebra, cat, dog, leopard, mouse, tiger, lion and lizard) has paws, ears, wiggle eyes, nose, tail and unflagging cuteness (in the best sense of the word) and is made from kid-safe metal bands with rounded edges, completely covered by fur-free "animal" exteriors. To wear, stretch out the bracelet, slap it gently against your wrist, and watch it wrap itself snugly in place. (If you don't slap 'em, they also make great bookmarks.) Call (650) 857-0443, fax (800) 524-4075.
Dress up your wrists, then adorn your backpack (or briefcase) with colorful, funky key chains packed with rolls of mini-stickers from Damert Company in Berkeley, Calif. Each Sticker Mania key-chain dispenser holds over 300 stickers in multiple designs, available in three different themes: Glow Star contains space-age and celestial glow-in-the-dark images; Sticker Safari harbors three habitats—sea life, reptiles and rain forest; the classic Sticker Mania goes retro with hearts, flowers and stars. Call (800) 231-3722, fax (510) 524-4466, e-mail info@damert.com, www.damert.com.
FireRobin Puppets, creators of fine, handmade finger puppets, joins the existing ranks of high-quality finger puppets from Rich Frog Industries, Inc., of Burlington, Vt., designers and manufacturers of wonderful, classic children's toys and gifts. FireRobin Puppets interpret such engaging creatures of the natural world as owls, peacocks, parrots, bats, hummingbirds, porpoises, turtles, cats and mice, sheep, foxes, snakes, alligators and dragonflies into delightful, evocative small puppets made from richly textured velveteens, satins, cottons and tulles. Call (802) 865-9225, fax (802) 865-2423, e-mail info@richfrog.com, www.richfrog.com.
Several marvelous children's products from an untraditional source highlight the unexpected treasures that can be found in the aisles of specialized trade shows. The Golden Gate National Parks Association, San Francisco, presents two excellent sets of stacking blocks, each of which coordinates with a board book. The association's new Lighthouse stacking blocks combine a "zoom" view of a full-length lighthouse, alphabet letters illustrating weather elements affecting the earth from ocean floor to the sky and a lighthouse poem; the board book A Lighthouse Saves the Day tells the story of a lighthouse, sea animals, birds, boats and weather. Award-winning Redwood Tree stacking blocks similarly illustrate a full-length redwood tree and spotlight the creatures who depend on it for their habitat; The Tallest Tree board book describes a day in the forest with animals, trees, plants and fish. Call (415) 561-3037, x2734, fax (415) 561-3033, e-mail tkyriakides@ggnpa.org (purchases help support America's national parks).
On a patriotic note, two high-quality sidelines manufacturers introduce several new products in the aftermath of the attacks on September 11. WJ Fantasy of Bridgeport, Conn., creators of delightful advent calendars, building blocks and play spaces, announces a six-leaf board book called My Red, White & Blue to educate young children about the history and meaning of the American flag; an accompanying sound chip plays the "Star Spangled Banner" in its entirety. Call (800) 222-7529, fax (203) 366-3826.
ForestSaver, of Hampton Bays, N.Y., contributes a line of journals, photo frames and boxes covered in fabric with the stars and stripes. The journals are especially appealing, with stars on the front cover and stripes on the back-—a sophisticated graphic presentation for those who want to show the colors tastefully. ForestSaver is known for its creative reuse of old maps and other printed imagery, notably a complete series of journals, note pads, clip boards, mouse pads and coasters sporting New York City subway maps (licensed by the MTA). Call (800) 777-9886, fax (646) 349-1458, e-mail sales@forestsaver.com, www.forestsaver.com.
