I’m sure I’ll be bleating on about The Baby Show for a few weeks to come yet. This is my millionth show (it certainly feels like it) and it never disappoints me. As soon as I don that magical press bracelet I turn into a David-Bailey/Kerry-Katona hybrid that doesn’t shut up, gets sore cheeks from grinning, and is often found on the floor pretending to flex her professional photography skills when she’s really just trying to spread all the water that has gathered in her pregnant ankles back up to her thighs.
It’s a great networking opportunity for the blogger set, and many of the brands are known to us. We’ll have reviewed for them in the past, we’ll converse regularly with them on Twitter, and could probably recite their entire stock if asked (I have several sample products to review so expect a few dedicated posts on these later). But it’s also a great opportunity to discover new brands - distributors or otherwise - and share our thoughts on what we believe is set to be a hit over the next few years.
Here’s just a handful of those newly discovered mum and baby businesses that impressed me with their products:
Slumber Roo
A Devon-based distributor with an impressive range of brands under their wing including Moby, Scootababy, Boba, Beco and Babyhawks slings. The staff (*waves to my new mate Rosie*) were incredibly knowledgeable and gave in-depth demos to us sling novices without the hard-selling techniques regularly deployed by Alan Sugar’s babes. Here’s me modelling the Boba sling with Eric (the eerily life-like baby doll) - I did warn you my smile was scary.
I’m seriously tempted by this sling. Although I’m not planning on having a wardrobe stocked up with every baby-wearing device known to man, I can definitely see the benefit of rocking the sling on short missions to the shops and back. Given I’m soon to have two in nappies, there’s something to be said for having my hands free to stop Dexter pinching penny sweets whilst I’m selecting a bottle of wine in the newsagent. This one was by far the comfiest I tried on, and thanks to Rosie I can do it up without cutting off baby’s blood supply!
Slumber Roo also stock Jellystone Designs teething range. We nearly bought the jchews SMARTPHONE for Dexter a year ago but unfortunately couldn’t find it in black (Slumber Roo will be stocking these from May!). As most mums and dads regularly find their black devices gummed to death by their dear babies - whipping out a bright pink fake one definitely wouldn’t have fooled my little genius back in the day, but I have high hopes for the black one for Mini Madam. There’s a large selection of teething jewellery too which looked great.
Eric is also handily modelling some Beco Rock-a-Thigh socks which are rumoured to have real staying power. I have no idea why we didn’t buy up every pair they bought to the show as Dex could really use some new ones. He’s in full on foot-fetish mode at the moment and is forever whipping off his shoes and socks in his pushchair and launching them in the aisles of Tesco.
Emi & Nell
I loved this stand. Loved, loved, loved it. Had Craig have been stupid enough to let me hold the credit card for the day, I’d have bought every last thing (… and ended up a single parent to two babies).
Famed for their use of organic fabrics. chic colourways and vintage-inspired designs, they stock beautiful nursery accessories and clothes that remind me of Suri Cruise. Their beautiful pom pom balls and lampshades are the nicest I’ve seen in some time, and I’m regretting not buying the grey and pink bedding set they had discounted for the show - this was exactly what I’ve been looking for over the last few months! Oh and those gorgeous tutus… I could go on…
Given there always seems to be a lack of nursery interiors available to buy at the show, I was pleased to see they’d scored a stall in the Baby London Boutique section. I hope they smashed their sales targets and we’ll see them again as The Baby Shows needs them in my opinion.
Not limited to interiors however, their clothes are to die for (if a little pricey). I have to include a few piccies from their website as I can’t possibly expect you to fall in love with them as much as I have from my own photos.
Toto Kidogo
Husband and wife team, these guys are single-handedly bringing a bit of a revolution in playmats to the UK. The story goes that since becoming parents they’ve bought a number of genius baby products from all over the world. Now their jet-setting days are over and they’ve bedded down in the UK they’re repeatedly asked where they bought them. Their Parklon baby play mats are the perfect example.
They hit every nail on the head. With tons of engaging imagery, they’re educational and bright for curious toddlers. They’re also waterproof, wipe clean and non-toxic. They feel a little like snake skin (of course they’re not!) as in they appear to be made from dozens of tiny squares with a memory foam inner. This makes them incredibly flexible, and ideal for protecting wooden floors and carpets from little madams and monsters, whilst providing a safe landing for their knees.
I particularly liked the fact these mats are double-sided as there’s plenty of variety. One of them even featured a roadmap design that would be perfect for micro-machine wars!
We currently have an interlocking foam playmat with a pop out letters and shapes. This looks gorgeous but Dexter makes a mess of them everyday. It is currently sat under his highchair to protect our carpet from an onslaught of mashed potato, tomato sauce and gravy, but Toto Kidogo’s one would be far better for this purpose, and much more besides. Luckily she’s agreed to let me review one in a few months time when they receive their next shipment.
Nappy Cakes By Betty
How much do I love this girl? You could even argue that this wasn’t a new discovery for me as we started tweeting each other weeks ago after I discovered her on the #BabyHour hashtag. Exhibiting at the Baby Show for the first time ever, I’m not sure how she ever managed to get all her specially prepared show cakes to the ExCel as they’re incredibly heavy - actually I take this back, look at her other half’s guns! (I should point out he spent around 30 minutes holding this whilst I nattered with the girls).
Far from being the little old tea-addicted lady I strangely imagined her to be, Betty was young, pretty and madly enthusiastic about her creations. She’s also incredibly sweet and charming. It’s clear she loves what she’s doing and bringing smiles to people’s faces. Her nappy cakes are unrivaled in my opinion. The love and attention to detail that goes into every one of them, and all those elaborate designs and quality ingredients make them the ideal baby shower present for someone special.
She’s passionate about sourcing the best nappy cake contents and it shows. There are traditional wooden bookends, bubble blankets, gorgeous soft toys and more crammed into her cakes (depending on which you choose of course). I’m not sure I could ever bring myself to dismantle one of them to use… but if anyone is stuck for a new baby gift for me (dad?) I want one!
So that’s it! I’ll be raving about the usual biggies at a later date, and there will be reviews on new friends Cudaboo (the ethical clothing range that’s partnered with 3 conservation charities), and Peep Baby (a chic and stylish breastfeeding poncho that’s stocked in Harrods) next week, but aside from this, these were my top picks on the day. Do check out their websites and say a quick hello on Twitter and FB.
