The Boom Boom Room Vendor Roundup – Part 1

The Boom Boom Room, hosted by Jayneoni Moore in NYC, was wall-to-wall packed with vendors, booths, and people.  But like any other event, there were a few vendors who — long after you had passed them by — you just couldn’t stop thinking about.  Before you knew it, you found yourself making the rounds again just to get a second peek!  If you’re thinking you missed out, don’t worry.  Over the next week Missy and I will be bringing you information on products that really stood out to us at the event, from new fashion lines exclusively for boys and girls to new styles of baby gear, and much, much more!

How many times have you looked in your diaper bag and realized you forgot the baby’s bib?  Or you can’t find that darn pacifier for the life of you?  April Klein, mother of two, hopes she can help with her invention of Bébe Belay ($9) — a baby accessory that can be used as an instant bib, a connector clip, and a pacifier and toy holder!  The ribbon is equipped with specially designed clips on either end that are made to pull free with a force of two pounds or greater, in order to avoid strangulation and baby-pinching.  Using Bébe Belay is as easy as stringing the pacifier through the ribbon and clipping it to the tab, or clipping both ends to a napkin for an instant bib.  You can even clip two slippers together so they will never get lost again!

A hit at the Boom Boom Room, Constance Zimmer (pictured at right with April) stopped by the Bébe Belay booth and chatted with April about all the great uses of Bébe Belay.  She was then was gifted a few Bébe Belays of her choice to use with her daughter, Colette Zoe, 4-months.

Continue reading for more great vendors and their products!

Sure it’s easy to find all of those cute boy shirts with expensive looking suped-up cars on the front and cute sayings, but hey, what about the girls?  When Allyson Strope (pictured at right with actor Robert Funaro) would go to see her husband, professional car builder Steve Strope, at car shows, she noticed that something was missing at the vendor stands.  Although there were plenty of t-shirts and other apparel, there was absolutely nothing cute and girly for well — girls!  And thus began the idea behind Girlie Gear.  Based in sunny California, this couple works with a graphic designer (who also helps with Steve’s designs) who draws the basic outline of the car.  Then Allyson comes on the scene to work her girlie magic, right down to the daisy wheels and the flowery smoke that rises up in a cloud behind these hot rods.  So far, these designs come in 100% cotton tees and onesies which run between $20 and $25, in three yummy sounding colors: Cotton Cand-z, Mango Go-Go, and Raspberry Roadster.  Also, be on the lookout for three new colors that will be available soon: Bubble Gum Logo, Blown Blueberry, and Lemon Sorbet Slingshot.  Any girlie race car fans out there?  Consider yourself taken care of!

Celebrities were thrilled with these amazingly girlie shirts at the Boom Boom Room and especially went crazy over Girlie Gear’s Pink Tank, which was gifted to Jane Notar along with a matching pink little girl’s ruffle shirt for her daughter, Harlow.  Since this line is fairly new on the scene, Allyson and Steve are still in the process of sending out shirts to car fans — so, who’s on the list?  The cast of The Fast and The Furious, of course!

CBB Deal: Girlie Gear is offering 15% off with coupon code "cbb15" at shopgirliegear.com.  Expires 8/31/2008.

Tammy L. Cheskis is a mom who was just looking to find a cool way to handle her three daughters’ bed-wetting days without using those embarrassing medical-looking pads — an idea which soon led to the creation of Incog-neato.  Using bright colored hand-picked fabrics, with designs that will match any room, Incog-neato protectors are 100% cotton, flannel quilted pads that lay right on top of the sheets to prevent the much dreaded act of bed-stripping in the wee hours of the morning when your child wets the bed.  The pad also comes with a non-slip back to stop squirmy kids from pushing the pad down to their toes in the middle of the night!  Plus, since the pads are made out of such kid-friendly designs like a sports theme, a monkey theme, and a dog theme, kids don’t have to worry about being self-conscious since it’s easy to pass off as a quilted bed cover for extra comfort!  But don’t stop at just using it for bed-wetting purposes — Tammy also suggests using these leak-proof pads as baby play mats, on the bottom of dog crates, in car seats, for maternity needs, and on wheelchairs.  Need something else to look forward to?  Tammy will soon be selling two new sizes — a stadium seat size, and the one I’m most excited about, a huge quilted pad big enough to spread out for beach and pool days!   

Celebrities who stopped by Tammy’s booth at the Boom Boom Room and gifted with Incog-neato leak-free protectors were Joel Anderson from Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites, Brian Schneider from the NY Mets, and Olympic swimmer Summer Sanders (pictured above-right), mom to 2-year-old Skye Bella and new baby Charles Robert, 4-months.

CBB Deal: Incog-neato is offering 10% at incog-neato.com with coupon code "celebrity".

Entering the world of high-end baby bedding, in 1998, was a whole new ballpark for designer Lulla Smith, but after meeting with an upscale boutique who absolutely loved all her products, she hit it big when her first Hollywood couple, Courteney Cox-Arquette and David Arquette, chose her "Cloud" crib line for  their daughter, Coco Riley, now 3 ½. From there it just got better and better!  After being featured in People, Life & Style and In Touch, Lulla’s list of celebrities grew as Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes purchased three "Greenwich" bassinets for their daughter Suri.  More recently, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony commissioned her for the bedding in their twins’ nursery.

With a client list like Lulla Smith has, it’s no wonder so many people stopped to admire the beautiful bedding Lulla had on display (including a replica of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s crib made by Bratt Decor featuring Lulla Smith bedding, pictured at right).  Since her start, Lulla Smith has worked with a long list of celebrities including Heidi Klum and Seal, Elisabeth and Tim Hasselbeck, Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, and has even worked with the Trump family — from Donald, for his toddler son Barron, 2, to his eldest son, Donald Jr., for his own daughter, Kai Madison, who just celebrated her first birthday.

I can totally sympathize with mothers who dread shopping and searching high and low to find fashionable and trendy items for their little boys — especially after we pass by the surplus of cute girly clothing in the stores.  Cynthia Betterson (pictured with Chuck Nice, below-left) has heard our complaints, however, and founded Ochanga as a result.  An online boutique that carries boys clothing exclusively, Ochanga not only makes all of their clothing and fashion accessories out of quality fabric and materials…It also consistently brings customers an array of internationally designed apparel to suit any mother’s taste.  From dress shirts, to adorable sunsuits, and even matching hats, Ochanga does it all with bright, colorful, bold prints that would be a bonus in any little boys wardrobe.

Recently debuting their spring line at the L.A Baby Celebration Expo, Cynthia  (and her husband!) brought out samples of the collection to the Boom Boom Room.  They were also very generous gifting people not only with some of their coolest shirts, but also with the occasional $75 gift certificate for their online store.

CBB Deal: Ochanga is offering 20% off at ochanga.com with coupon code "CELEBSS08". 

What’s a better way to say thank you than with a bunch of flowers and some mouth-watering treats?  How about with a bouquet of "flowers" from The Baby Bunch or a box of delicious looking cupcakes — both great gifts that are made out of fashionable onesies and tees!  Since our review of The Organic Baby Bunch, the company has come out with some great new products, from boxes of onesie cupcakes to Thanks a Bunch garden and kitchen bunches.  The cupcakes come in bakery-style decorated boxes with 100% cotton onesies in pink, blue, yellow, and/or white for any baby 0-6 months old (or up to 16-pounds.)  The price of these bakery specials depends on how many cupcakes you want delivered — two onesie cupcakes for $20, four onesie cupcakes for $34, or a big box of six onesie cupcakes for $49 — all of which come in the bakery box tied with a ribbon so you don’t have to worry about last-minute gift wrapping!  The garden bunch goes for $32 and comes with 100% cotton garden gear (apron, garden gloves, bandanna, tote, and a pail), all in a celery green color with pink trim.

In addition to the celebrities who stopped by to check out The Baby Bunch at the Boom Boom Room, The Baby Bunch has been working with Jewels and Pinstripes to include these bouquets in the "Let’s Hear it For The Boys" and "New Girls in Tinseltown" gift baskets for new parents such as Julia Roberts, Jenna Elfman, Nancy O’Dell, Tiger Woods, and Keri Russell. 

Check back tomorrow for more of our favorite vendors — this time from Missy!