Playtime New York Spring '11 Roundup

Right after I visited the ENK Children's Show last weekend, I hopped over to SoHo to see Playtime New York, a smaller show that seems to have replaced Bubble as the New York trade show to spot new, emerging talent in the field of children's apparel and design. Here are some views of the showroom floor:





I didn't have nearly enough time to visit all of the exhibitors, so I focused only on those I'd never seen before. With apologies to those newcomers I wasn't able to meet, here are my top picks:

Bora Bora Baby is selling out quickly of its organic Peter-Pan collared onesies ($28). Peter-Pan collars, by the way, seem to be a hot trend in baby and children's apparel right now. I also like that these onesies, though decidedly "girly," are in a muted brown and blue palette. The hand-drawn illustrations are very sweet, too.


The eco-friendly, Indian-inspired decor of Mirasa Design is the brainchild of Aashumi Shah, an experienced textile designer who was inspired by her infant niece to make safe, colorful toys and home accessories for children ("Mirasa", by the way, means "heritage" in Hindi). I love the rich texture and unisex colors of these pieces, as well as the variety of Aashumi's work (check out those cute wrist rattles, gift cards, and onesies!).



Parisian designer Le Marchand D'etoiles caught my eye with celestial-themed layette pieces. Only the French would put a fur vest over a footed onesie, right?




Zolima is a new French designer of retro-Asian-chic children's apparel and accessories. I especially liked those mini suitcases.



These sweetly-patterned accessories by European designer Lale are tough to track down online; I found them at a UK store called Melijoe. Pure eye candy!


And I still have more finds from the ENK show to share with you....look for them later this week!