Saturday, September 5, 2009

Happy Birthday BuckleyBoo

OMG!!!! We did it, or I should say Emily did almost all of it. We have made it to our first birthday. In our family, birthdays are a really big deal so you can expect a celebration each year as our way of saying thank you for your recent patronage, support, and simply kind, thoughtful and sometimes hilarious emails regarding the Buckleyboo addition to your family.

It is only 1 year since Emily and I took our idea (17 inch cat, dog, bear) to Las Vegas for its debut at a major convention where companies spend thousands on displays and promotions- our booth was homemade tablecloths, suitcases with sheets over them so we could stand the BuckleyBoos up, a candy bowl with tootsie rolls which nobody liked, lots of enthusiasm, anxiety, and not much knowledge about how to produce an item and then distribute it. What we did have was confidence that we had created a toy that toddlers would love and parents would recognize as a great addition to helping their child move along the developmental continuum while having soft, cuddly fun.

The first 2 days we got some really important visitors from the toy industry who liked our product, shoppers and children who were thrilled (1 child cried all night in her hotel room until she could come back and play some more). On the 3rd day, Emily and I actually stood in the middle of our booth looking goofishly at each other and saying ok, so we have a toy company- now what? Our good fortune increased as all kinds of vendors who warehouse, ship, package, account for, and charge greatly to do all the things we did not even know about came to greet us and sway us to engage their services. We listened and we learned; we made a few mistakes, not too many and not too costly.

We have had the help of some simply marvelous people who believe in our goal- to bring a great product to the market place. Many of them have worked out of kindness, for which we are forever grateful, and many of them have networked for us in ways we could never have done ourselves. For those few people who we have paid to work for us, the designer, prototype guy, manufacturing liason, accountant, OMG!!!!!! They have been creative, patient and kind and done so much more than we had ever contracted for-thank you.

The new toys are on the shelf and our creative wheels are spinning- we have some great new ideas for the 1st Buckleyboo Generation so stay tuned- we are having so much fun bringing joy to your children.

Dr. Jane

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Friday, June 12, 2009

BuckleyCat- Don't leave home without him!



Thank you Dr. Toy for awarding us the coveted Dr. Toy Best Vacation Children's Products Award. This award is of particular interest to BuckleyBoo because we are finding that BuckleyBoos are, in fact, THE PERFECT TRAVEL TOY! Kids love to play with their BuckleyBoos and will do so over and over as long as they have someone to help unclip the buckles if they haven't mastered that developmental task. Sitting on an airplane next to your little one is the perfect time and place to pull out the BuckleyBoo. And... as I have found, BuckleyBoos also make a pretty comfortable air plane pillow. We are off to Minneapolis in the morning, with BuckleyBoos in tow... hope you all have wonderful summer vacations... and don't forget to bring your BuckleyBoo.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

My favorite blog post

I was reviewing the BuckleyBoo web log files the other night and saw some traffic coming from a link I had never heard of. Eager to find any and all posts about BuckleyBoo I went to the website to investigate and was I was introduced to the Becca Morley family blog. Hmm... the name sounded familiar, I had a processed an order for a BuckleyBoo days before for Ms. Morley, (the unglamorous life of a toy company founder includes packing boxes each and every night). Ms. Morley discovered BuckleyBoo and blogged about it...

"Ella is OBSESSED with buckles. She would rather play with other people's stroller buckles at the playground than any of the play equipment. Her favorite toy is the buckle from her highchair that I had to remove so she would sit in the chair and eat rather than scream to play with the buckle. Enter the BEST TOY EVER. It arrives at our house tomorrow. I plan on taking video of Ella's first interaction with it because I believe it will be better than Christmas."

I had to smile as I read this, some people just totally get the magic of the buckle and I thought this post really captured the excitement of BuckleyBoo as a totally engaging new toy with true developmental merit. Thanks Ms. Morley, we can't wait to see the video.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Every once and a while we have to call out some of our favorite new websites and City Mommy is one of them. First of all, don't miss the City Mommy interview with....me! I had the opportunity to work with City Mommy founder, Dayna Landry, who asked me to share the BuckleyBoo story with the City Mommy community. The great thing about this is that the business world is overflowing with "momprenuers," a motivated and creative bunch of women who have developed products and business based on a need that they, as moms, have had. In my case, as an "auntie"prenuer, BuckleyBoo was created because we were tired of sitting under the table with my niece while she played with the high chair buckles. Anyway, enough about me, I encourage you to check out CityMommy.com, it is a wonderfully cool, mommy resource for city moms. Find out about events, playgrounds, shopping and all the things a big city mommy needs to make it though the day. Don't see your city listed? Just send them an email and they will help you create a local community just for you and your mommy buds.

Have fun exploring.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Toy Fair 2009

We just got back from our first Toy Fair where we introduced the toy industry not only to our current line, but they also got a sneak peak at our new summer line including BuckleyLion, BuckleyPig, BuckleyKitty, BuckleyMonkey and BuckleyTurtle among other exciting new products. Much to our surprise, retailers were pre-ordering some of the new items with out a confirmed release date and final price. We are so excited to bring these new products to market, with a few final tweaks, things are ready to go into production.

We had a crazy long week, but it was well worth it. My mom and I survived another shared hotel room, long days, and no sleep. We picked up some really great new retailers who will be well stocked with BuckleyBoos by the end of the week so make sure you check out our BuckleyBoo Near You page. If you know a great store that should be carrying BuckleyBoo, send us an email and we will see what we can do.

Next stop-Minneapolis in June, see you at the ASTRA show!





Tuesday, January 13, 2009

BuckleyBoo-m Boom- Enter to Win a BuckleyBoo!


The BuckleyBoo team just got back from Los Angeles where we took part in the 2009 Babes in Wonderland Pre-Golden Globes gift suite hosted by celebrity and fashion expert Jayneoni Moore. Each year Ms. Moore brings together a select group of "must-have" products, a parade of celebs (and their families) and media who were lucky enough to make the exclusive guest list. For two days, guests were treated to all day make your own sundaes from Baskin Robbins and all the free schwag they could carry (and some of them made out). And, it was all in the name of charity; the Boom Boom Room brings together celebrity families to support LA area foster children and the Jayneoni Moore Children's fund.

As the only toy in the suite, BuckleyBoo was an instant favorite with kids of all ages who got to take home the brand new BuckleyBunny and BuckleyBoo minis (available in mid February). Rather than telling you who took home a BuckleyBoo, we thought we would let you tell us.

Ok, here is an easy one....yup, that's expectant parents Tim Allen and his wife who have a brand new mini BuckleyBunny. Click here to check out some of the other photos from the event- identify as many of the 21 celebs as you can and we will enter you into a drawing to win a 17" BuckleyBoo of your choice. Email your entry to info@buckleyboo.com. All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. Feb 13, 2009.

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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

BuckleyBoo in Beckers!

The new 2009 Becker's School Supplies catalog arrived today and much to my delight, BuckleyBoo is on page 10! That's right, it is a 300 page catalog full of wonderful educational supplies. Make sure you order your free catalog ASAP, and get yourself a BuckleyBoo of course.
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