Dorel launched its new nursery furniture brand - kub, on the Monday of the Harrogate Nursery Fair. All ranges are in stock and ready to go on display. Amana is chunky and contemporary with an Oak trim; Floresta is a classic white collection and Walda is traditional with a dark wood stain.

Kub comes with an excellent service package including delivery and build for your customers. Daniel Parsons, Business Development Manager for Dorel commented: "The kub launch at Harrogate was a great success.  There was a real buzz on the stand and we were busy for all three days. The products and displays were really well received by our retailers and as a result we have had a very good uptake.  We had an excellent team involved in the project and the launch and when you have such a strong team behind you it makes everything a lot easier."

Gordon Downie, Sales Director, Emmay Care, took the time to talk to me about the brand's new range of safety equipment: "We sell our product to the consumer by investing heavily in merchandising to ensure retailers have strong and effective point-of- sales," he said. Using Harrogate to establish itself as a leading light in safety in the home, Emmay also had its popular range of toys and nursery equipment on show - all branded, collectable, premium quality items.

Hippychick was busy from morning to night with the Out&About, Playtime and Everyday Essentials ranges grabbing buyer's attention. I was particularly impressed by the new Dream Tubes product by Dusky Moon, a revolutionary and safe bumper system for a child moving from a cot/cot bed into a single bed. Compact and portable it can travel with you, creating a much nicer environment than the traditional bed guards. Inventor and co-founder of Dusky Moon, Amanda Allerton was overwhelmed by the response it had received from buyers, with a phenomenal number of orders taken at the show. Hippychick had done an excellent job in bringing it to market, she said.

Malcolm Fensom of OutnAbout was also over the moon: "It's gone exceptionally well. We have sold over 2000 buggies," he said at around midday on the Tuesday. With just a few hours to go and the stand packed with buyers, I think we can safely assume he sold a few more before closing! Making my way to another busy stand, I was met by a representative from Hauck who briefed me on its i'coo brand of customisable travel systems and highly popular Disney range of pushchairs, accessories and travel cots.

The Graco stand was full to the brim too. I was shown the Sweet Peace moving baby chair, designed to emulate the motions that parents use when rocking baby to sleep. Apparently one Mum estimated that the cost of purchase amounted to £80p a day for a little peace and quiet! The Graco heart listener, nasal clear and baby monitor represented a whole new category for the brand, said a spokesperson.

John Crane was another very happy Harrogate customer. Celebrating a quarter of a century in business, its well merchandised stand boasted a stunning collection of toys, all geared toward more effective learning development.

Content&Calm meanwhile, attracted a lot of attention from buyers and the trade and consumer press. The Cot Canopy is a lightweight portable canopy that fits over all standard cots and travel cots to provide darkness to help babies and toddlers sleep well in any location. Retailers loved what they saw and were snapping it up in their droves.

A stylishly packaged range of toiletries from Cowshed also caught my eye. Sales Manager Jo Morrison explained the brand's philosophy: "This is a naturally beautiful range for naturally beautiful mothers and babies." Well worth checking out as an add-on sale!  Toby Massey, Creative Director of becothings, home to a range of eco-friendly products called me over to take a look at the fantastic Becopotty. Manufactured using natural fibres, it is fully bio-degradable enabling children to compost it afterwards. A range of hangers manufactured equally ethically, were also on show.

Over at Petite Star I was given a full demonstration of the Kurvi, a snug and cosy pram for a newborn that becomes a fully reversible rear or forward facing stroller just by lifting up the back rest and holding down the feet. There is no need for a carrycot so it's perfect for the modern city dweller! Continuing the city theme, the City Bug, also from Petite Star is a compact travel system offering excellent value for money at just £149.99. It has a comfy padded multi-recline seat that's suitable from birth.

"Concord's range of car seats, buggies and living accessories are characterized by quality, sophisticated functionality and exceptional design," the brand told Ni's Advertisement Manager Sue Wight and buyers at Harrogate seemed to agree. The Britax name has become synonymous with safety and the brand's huge range of car seats and travel systems drew a lot of interest from buyers throughout the show also.

Jane briefed me on the new Solo Reverse Pushchair, which enables you to change baby's sitting direction - topical in terms of child development. I was also shown the new Touring pushchair and the Strata, said to be the first infant carrier to help perfect pulmonary development for newborn babies.

 I was given a full demonstration of the Fun Pod from Little Helper by the brand's Liz Brophy. Now in its third year, it had been given a slight design make over and new buttermilk colour ahead of the show. And there was more news from the brand: "Little Helper is proud to be preparing to give birth to an exclusive distribution deal for Belgium's much acclaimed Baby Boum range, which will launch in Autumn 2009. Previewing at Harrogate, the range consists of a wide range products from sleeping bags and blanket wraps, cradle and bed covers, to ponchos and shoes for babies and toddlers," said Liz.

Over at Cheeky Rascals meanwhile, I spoke to Susanne Chisti, Manging Director of Yes! Super Baby, about the Miracle Baby Scarf and Miracle band. "The Yes Super Baby range is being launched at Harrogate by Cheeky Rascals, our UK distributor. Yes! Super Baby's award winning products are already available in 10 international countries and are a must-buy for parents looking to bond and learn with their children," she said.

I also had a chance meeting with Claire Darke of alpha egg, the company who designed and manufacture the alpha egg bath range, distributed by East Coast- when I stopped for coffee. Explaining that even in a recession there is room for new product innovation she said: "I am here to meet with East Coast to see how the bath range is getting on, as they have only just started distributing it. I also want to talk about a stainless steel feeding range I have in development and look at any ways in which I can improve the design."

Aurora is one of the leading companies for high-end, soft, and huggable toy designs in the global gift industry. I met with Sales Director Nigel Layton Hill who talked me through the range. Nigel casually shrugged off any suggestion that the recession might be affecting trade: "We are 20% up on last year, having launched new products in the past 12 months," he said.

Dennis Murrain, Managing Director of gift distributor 2012 shared his confidence: "What recession? Perhaps too many businesses are not selling with the right products. You need to be different to survive in times like these. Our only problem is coping with our growth."  What was most notable about the products exhibited at this stand was their fun and creative packaging. The FreshWear Cow Print Baby Rompers, for example, are packaged in milk cartons and come in six colours: Cool Aqua, Hot Red, Pretty Pink, Creamy White, and Lucky Lime & Cow Print. Six pairs of socks by Soggs meanwhile, come in an egg box! Retailers wanting to offer something a little bit different would do well to check out the 2012 range in full.

Saplings had a great range of high-end nursery furniture and Sales Executive Fiona Bennet commented on how busy the show had been on the first day!

I spotted a great range of educational toys and games at the Haba stand, offering something for every stage of development. Manager Martin S. Nield told me: ‘It's our first time here and we are pleased with the quality of the leads so far." Haba was one of the first in the industry to be awarded the ISO4001 environmental accreditation: "We are very green conscious and safety is paramount," said Martin on the subject of product development.

Excited to receive their copy of Ni, the Fairytale Furniture team were also there with a magical range designed especially for children.

Paul Brown, Managing Director of Bibetta said that while the show had been quiet, his range of bibs and cups were doing well at retail.

Graham Canning, Sales Director at Vtech  added, "This was the first time that VTech has exhibited at the Harrogate Nursery Fair and we had a great show, opening a lot of new accounts. The new VTech baby monitors and the existing VTech Baby range proved extremely popular and we will definitely be back next year".

Tippitoes became firm friends with the Nursery Industry team, with General Manager Paul Walters often stopping for a quick chat, as their stand was busy throughout the three days. This well established brand has become a favourite with retailers and remains largely unaffected by the recession.

Andrew Jones of retailer Jack and Jills was one of a few retailers keen to tell me that trade was good despite the recession: "We are new to the industry, but have been really busy. We do a substantial amount of trade every week," he said.

All in all this was a fabulous show and I was pleased to have met so many people and seen so many great products. The team at Ni would encourage all retailers to take a look and make their selection now!

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