Mini Hunting at NYIGF

It's an egg chair, right? Nope, it's an egg cooker by Christian Ghion for Alessi

I had an exhilarating and exhausting trip to the New York International Gift Fair last weekend at the Javits Center in Manhattan. I spent the better part of Sunday trekking down aisle after aisle, but of course ran out of time and did not see everything. As I've reported in the past, the show is filled with nearly 3,000 major retailers, smaller stores and manufacturers, and independent business owners who aim to share their latest and greatest lifestyle, home, and gift products with buyers and the press. There is so, so, so much to see and absorb, so I try to limit my activity to exhibitors who have miniatures or whose products are transferable to a modern miniature environment.

This time around, I made an appointment with Alessi to see their latest miniature offerings.

Alessi holds a very special place in my heart; my husband and I share a great affinity for their products and even included many of their home products on our wedding registry back in 1998. Alessi products are incredibly inventive, well-made, fun, and are true objects of design. Seemingly "humble" products like a teapot, honey jar, or toothpick holder have such sophisticated lines and materials and always possess some element of humor. Alessi already has a line of miniature versions of some of their most popular products (launched in 2008), like the tea kettle, corkscrew, and fruit holder, which each measure about 3" high. While not fit for a 1:12 environment, they are adorable and very high-quality, and retail for approximately $25-50 per piece.

Courtesy of Alessi

Cute, eh?

This year, based on the success of the mini replicas, Alessi has gone even smaller and has just come out with refrigerator magnets of their popular pieces, which I saw at the show. They measure about 1-1/2 to 2" high and are amazing!

Four snazzy product photos above courtesy of Alessi

What do you think?

Some gorgeous silicone food molds, designed by Mario Trimarchi for Alessi, also caught my eye -- the shapes are architectural and could definitely be transferable to a modern miniature environment (table? stools?).

All food mold photos courtesy of Alessi

Moving on to the Bambu booth, it was great to see additional pieces from their line. I've used their products many times in the past, most recently in this mod nursery post -- look at the crib! It's a salt cellar!

There were some lovely bamboo coasters and pebbles -- lots of potential here!

One of my next stops was the Design Ideas booth, which was filled with many interesting modern wooden trees of all sizes. There were also adorable critters, "Woodland Creatures," meant to be paired with the trees, or arranged on your mantle, or...in your dollhouse, perhaps??!

I also saw this urban stairwell mounted on the wall. I could see using this in a funky loft space...

In addition to these mini finds, a dollhouse took center stage at the show when it was voted one of the "Best New Products": the Plan Toys "Play House," a three-story structure made of rubber wood, which is a wood-like material made entirely of recycled Plan Toy product components. I actually saw the house at the Toy Fair back in February, and was impressed by the materials and construction.

Photo courtesy of the NYIGF

Plan Toys is known as one of the greenest companies around, and this newest product is no exception, especially when you think about how little waste is generated as part of the production. The furniture is quite neat -- here are a few photos from the Toy Fair:

Congrats, Plan Toys!

Last, but not least, was my visit to the AREAWARE booth, where a great Cubebot display greeted visitors:

The massive 2-1/2 foot Cubebot standing in the back is new for fall, as is the Micro Cubebot, which measures about 4-1/4" high! If you are not yet familiar with Cubebots, you should be...designed by David Weeks, the Bot has a cult following. It's no wonder they are sprouting up in different sizes; perhaps they might even go smaller one day???

Stay tuned for a truly exciting opportunity to have some fun with Cubebot. I am working out the details now with AREAWARE 

for a great challenge and giveaway. More information coming in September!

If you've read this far, thanks for sticking with me through my NYIGF tour, 2012! Hope you enjoyed it!