Gotta-Have-It Baby Gear Goes Beyond Pastels

Cloud b LLC’s (ToyDirectory) Twilight Turtle takes softness and turns it upside down — onto the nursery ceiling. This “plush planetarium,” a plush turtle with a glowing plastic shell, shines eight accurate constellations onto the ceiling in blue, white or green.

Colors have changed lately, too. “What’s popular now is not quite pastel, not quite primary,” said Stephanie Taylor, owner of 5 Little Monkeys in Albany, Calif. “I would call them sherbet colors.” This trend is reflected in Cloud b’s blankets, which come in dusky blue, sage and salmon.

But don’t think bright colors are passé. Manufacturers from Stokke to BuiltNY use brights to enhance their products. Stokke’s famous wooden highchairs — which convert to chairs that are useful into adulthood — now come in a variety of cheerful colors. “Blueberry and raspberry are very popular now,” said Maura Peddle, owner of BiNK baby store in Warwick, N.Y. “Parents want items that are useful beyond babyhood, and when they come in colors like this, they can coordinate them to the child’s room as well.”

Saturated colors highlight Built NY’s neoprene bibs and its Thirsty Tote, a slim bottle holder that handily snaps onto a stroller or slips into a diaper bag. “A lot of people are looking for funky, sophisticated colors,” Peddle said.

That pleased John Roscoe Swartz, one of Built NY’s cofounders. “At Built NY, we like to do things differently than anybody else,” Swartz said. “We pick the colors we like.” He added that Built NY, which started with wine bottle coolers and lunch bags, is “a design company first and everything else second. Our unusual approach is a defining character of ours.”

Consumers love a product more if it can be used in more than one way. eeBoo's (ToyShow) Alphabet Wall Cards, meant for wall décor, often end up as supersized flash cards due to their durability. The eeBoo TotTower is popular in the BiNK store for the same reason, Peddle said. “Anything from eeBoo does amazingly well,” she said. “The artwork is beautiful, and it can be played with.”

Mia Galison, founder of eeBoo, said true art was the goal of her company. “Everything we do is very carefully done,” Galison said. Children’s book illustrators compose the fantastic images on each eeBoo product. The force behind eeBoo’s designs is “a combination of being a mother and artistic sensibility,” Galison added. “I think it’s wonderful that it’s successful.”

The Frog Pod Child Tub Toy Organizer, by Boon Inc., mixes fun with cool organization. “Parents come in looking specifically for the Frog Pod,” BiNK’s Peddle said. The funky wall-hanging frog combines a shampoo shelf, toy storage, hanging pegs and a toy-rinsing scoop into something both kids and parents can appreciate.

Then there are the things that have one indispensable use. Consider the Pee-pee Teepee by Beba Bean Inc., tiny cloth or terry cones that make diaper changes much drier for parents. The urine shields come in a slew of baby-happy prints and colors, including a Santa Hat for the holidays.

Babies appreciate sitting up, no matter how young they are. Parents and physical therapists praise the Bumbo Seat for building the muscles needed to sit. The soft foam seat lets infants as young as 8 weeks sit up comfortably and securely.

By doubling as art, incorporating contemporary colors or having multiple uses, manufacturers’ latest releases make parenting hip.