Page 17 - Toy & Hobby Retailer Magazine May-July 2019

BEST OF THE FAIR
Presenting uniquely designed, creative
and high-quality products, the Hong Kong Toys and Baby Product Awards recognise outstanding industry achievements based on functionality, safety, innovation, marketability and environmental friendliness.
EDUCATIONAL TOYS AND GAMES
Winner: Cubico by PDM Inc.
The 'phygital' – physical and digital – Cubico coding kit is designed to teach children how to code and uses an interactive AR platform combined with fun stories to help kids understand coding easily.
ELECTRONIC & REMOTE
CONTROL TOYS
Winner: Animal Scale Toys by
Ubrand Resource
The Animal Scale Toy piano is a fun twist on
a children's piano, bringing kitty cuteness to learning the piano. Among the many child pianos
on show at the Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair, the Animal Scale Toy is visually and aesthetically pleasing and leans on the popularity of both squishies and kawaii-style design.
OUTDOOR & SPORTING ITEMS
Winner: Stringray by Aria Child
The Stingray ride-on is the coolest way to
get around. With a two hour run time and
the ability to zoom at speeds of nearly 10 kilometres per hour, the Stingray is the perfect toy to get kids outside. The ride-on relies on kids to lean left and right to steer, helping to sharpen balance and coordination skills.
As I passed the Classic World stand, I was delighted to see a large poster on the back
wall of a little girl in a tool belt. The image leaves gender stereotypes in the dust, and so
it should. Speaking to Thierry Bourret on
the stand, he said that the business has also changed the colour of its kitchen sets from pink to red, to remove the gender connotations from the product.
However, it was clear to me that this process is a slow moving one, with pink sewing machines still present on other stand’s shelves.
Further into the halls, I came across the Pungrow stand. The entire stand, shelving, furniture and displays were made from the product. A sturdy construction toy, the displays were extravagant, while the seats were strong enough to hold weary attendees, yearning to
sit down.
As I ventured deeper into the show I heard
some familiar accents from the Micador and Keycraft stands.
At Micador, Richard Gluyas and Blenda
Ho were manning the stand and showed me the new E.S.C.A.P.E – Easel, Storage, Case, Play, Everywhere – Table, a take-everywhere, versatile arts and crafts table, which doubles as a storage solution for craft materials.
Also on show was the super-cute Dark Arts, glow-in-the-dark acrylic paintings. Sweet little ghosts and a bat were glowing yellowy-green under the dark light.
Over at Keycraft, I was drawn to the Majigg display, which housed four shelves of wooden and tin impulse-purchase classic toys including a spinning top, yoyo and a cup and ball, all in vibrant colourways.
MAY / JULY 2019 TOY & HOBBY RETAILER 17
Micador – Blenda Ho and Richard Gluyas.