Fragile Earth Stuffed Animals

New Arrival Friday! Plush Animal House - Light House from Unipak

Unipak Plush Animal Houses - 11" Light House

Plush Stuffed Animal Houses by Unipak Design hold five plush stuffed animals and create hours of fun for children. They promote fine motor skills which involve the use of hands, starting with primitive gestures such as grabbing at objects to more precise activities that involve precise hand-eye coordination. The development of these skills allows one to be able to complete tasks such as writing, drawing, and buttoning.

The Light House includes a seal, orca, turtle, octopus and lobster. Animals are temporarily anchored to the light house for display but are all removable and separate pieces.

Light house off white in color

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PLOT A COURSE

Gift shows overwhelm me.  There are so many things to see and booths to explore. Everywhere I turn, something catches my eye. I see stuffed animals that would be perfect for Fragile Earth Stuffed Animals, knick-knacks I'd love to sell but have nothing to do with our inventory, and things I personally want to own. The sheer number of people wandering through the Javits Center during the New York International Gift Fair all trying to get in as much as possible in the shortest amount of time is enough to send me into a corner. 

I know going in that I will only be able to put up with being pushed and bumped for so long before I start getting claustrophobic so I need to have a plan that allows me hit my spots of interest. This year, the New York International Gift Fair has an on-line website that allows me to search the exhibitors and make a walking plan so I can get from points A to Z with the minimum fuss. However, names don't always tell you exactly what the exhibitor carries. The search function gives the stores' websites, but clicking through takes time so, a few weeks before the show, I start looking for new shops to visit. I study the floor plan, looking at what is near the stores I know I will be visiting and skim through store titles, checking to see if anything pops out at me. There are certain booths I know I will visit - like Jellycat, Merrymakers, Unipak and Yottoy - because they are mainstays in our inventory. But there will be new products out there and I need to know where they are.

Most gift shows try to organize the exhibitors so that like items are together. For us, we find the majority of our booths in the Baby and Child sections. However, we stumbled upon Jellycat one year in the middle of General Gifts, and we realized that there are hidden gems everywhere. Don't become convinced that one section will encompass everything you want. Explore!

Happy Birthday Beatrix Potter!

Guess what popular author was also a sheep breeder and farmer? She published 23 books between 1902 and 1932. A film about her life was released in 2006 starring Renee Zellweger.

 

If you guessed Beatrix Potter, you'd be right! Our Merryday Frog, Scrumpty Duck, and Bunglie Mouse, Bunny & Kitten wanted to pass on their birthday wishes.

If you want to learn more about Beatrix Potter, check out this fabulous web site - http://www.peterrabbit.com.  It has information for young and old alike.

Storing Stuffed Animals

Have so many stuffed animals you just can't display them all?  First you have to decide which unlucky ones have to go into storage.  Now that you have made the hard decision here are some tips to ease the process.  Some are common sense but things you might not necessarily think of until too late.

1.  Use plastic containers with strong, tight lids or the Space Bags that you vacuum the air out of or even heavy duty trash bags.  Never use cardboard boxes if you are storing in the attic or basement because mice can chew through the cardboard and eliminate on your stuffed animals or make nests in them.

2.  Make sure whatever storage method you choose allows you to mark with permanent marker exactly what is inside.  Much as we would all like to think our minds are like steel traps, after a while you will forget what is in each and every box in your attic/basement/garage.

3.  Do not store anything else with your stuffed animals as you don't want smells or disintegrating/melting items to get on your stuffed animals.

4.  If storing antique stuffed animals be sure to wrap them in acid-free tissue paper and store them in archival or acid-free boxes.  Do not over-stuff the boxes because you will mat down their fur.

Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Wall, Humpty Dumpty Had A Great Fall...

CHARACTER OF THE WEEK

HUMPTY DUMPTY ACTIVITY DEVELOPMENTAL TOY

Our Humpty Dumpty is an award - winning toy that has an old-fashioned musical rattle, crinkle sounds, different textures and teethers. Young ones will love to play with this colorful egghead who sits upright and jingles with delight!  And don't worry, when this Humpty falls off the wall he stays in one piece!

Welcome Back Old Friend! Jellycat Bashful Duck

It's been a while since he was a resident here at Fragile Earth Stuffed Animals, but we are so happy to welcome him back.  Welcome home to the Jellycat Bashful Duck.

KEEPING THINGS FRESH

There is a fine line between making sure your inventory doesn't get stale and looking like you can't make up your mind as to what kind of store you want to run. Okay, maybe the line isn't that thin, but I seem to keep tripping over it anyway.

As we build our clientele, we bring in new things so our customers don't get bored with our choices and look elsewhere for something new. The real challenge is to recognize the new "it" stuffed animal before everyone else does and to make sure you have enough in stock. You don't want to have too many, especially if they don't sell, because then you're tying up space and money in a dud. But, you want to have enough on hand so you can fill your orders.

So, the question we face is ... where do we find this super stuffed animal? Living and operating out of New Jersey, our best option is the New York International Gift Fair, held twice a year in August & January/February at the Javits Center, and the Toy Fair in February, again held at the Javits Center.

Finding a gift show to attend is as easy as googling "gift show", where you'll see all the different cities that host these trade shows. GLM is a great resource as well. They are one of the largest hosts of tradeshows in the United States and their website has information on all their upcoming shows.

Next week: What to do before you go to a gift show.

posted by Mary Beth

How Do You Repair Your Stuffed Animals

Growing up I had one special toy, Lamby, and he went with me everywhere.  To the point where I would not sleep without him.  This created quite a challenge for my parents because Lamby got worn and ripped and replacements would not do.  There was an attempt at replacement and he became Lamby's very bad alter ego, Lamby's friend.  Whenever something bad happened and I was questioned (Who wrote on the wall?) it was always Lamby's friend.  Not bad having a fall guy always handy, but he was no substitute for Lamby. 

So, whenever Lamby had a hole or his stuffing was coming out, my mother would take him away and "fix" him because that's what mothers do.  I still have Lamby to this day (god help me four decades later), though I am happy to report I can now sleep without him.  To most of you he looks like a horrible mess but to me he is a well loved companion that's been with me since the day I was born!

 

So what do you do when your "Lamby" starts to lose his stuffing or needs a quick repair job?  Below we've listed some helpful websites that take you through repairs step by step.

eHow - How To Repair Stuffed Toys

eHow - How To Replace Eyes on Stuffed Animals

Don't want to do it yourself?  You could send your friend to the Stuffed Animal Hospital or the Fuzzy Repair Shop.

For the novice, Stitching in 3 Simple Steps

How do you repair your stuffed animals?  Please share in the comments any tips or tricks you might have.

Are You Ready for Kindergarten? No? Then You Need Miss Bindergarten!

This is Miss Bindergarten, an 11" doll and perfect companion for Joseph Slate and Ashley Wolffe's bestselling books.  Whether you're a teacher or student, everyone loves Miss Bindergarten.

Miss Bindergarten first hit the scene in Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten.  She vigorously prepares for the first day of Kindergarten as her 26 students (one for each letter of the alphabet) do the same.

Did you love Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten? Then don't miss these other Miss Bindergarten books.

We're Celebrating Edgar Degas Birthday! Can You Tell?

Depicted above, the artist (Degas) in his furry stage, painting his favorite subjects.  Thanks to Rupert the Hedgehog for posing as the artist.  We apologize to Degas but isn't imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Our Chimboo Monkey is the subject of the painting and Beige Blossom Bunny, Tot Bunglie Pig and Tot Bunglie Kitten are our extra ballerinas.