The Gift Show

I covered the International Gift Fair this week as I do every year. What is it? An insanely ginormous biannual exhibition at the Javitz Center in NYC that attracts more than 40,000 buyers from around the world. It's not open to the public, only registered wholesalers, retailers and editors. More than 2,300 vendors display, and I've heard there's a 3+ year waiting list. The show should take 3 days. But I'm a FAST talker and even FASTER walker who knows what she likes, so I squeezed it all into 10 nonstop hours racing the floor and chatting it up with select artists and business people who work with products that I deem smart, original, cool, or just plain beautiful. I wouldn't slow down for any booth that didn't have the WOW FACTOR. It isn't all pretty. But the good stuff is REALLY good and makes up for the rest. I'm in pain now, as I dragged a 200-pound suitcase {full of press kits} four avenues over, six blocks down, four flights down stairs at Penn Station, another two down a nonworking escalator at Secaucus, and onto my train where I met up with my Sweets. So when I recover, I will share my fabulous finds for kids with you here at Buby's Place.