Plan Toys -- Small Footprint, Big Fun -- Toy Fair New York 2009

Plan Toys never cease to amaze me with their innovative approach to toys. They prove you can have truly great toys produced with a small carbon footprint. They even manage this at a reasonable price without sacrificing style.



Their new products this year bring an increased emphasis on wise use of environmental resources through play, adding a whole new section to Plan City called Eco Town (seen above). We're pleased to add all of Eco Town to our toy selection, as well as the full Plan City line, a large portion of which is pictured below on display at Toy Fair New York '09.




Another of our notable Plan City favorites is the Plan Toys Dino Explorer Set seen here in a Toy Fair New York '09 candid photo.





Plan Toys get top marks across the board. Their toys are safety-conscious, educationally sound, and environmentally responsible.

Their products are made using non-chemically treated, kiln-dried rubberwood, non-formaldehyde glue, and non-toxic water-based dyes containing no heavy metal elements. They produce 100% of their toys in their own factories to insure quality and safety, and toys meet or exceed ASTM (American) and EN71 (European) toy safety standards.

Plan Toys' many awards include Parenting Magazine's Best Toy of the Year, Parent & Child Teacher's Pick, Germany's Reddot Design Award, The Belgian Toy of the Year, Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards from Practical Pre-School in the United Kingdom, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio awards, and many, many more.

We can't wait for their new items to arrive in March, and we'll be adding them to BitsyBirdie.com as soon as they arrive.

Toy Fair New York '09 - Sneak Peek - New from Sprig

We're very excited to be adding Sprig Toys to our offerings at BitsyBirdie.com this year. Not only are their toys some of the smartest, freshest, and best designed toys on the market, they are also some of the most eco-friendly. Their toys are made from SprigwoodTM – a child-safe, bio-composite material made from recycled wood and reclaimed plastic.

Their new Story Blocks set hits a sweet spot for both interactive storytime and independent imaginitive play. Sets will come complete with landscape, building, and character pieces, and are scheduled for release in Fall 2009. We can't wait for these to come in!





We're also very excited about the addition of Sprig Eco-Trucks and Sprig Hollow Play Sets. The Eco-Trucks are right-sized for preschoolers little hands and equipped with handles, making them easier and more fun for little ones to use.



The Sprig Hollow Bee and Butterfly's Farm Set is gorgeous in appeal, form, and function. The characters are adorable, vehicles come apart to form tools, and the sets even come with seed-infused paper flowers that grow into real wildflowers when planted. I would love to eventually see books or animation to compliment this set. We'll be eagerly awaiting the arrival Bee and Butterfly's Farm Sets in April.

Toy Fair New York '09 - New Products Sneak Peek

With products of all sorts from around the world, Toy Fair New York is second in size only to the Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany. It's been a blast to attend, and I'm excited to give you a sneak peek at some of the products we'll be adding to our offerings at BitsyBirdie.com.



Perhaps the world's safest rubber ducky, BPA-free, lead-free, and latex-free, this little guy from Dano will be joing our line-up as soon as he rolls off the production line in April.



Zubels' beautiful line of hand-knit 100% cotton dolls are stuffed with wool and super soft. My favorite is their colorgrown organic cotton teddy bear. The cotton's rich cream and brown colors are achieved in growing rather than dying. We're delighted to add them to our offerings.



We're also delighted to add Yellow Label Kids' products to our offerings. Their gorgeous hand-knit play items surprise with things you wouldn't expect to find knitted. New this year is their tea set, complete with cups and saucers, and their cupcakes have become a well-established hit with stylish, safety-conscious moms.









Stay tuned, more sneak peeks to come . . .