Giggle Gear Collection™

It’s time to “Get Your Green On!” BellyLaf has added our new green logo to our Giggle Gear Collection now available at Cafepress. Check out this latest design and other fun taglines too! If you have some ideas for us, feel free to contact us.

Thirsty?

More often than not, I find myself disappointed when I enter most retail stores searching for cool contemporary designs, only to be presented with the same old drab concepts. Several years ago when I was designing the nursery for my baby girl, I was astonished that all I was offered was barnyard, flower and teddy bear motifs. Parents of today are thirsty for chic contemporary designs and products that are functional and affordable.

Bellylaf created SmartShapes™ which encompass developmental geometric shapes, cool contemporary colors and when combined together create cheeky, playful characters. No more primary colors! What’s wrong with yummy lime green or refreshing aqua? BellyLaf’s SmartShapes™ designs are incorporated into our first line of products, Grippees™ and MiniMitts™ wash mitts. As our line of products expand so will the birth of new exciting designs and products.

Practical Safety Tips

There are numerous non-profit organizations focusing on ways to keep children safe. For parents who are on-the-go during the summer months, it’s nice to have trusted resources to turn to for tips and advice.
BellyLaf likes an organization called Safe Kids USA, who’s mission is to prevent accidental childhood injury, a leading killer of children under 14. Each year, Safe Kids USA releases a number of research reports and injury facts to help educate the public on childhood injuries. Unfortunately, summer injuries aren’t limited to skinned knees and scraped elbows; they include paralysis, brain damage and even death.

Here are some tips for keeping your children safe this summer:

• Actively supervise children in or around water. Never take your eyes off of your children. Always make sure your children wear life jackets when riding on boats or playing in or near open bodies of water.
  
• Properly secure all children younger than 13 in a back seat for every ride in the car. Keep children in the right type of car seat or booster seat until adult lap and shoulder belts fit them correctly. If you are flying to your destination, bring any car seats with you so your children ride safely in cars while on vacation.
  
• Make sure your children wear a helmet and other protective gear every time they bike, skate, skateboard or ride a scooter. Bring the gear with you if none will be available while you’re traveling.
  
• Bring your own folding playpen rather than using a borrowed crib. If you do use a hotel’s crib, inspect it for broken or missing parts to make sure it is not defective, damaged or even recalled from the market. Visit http://www.recalls.gov/ to check the model number.

Have a safe vacation and keep your summer full of giggles!

LED Lights: Environmentally Friendly

Bellylaf is getting even greener at the 2008 ABC Kids Expo being held in Las Vegas September 7-11, 2008. Our in house design team has been busy creating our trade show Booth (#2134) for our company and product launch and we plan to incorporate environmentally friendly products into our booth design. We have decided to break away from the norm of using standard high wattage light bulbs or even dangerous mercury filled CFL’s. After extensive research, our team selected extremely energy efficient LED lights.

LED lights have a number of benefits:

• LED’s have eight times the efficiency of incandescent lights, and twice as high as compact fluorescent lights
• LED’s emit a much higher percentage of light in the desired direction
• LED’s operate at much lower temperatures. Halogen and incandescent lights are hot enough to cause fire
• LED lights emit no damaging ultraviolet light
• LED’s can operate for 30,000 to 50,000 hours. One LED lightbulb can easily outlast 30 incandescent bulbs, or 6 compact fluorescents!
• LED lights help the atmosphere. Regular light bulbs put carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide and nuclear waste into the landfills and atmosphere
• LEDs light up very quickly and achieve full brightness in microseconds (try that with a CFL)
• POWER CONSUMPTION = at 4–5 V approximately 100 mW. That’s 100 MILIWATTS

Drop by our booth to see Grippees™ and MiniMitts™ — our new lines of wash mitts for kids and adults will no doubt light up the show!

Come “Get Your Giggle On”

Come on out and “Get Your Giggle On!” with BellyLaf at the ABC Kids Expo being held at the Las Vegas Convention Center September 7-11, 2008. If you’re attending the show, please stop by and see what we’re all about and what makes us different from other exhibitors at the show. We’ll be showcasing our new product lines at Booth #2134.

At our booth, you will have a chance to speak with our team about BellyLaf products, Grippees™ and MiniMitts™ wash mitts, exclusive show promotions including our Starter Kit and retailing opportunities. BellyLaf is looking for Retail Partners and Sales Representatives with the desire to provide customers with clever, practical and innovative new products.

The ABC Kids Expo is an industry only show, so if you can’t attend or don’t have a chance to speak with us, please feel free to contact us through our website.

Impractical Outdated Designs

Every time I buy a new wash mitt to bathe my 3 year old daughter, the wash mitt never works as advertised. I have tried countless wash cloths and wash mitts over the years and I’ve encountered numerous problems ranging from massive shrinkage to outdated designs to “durable” fabrics. There have been times when I felt like I might just as well go over to Home Depot and grab some sandpaper!

Square washcloths are problematic because they roll and gather in your hands while most wash mitts seem to be designed as puppets instead of washing aids. A giant duck bill sticking out on the front of a wash cloth is not exactly practical when it comes to cleaning between small little toes. Functionally seems to be an afterthought with most children’s products on the market today.

Pictured:
Impractical Wash Mitt Designs

The desire for a safe, easy and fun way to wash kids has led the team at BellyLaf to design our Grippees and MiniMitts line of wash mitts. Our first product line will launch at the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas and we hope you like them as much as we do.

Hazard: Your Bathroom!

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), each year more children die of unintentional injuries in the home than from all childhood diseases combined. Over 3.4 million children per year are treated in emergency rooms due to household injuries according to Safe Kids USA. In 2004, approximately 2,300 children under the age of 14 died from accidental injuries in the United States. Most of these accidents are preventable - especially if parents are alerted to the hidden hazards in the home.

The bathroom remains one of the most dangerous rooms in the home. The National Safety Council estimates that 200,000+ injuries occur each year in bathrooms due to slips on wet floors and drowning accidents. Young children are particularly vulnerable to serious injuries in the bathroom as they do not fully understand the dangers of slippery surfaces such as marble tile or porcelain tubs. Whether you are a first time parent or an experienced one, keeping bathroom safety top of mind can help reduce the risk of accidental injuries to your children.

Our Passion: Invent And Innovate

BellyLaf is a company with a passion to invent and design innovative and high quality products for children and their parents. The word BellyLaf perfectly represents our company’s brand because of its fun and playful meaning. Our tagline, Get Your Giggle On™, says it all. There is nothing better in this world than to hear the sound of a child’s laughter.

BellyLaf’s patent pending Grippees and MiniMitts wash mitts meet the needs of the modern parent by providing practical, safe and developmental bathing products that excite and delight both children and parents. BellyLaf will expand its product line in 2009 with innovative products that are complimentary to the Grippees and MiniMitts line.