Trade shows are the mainstay of any industry and nursery is no exception. They are a lot of hard work and Harrogate was no exception. So the end of March saw thousands of us travelling up to Harrogate and despite the weather suggesting we should be out in the garden, we had an excellent time in the exhibition halls. But whether it was the fact that Spring was in the air (not that I saw much of the sunshine) I found this show was actually great fun.

The difference between BPA Baby and Child and some other trade fairs is in the organisation. This is demonstrated in no small way by the inclusion of a pre-show exhibitor’s day in the lead-up to the show.

After thirty years in the baby business, Richard Bowen, popular sales director of Jackel International, has retired.

Richard, 60, joined Jackel International, the name behind the Tommee Tippee brand, in 1987 soon after he launched the hugely successful Pur brand into the UK. Pur introduced silicone teats to the British market and became famous for its clear look and the Nipper Gripper, the bottle with the hole in the middle.

House of Dee is delighted to announce the launch of its new website www.houseofdee.co.uk. This new and exciting website enables both consumers and retailers to view all of the brands House of Dee supplies, including Tiny Dee, the award winning brand leader in the U.K. for premature and low birth weight babies, Dormouse Collection basic baby essentials and Christeningwear, Dee accessorized for kids belts and braces and finally for fashion, Doodle Dee and Joufflu Dee.

The Aprica Research centre and Childcare Institute in Japan has been focusing on child’s healthy development for 30 years and is known worldwide. Aprica entered the UK market a year ago and is already very well known and positively accepted among parents.

Specialist infant mattress brand PurFlo and nursery furniture brand Jack Horner have been bought from the administrator by CL Capital following the closure of the Sleepsafe business. The new management team includes Ian Jones, Director, who originally sold the Jack Horner brand to Sleepsafe in May 2005 and Paul Evans, Sales Manager.

BPA Retail will provide a much needed link between the manufacturers or distributors of baby products and the end consumer. The ultimate aim of the scheme will be to help protect the consumer with its stringent criteria for membership, enabling the public to make an informed choice when choosing a nursery retailer from which to buy their products.

Sunshine Kids ran a competition at the Harrogate show to win £1000 worth of holiday vouchers. The draw was made by Cathy Bryan, Editor of Nursery Industry and Ian Morley, Executive Director of Sunshine Kids.

Britax, Europe’s leading child car seat manufacturer, has just launched a major new programme for their extensive network of independent retailers that helps them acquaint purchasers with the latest legislation and products. Called the Travelcare Partner Programme, the new initiative is specifically designed to make selling Britain’s favourite child car seats easier through structured training, sales support and a range of financial incentives.

Prince Lionheart’s washPOD® provides a warm and secure space to bathe babies and infants. Its womb like design supports Baby in a comforting foetal position and the stabilising wings ensure that the bath will not topple over during use. The washPOD® comes with a contoured foam pillow which rests at the bottom of the bath allowing Baby to sit comfortably.

Mediaman communications, nursery PR specialists, are delighted to announce that they have been appointed to handle the X-Adventure account. X-Adventure are a well established Dutch manufacturer who have recently launched a stunning range of prams, three wheelers, strollers and highchairs in the UK under husband and wife team David and Jo Prosolek who between them have over 40 years experience in the nursery trade.

JoJo Maman Bébé, has been announced the Retail/Leisure Business of the Year in the Fast Growth Business Awards 2007, sponsored by T-Mobile whilst founder, Laura Tenison MBE, proudly cradled a second award of Female Entrepreneur of the Year! Launched in 1993, JoJo Maman Bébé sells high quality, imaginative and practical clothing and products for pregnant women and families with young children.

Modern Baby has launched a 100% organic reusable terry towelling nappy that is both kind to baby’s skin and the environment. Made from 100% unbleached cotton, this baby-soft shaped nappy is easy to use, quick to dry and allows baby’s skin to breathe naturally which is essential for healthy skin.

Keith Elmer will be joining the board of John Crane Ltd as Sales & Marketing Director from April 2007. The Board is delighted that Keith has decided to join the Company, bringing with him a wealth of experience.

As part of my role at Wilkinet I often have the opportunity of visiting nursery shops. Several of them mentioned the first few months of 2007 have been slower than expected (compared to this time last year or the last quarter of 2006).

Q - When and where were you born?

A - Sunderland (God’s Country)

Q - Education?

A - Secondary Modern

After raising five children, I started out in business by selling second hand goods related to the baby market. As this enterprise started to become successful I decided to rent a small shop in Bexleyheath, 400 sq feet, where, on a budget of £1000.00 I sold both second hand and new goods (90% and 10% respectively).

Referring to Carol Ainge’s comments on Safety Gates in Ni Opinion in the March issue we feel a fuller account should be given.

Firstly, Standards Committee Meetings for BSI (British Standards Institute), CEN (European Committee for Standardisation) and ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) are made up of experts from all sectors of the industry. These include; child safety experts from consumer associations, manufacturers, test laboratories, specialist consultancies, trade associations and specialist organisations.

Those of you who visited Harrogate will have noticed that we were very busy just about all the time. It was very pleasing to see that the industry takes so much interest in its own trade association. It was also gratifying to note that much of the interest from visitors to our stand was in the new nursery retailers’ association BPA Retail. With this new sister association we can now truly say we speak for the whole industry.

It’s too early to have visitor figures but most of the time and especially on the Sunday, it seemed very busy. They said the weather on the three days was lovely and sunny – a beautiful Spring day – but I and many others missed it all, there was no time to enjoy it.

A big thank you to everyone who came to visit the Cheeky Rascals’ stand at Harrogate. We had some fabulous new products and new product innovations on show and they all proved a great success.

This year’s Harrogate show saw some innovative offerings from Sassy that were extremely well received by buyers in the Nursery sector.

Take the new Al-i-sorter offering oodles of shape sorting fun for bathtime. The four shapes can be dropped through the correct holes in the alligator’s back or fed to him through his mouth. Each shape has an added fun feature – doubling-up as a scoop, pourer or squirter.

Sunshine Kids have announced the launch of their new trade web site designed to offer retailers support, access to a range of resources, training materials, product specification sheets and lots more besides.

Petite Star have been designing best-selling nursery products for over 50 years.

Oomo is a an exciting new brand from Petite Star, focusing on innovative, beautifully designed products that make life easier for today’s busy parents.

Roomo, our flagship travel cot, was just one of the new products on display at Harrogate.

gro-group® showcased its fresh new range of practical parenting products at the Harrogate Nursery Fair, including the exciting new range of spring/summer grobag® baby sleeping bag designs. Available in lighter 1.0 and 0.5 togs, the new boy and girl designs take inspiration from retro trends, with workwear stripes and vintageinspired floral patterns.

The Harrogate Show saw the launch of the Chicco SimpliCity stroller, stylish and contemporary, whilst still being practical and lightweight. Suitable for children from birth to 15kg. It comes complete with raincover, large shopping basket, matching legcover and removable bag for storing baby essentials. The foldable hood has a window to keep an eye on baby and the back section can be unzipped for summer use.

The Baby Products Association’s stand at Harrogate was an exhibit not to miss this year with retailers finding something other than products on offer.

This was literally the first chance to see the package open to retailers that could see them becoming future BPA Retail members.

Cuddledry saw a hugely successful product launch at Harrogate, with their gorgeous new version of this innovative ‘apron-style’ baby bath towel, using soft and natural bamboo fibre. Inspired by dads, designed by mums, this luxurious yet practical product ticks all the boxes – ecofriendly, supports natural parenting, safety conscious, and a perfect gift.

Summer Infant, celebrating its fith year at Harrogate, launched new products in bouncers, bed time, nursery wellbeing, bottle warmers and changing bags.

Nursery Retailers were delighted on the John Crane Ltd stand where new TOLO® toys were presented to them at this year’s Harrogate Nursery Fair.

The TOLO® First Friends™ Train Set is the perfect first locomotive for an inquisitive toddler and it joins a growing range of First Friends™ toys that really do offer more to explore.

With the sales team back in the office and the orders processed Hippychick can tell that, yet again, they "had a very good Harrogate". Simon David also added that he was very impressed with the quality of the visitors making the show a key date in Hippychick’s diary. Hippychick, well known for its quality practical and healthy products for parents and children, previewed their new Spring/Summer range of handmade leather baby and toddler Shoo Shoos.

Mia Moda had their UK debut at the Harrogate Show and their products were met with great enthusiasm from independent retailers. It is not easy for new suppliers to enter the highly competitive nursery market but Mia Moda might well be on to a winner with their choice of pushchairs, along with a stylish fabric range and great cost prices.

The 2007 Harrogate Show was another resounding success for Lollipop Lane. Launched this year were three new, co-ordinated bedding ranges which were all received enthusiastically. So many compliments were paid on the unique fabric combinations, embroidery detailing and commerciality of ‘Out To Dry’, ‘Will I Be Big One Day?’ and ‘Sidney And Lola’.

Clair de lune designer nurseries reported back on a successful exhibition in Harrogate where many of its new stylish ranges were launched.

The Manchester based company took the opportunity to launch its new Baby Shade Range, attracting retailers from all over the UK with its fresh and innovative styles.

Harrogate was a great success for us at Kiddysmart, we gained a lot of experience from the show. Thanks to all those buyers that got a chance to meet with us.

The 2-in-1 Harness Buddy is a unique alternative to the traditional reins, giving the toddler a soft cuddly ‘buddy’ long before it doubles as reins. The 2-in-1 Head Hugger is great for stopping the infants head from rolling around in any car seat or stroller.

Adding to its already successful MOVING range, CONCORD FUSION, now includes not only the ION baby seat, but also the PROTON carrycot and the SNUG soft carrycot.

The CONCORD FUSION Buggy brings design, functionality and comfort together. Made from anodised aluminium, so weighs just 11kg, and has removable wheels for easy storage, with 360º swivel, lock position and independent suspension to all wheels.

Their best selling Bamboozle nappies and the luxurious coordinating hooded bath towels really did steal the show. The new Tots Towels are made using environmentally friendly bamboo that is not only soft and user friendly but also highly biodegradable.

This new Group 1 seat has all of the features of best selling Key 1 XPlus, along with the latest ISOFIX system. Complying with R44/04 it uses the top tether fixing, which is included, and has been approved as a universal ISOFIX compatible car seat. Colour indicators are used on the anchorage points to clearly show if the installation is correct, ensuring minimum risk of incorrect fitting.

Britax is proud to introduce one of its latest innovations, the easy to install Group 1 Explora STS.

Britax have built their reputation on being at the forefront of safety innovation and the Explora ISOFIX features the recently introduced Safe-StrapTM, indicating the harness has been correctly tensioned to fit a child safely within their seat.

Winner of the 'Show Innovation Award for Mobile Baby' at Cologne, and many Parenting magazines' 'Best Buy' awards, the Solution+ Group 2/3 Car Seat is one of the safest on the market, and is distributed exclusively in the UK by East Coast Nursery Ltd.

The new Matrix Cup now has a five point harness – a first for this type of infant car seat on the market, and in neoprene for greater holding, Group 0 infant car seats would normally have only a three point ‘Y’ harness.

PRINCE LIONHEART invented the Seatsaver concept in 1980 and has led the category ever since. The two Stage Seatsaver provides the highest quality car upholstery protection on the market. Durable, high density foam construction prevents depression damage and a non-slip backing guarantees a secure fit.

With 18% of the car seat market share and the biggest year-on-year share growth of over 19%* in the car seat sector alone, 2007 looks set to be another great year for Graco. Already market leader in Group 0+ and Group 2/3, the launch of their Logico M Group 1 car seat and completion of their Tri-Logic range looks set to develop Graco’s market position even further, allowing parents to stay with Graco from birth through to 12 years.

The innovative Bump Belt from leading child safety product manufacturer, Clippasafe, has been designed to help protect the unborn baby and mother-to-be while they are travelling by car.

A normal vehicle lap belt can exert extreme pressure on the womb in the event of an accident or even during heavy braking. In a low-speed accident, a person can be projected forward with a force of five tonnes.

Sunshine Kids launched no less than ten new products at the recent Harrogate Show, five of which are car seat accessories. Our long term commitment to new product development means that the range of fast selling products has now reached 45, with something for everyone and even better something to place alongside all high priced products in your store creating great add-on sales opportunities.

Rumour has it that this summer is going to be another scorcher! Whether we blame global warming or just accept it as part of the natural variation, it does means that parents will be looking at ways of protecting their vulnerable offspring.

Chicco have designed and developed a range of children’s sunglasses working closely with the Italian Institute for the certification of optical products to ensure quality and safety. Full of Italian style, comfortable to wear and designed not to hamper playtime activities.

If you want to stock the best sunshade on the market, look no further than the top-selling Outlook® shade-a-babe™. Offering unbeatable (up to UPF50+), hassle-free protection from damaging UVA and UVB rays, it also reduces glare, acts as a windshield, and keeps irritating insects at bay whilst giving great visibility and ventilation.

Splash About produces a range of products specially designed to enhance a child’s comfort and security in water, including Safe in Sun, Water Buddies and Warm in Water.

Perth, Australia 2001: Bevan Beames, a young family man with a newborn baby, wanted to buy a pair of good quality wraparound sunglasses to protect his baby’s vulnerable eyes from Perth’s harsh UV climate. After a long and fruitless search he concluded that the product he was looking for wasn’t available.

Konfidence 98% (50+ UVPF) protection swimwear is a brand more and more retailers are choosing everyday. Fresh and simple designs that parents want, funky and ‘surfy’ t-shirts teenagers will wear, all manufactured to the highest standard. The range is fully colour co-ordinated, which encourages parents to buy sets and more importantly shop in one place.

Keep cool this summer with the Toy Brokers range of Intex water play and deluxe Above Ground Pool. New for this season is the Mushroom Baby Pool, 102 cm diameter inflatable pool with feature built-in mushroom sunshade and soft inflatable floor. Ideal for baby’s first pool. Toy Brokers offers a comprehensive range of pools ranging from 114cm diameter three ring pools through to 457cm Above Ground Pools.

As an exercise I put in "Choosing a cot" into a well-known search engine to see what I would get and ended up with a miserable 21 results. And even then there were a couple of irrelevant sites. However, I was very concerned that many of the guides to shopping for cots that I found had the basic, if unwritten assumption that mum would be considering a second hand cot.

Two new exclusive ranges of nursery furniture were launched by Bebecar at Harrogate, to bring the number on offer to five, each with their own distinct look. The Carre range (shown here) is a striking combination of modern lines, predominantly in white, with a contrasting trim in very dark cocoa.

The fabulous pop-up nestegg™ is the latest addition to the award-winning bushbaby® range. A practical and versatile travel cot (suitable for use both in and outdoors), the nestegg pops up and down in seconds, is compact and light (just 2kg including mattress), and is small enough to pack in a suitcase.

The latest range of co-ordinating nursery furniture to be launched by East Coast Nursery Ltd, the Havana range, is available in a choice of two colourways, a birch effect finish, and Duo (shown here), which combines contrasting wood effects. Known for their ranges of high quality nursery furniture which are reasonably priced, East Coast Nursery Ltd are constantly developing new ranges so that they can offer retailers and customers a wide choice.

The new Chicco Play & Nap is a high quality travel bed with changing unit, toy arches, bassinet, nightlight and sound/vibration unit included. The mattress can be used out of the cot with the toy arches attached, as a playmat, and is machine washable. The night light unit features vibration and melodies and is activated by remote control unit, manually or sound activated by waking child.

Rochingham has been the UK’s leading manufacturer of baby and child mattresses for over fifty years. With a commitment to safety, Rochingham offer the best and most innovative products available for cots, cot/beds, prams and travel cots. Their new range of mattresses are antiallergenic, anti-dust mite, antibacterial and have machine washable covers.

Teddy had been hugged and cuddled so much that he needed a bubble bath to make him clean. He was pegged out on the washing line and left Out To Dry.’

Launched at Harrogate this year was the well received Out To Dry Luxury Nursery Collection. A contemporary design in comforting shades of whipped cream, mocha and chocolate brown.

After 15 years in the trade, Saplings have been undergoing a change. The original traditional cots are still available giving an excellent entry-price range that offers exceptional value both to the retailer and the consumer. However, these are being eclipsed by the new designs which have exceeded all targets.

Known for producing unique designs, the Harrogate Nursery Fair saw Izziwotnot launch two new exclusive, textile ranges.

Lively and vibrant, ABC Safari radiates warmth and energy in sunshine yellow, lime green and bright sky blue, and is complemented beautifully with coral trims.

A newborn baby sleeps most of the time, but within a couple of months he is alert for significant portions of the time. And with today’s mum’s being so busy, it is important that she has somewhere safe for baby; a place from which he can see what is going on around him. Most parents find that the bouncing cradle rapidly becomes one of life’s essentials.

The award winning Lux Exerciser from Little Shield has specially designed movement controls to ensure that babies cannot travel too far and special anti-slip grips prevent the exerciser from sliding down inclines.

Top selling Tigger Door Bouncer from The First Years has proven to be a firm favourite with parents and babies alike! Featuring well-loved Winnie the Pooh character, Tigger, this bright, colourful bouncer keeps little ones amused for hours providing indoor entertainment as well as useful exercise. Adding to the fun, as baby bounces, Tigger’s tail goes up and down while his head makes fun rattle sounds. A great way to keep baby amused without wearing mum out!

The Summer Infant Deluxe Soft Embrace Bouncer is unique in design. It starts with a two position recline seat offering additional comfort for baby. This luxurious bouncer features soft micro fabrics with extra padded seat cover, which is removable and washable.

With Bouncing Cradles on most new mother's 'Essential Buys' list, East Coast Nursery Ltd offer a choice of two: the Sensations Bouncing Cradle is luxuriously padded, has a vibration system to calm anxious babies, and a head hugger. The soft fabric cover is removable and machine washable to 40 degrees.

Chicco’s new bouncing chair is ideal for very young children and can be used as either a fixed position or rocker chair, using the single action control at the rear. The soft and well-padded seat also has a removable insert cushion for the very young, an adjustable leg rest and carry handles.