Whether you’re a retailer, distributor, sales rep or have any part in the 27 billion dollars a year U.S domestic toy market, New York Toy Fair is the place to be! As the largest toy fair in the Western hemisphere, you can find the latest and greatest toy, game and youth entertainment. Exhibitors from all over the world display their newest products and services with a true hand-on feel.
This fair is basically a kid’s dream come true! Seeing all the brands and toys you played with from your childhood instantly brings back so many fond memories. From the moment you enter the toy fair floor, it’s sensory overload! As far as the eye can see there are bright colors, crazy sounds and new toys being demonstrated. I say “demonstrated” because my boss is reading this and I want to sound more professional. Realistically it’s a bunch of adults in the industry playing with the new toys as they roam booth to booth. Most visitors are looking for something they might want to private label or carry in their own store(s).
The fun JOYIN crew flew in from Phoenix, AZ a day early which gave us some time to do a little exploring around New York before the show started. Simply walking around seeing the city would have been neat, but our crew wanted to bring some JOY to the people of New York! So obviously we decided to put on some of our inflatable costumes for our “sightseeing”. Not only the fact that our hotel was literally right in the middle of Time Square was a cool experience, but also walking out from the elevator wearing a 9 ft. inflatable giraffe costume was a new one for us!
Our Unicorn and Dinosaur inflatables joined Jeffery the Giraffe as we walked 5 miles across the city to Central Park and back. Getting TONS of attention from people along our adventure was amazing! I think the others would agree when I say that seeing so many kids smile and laugh from our costumes was well worth the blistered feet and drastic temperature changes.
Shout out to my co-workers Ray Flor & Kyana Mitchell for putting on the costumes with me and my incredible boss Phoebe for making sure we didn’t get killed by traffic! -You guys are The Real MVP’s*
After some much-needed sleep, the following morning we all awoke excited and ready to go for the opening day of the New York Toy Fair at the Jacob K. Kavitz center. Spread across three whole floors, the event center was massive! Even after spending 4 whole days at the event from 9 am - 6 pm, I feel like I STILL didn’t get the chance to see everything I wanted.
Being in the “first-year exhibitor” section of the fair, we felt like a kid in a candy store! It was hard to stay focused with so many fantastically fun creations in one location but ultimately we were here to learn and showcase our products. The New York Toy Fair also includes networking events, awards, and educational seminars that train new businesses and brands to gain knowledge from top professionals in the industry.
I felt extremely fortunate to attend seminars like “From Influencer to Licensed Brand” where Stone Newman (chief executive officer of “Ryan’s World”) talked about his journey in developing the #1 channel on Youtube. I also had the pleasure of meeting “Richard Barry” President & CEO of “Toy’s R Us” (who was extremely kind and has a super cool accent)! Growing up, I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to experience one of the largest toy fairs in the world, let alone attend it for “work” as we adults call it…
There’s an old saying that goes something like “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life” I can truly say that I LOVE what I do for Joyin and this trip to New York was something I’ll never forget.
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