One of the most entertaining things I get to do every holiday season is play with the hosts on Live with Kelly & Ryan! If memory serves, 2020 is my 25th year of playing on this exceptional show. Of course, what you see is only the proverbial tip of the iceberg. One of the reasons
The Toy Biz
A Brief History of Toy Fair
Today’s global toy business is a distinctly modern phenomenon. The first New York Toy Fair in 1903 was nowhere near the massive show that it is today. In fact, the American toy industry was virtually non-existent. Many, if not most, toys were home made, or locally crafted. Real toys came from Europe. In those early
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The Toy Biz
Anatomy of a Fad…And the New One That’s Out of This World
I can’t tell you how many people over the years have introduced a product to me saying, “This is going to be a huge fad.” (It’s a lot.) I can, however, tell you how many of those ended up actually becoming fads. Exactly none. A fad is an anomaly in the world of toys. No
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The Toy Biz
Top Toy Trends 2019—A First Look
What are kids going to be putting on their lists to Santa in 2019? (And asking for throughout the year?) Well, nobody really knows the answer to that, but in the high stakes toy business, inventors and manufacturers have been placing their bets since last year. And now, it’s go time. The first months of