NEW YORK, NY, August 14, 2015… Baby + Child Best New Product Awards were awarded today to five exhibitors at NY NOW®, the Market for Home, Lifestyle + Gift, with Pirasta’s Let’s Color America: Really Big Coloring Poster, recognized as “Best of Market.” Additional winners were recognized for excellence in four categories – toy, décor, gear and apparel – and all five honorees qualify to compete for NY NOW’s “Best of LIFESTYLE” Award, to be determined by online balloting at bit.ly/NYNOW_LIFESTYLE. The Summer 2015 edition of NY NOW®, the Market for Home, Lifestyle + Gift, runs through Wednesday, August 19, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
“Our panel of judges has a keen eye for cutting-edge design and appeal in these categories and the winners make their case eloquently,” said Melissa Engongoro, Baby + Child Sales Manager. “We are delighted by the many qualified exhibitors who competed for these top honors.”
Winners and finalists of the summer 2015 Baby + Child Best New Product Awards are:
BEST OF MARKET: Pirasta (Brooklyn, NY) for its Let’s Color America: Really Big Coloring Poster, a giant poster that takes users on a tour of the USA while coloring a map, illustrated by Allison Kerek, depicting the 50 states. The poster is made in USA, and printed with vegetable ink on recycled content paper.
TOY:
Winner: Candylab Toys LLC (New York, NY) for its Woodie + Caravan, wooden toy cars inspired by vintage American automobiles, which are made of solid beech wood, real walnut veneer sides and rubber tires. This particular model features a Woodie wagon with a canoe trailer and a magnetic surfboard on top.
Finalist: little miss workbench™, inc. (Bellport, NY) for its Flash Zoom Mali.
Finalist: cate and levi (Toronto, Canada) for its Scrappy Dog Maker Kit.
DÉCOR:
Winner: Tree by Kerri Lee (Long Eddy, NY) for its Photo Holder Block, made in the USA from solid hardwood. The hand painted and laser engraved block has a slot on top for easy slip-in of photographs and has felt pads on the bottom.
Finalist: Nawi Kids (Los Angeles, CA) for its Coco Plush Pillow.
Finalist: Pebble (Canton, OH) for its Pebble Character Cushions.
GEAR:
Winner: Innobaby LLC (Barrington, Il) for its Aquaheat On-the-Go Food Warmer, adding water activates the heat in this on-the-go food warmer, with no batteries/electricity required. This warmer accommodates all types of bottles, food jars or pouches.
Finalist: FunBites® LLC (Westport, CT) for its FunBites Two Piece Food Cutter.
Finalist: Chewbeads (New York, NY) for its Juniorbeads Broadway Necklace (GLOW in the dark).
APPAREL:
Winner: Oliver & Adelaide (Chestnut Ridge, NY) for its Baby Gift Packages, Everybody Loves Elephants, part of the new collection of American-luxury-made gift packages for babies.
Finalist: aden + anais®(Brooklyn, NY) for its Muslin Layette Collection.
Finalist: baby deedee® (Brooklyn, NY) for its Sleepsie Lite.
The winners automatically compete for the NY NOW “Best of LIFESTYLE” Award, which will be determined through online voting at bit.ly/NYNOW_LIFESTYLE. “Peoples’ Choice” balloting runs August 15-18, and the winner will be announced on August 19, before the conclusion of the summer 2015 edition of NY NOW.
The judges for the summer 2015 Baby + Child Best New Product Awards were: Lauren Barth of Mom Trends blog; Jennifer Bringle of Kids Today; Jamie Cohen of Giftmama.com; Nanci Gregg of Baby & Children’s Product News; Lynda M. Johnson of KidStyleSource.com; Audrey Kingo of Earnshaw’s; Bessie Nestoras-Knoblauch of Gifts and Decorative Accessories; Samantha Ujvary of Giftware News / Baby & Kids; and Leesa Valentino of TheGiggleGuide.com. Criteria included: innovative design, product solution, aesthetic appeal, creativity and new material or technology.
All exhibitors presenting new products in NY NOW’s juried Baby + Child section were eligible to compete for recognition. Presented as part of NY NOW’s LIFESTYLE Collection, Baby + Child features nearly 100 companies offering functional products with an emphasis on high-design for children 0-10 years.
The summer 2015 edition of NY NOW, the Market for Home, Lifestyle + Gift, will run Saturday, August 15, through Wednesday, August 19, 2015, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. NY NOW’s three comprehensive collections – HOME, LIFESTYLE and HANDMADE, as well as NEW! exhibitors – encompass 100,000 products in myriad product categories. Attendees from all 50 states and around the world are expected. Information and registration is available online at www.nynow.com.
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NOTE: Product and award presentation photos are available upon request to SandyLee@CathySteelAssociates.com