Why Are kids in Such a hurry To Grow Up?

When the View-Master system was released in 1939 it was marketed to adult nature lovers. The first reels were views of national parks and scenic attractions like Colorado’s Pikes Peak. In the ’40s and ’50s young adults fantasized about honeymooning in Hawaii and Australia with reels shot in exotic places all across the globe. Eventually teenagers discovered View-Master in the ’60s and bought groovy reels based on the TV shows of the times like The Monkees, Batman, and Flipper.

As time passed, older kids left View-Master behind to discover electronic playthings. Today, this classic has evolved into a strictly preschool toy, selling under the Fisher-Price brand name. What happened to all the older fans?

This phenomenon is known as “age compression” and it continues in the toy industry today. Simply put, kids outgrow toys faster than they used to. Here’s a great article on this alarming trend from Financial Times.com.

The Playmakers Debuts at BookExpo America

And I thought Toy Fair was big! BookExpo America took place last week from June 4-6 and featured Dr. Ruth, David Sedaris, Jon Stewart, George Carlin, Bill Clinton and many other entertaining celebrities, all signing or talking about their new books.

Walking into the show, I was struck by the enormity of the 40 foot banners hanging from the ceiling throughout the entryway of McCormick Place. The big publishers definately made a big first impression. We were much more low-key, but made some impressions of our own. Check back for more announcements soon!

Chicago was beautiful and we were blessed with great weather throughout the weekend. We even had time to scope out Navy Pier, the location for the Chicago International Toy & Game Fair which will take place Septemeber 4-6, 2004. Make plans to come!

Thanks to Giles Hoover of Osprey Design for working the show with me and taking some of these pictures, including this one of our booth. Giles received a ton of compliments on the design and layout of The Playmakers from a number of BEA attendees. To get his impression of BEA and see some awesome shots he took of The Windy City, check out the Osprey Design Website