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Articles by Dennis Furlan


TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Baby Gifts (11/1/2007)
Toys from Melissa & Doug and International Playthings will be popular gifts for babies and toddlers during the 2007 holiday season, specialty retailers told TDmonthly Magazine.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Gifts for Girls (11/1/2007)
What will girls want from Santa this year? Webkinz by Ganz are sure to stick around, retailers told TDmonthly Magazine, and younger girls are likely to clutch onto the latest dolls from Corolle and Madame Alexander.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Gifts for Boys (11/1/2007)
Specialty retailers recently told TDmonthly Magazine that popular holiday gifts for young boys this year should include Learning Curve's Percy and Carnival Set as well as action figures from Playmobil and Papo.

Cool Company: Magic Mesh Turned Tape Into a Fortune (11/1/2007)
It‘s not far-fetched to describe Karan Smith's tale of success in the arts and crafts world as a rags-to-riches story.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Card Games (10/1/2007)
Set by Set Enterprises dominates the card games category, according to 32 specialty retailers who recently spoke with TDmonthly Magazine

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Collectible Toys (10/1/2007)
Not surprisingly, Webkinz leads the pack in yet another toy category.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Science and Nature Toys (10/1/2007)
Elenco still snaps up the top prize for best sellers with its Snap Circuits, but Insect Lore and Little Kids Inc. are hovering close by with their butterfly and bug projector offerings, respectively

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Gifts (9/1/2007)
Specialty retailers are selling a wide and eclectic array of gift items to their customers

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Musical Toys (9/1/2007)
Kids are hitting and banging their way to musical joy

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted School Supply Items (9/1/2007)
School supplies bring special challenges to specialty retail

Get These Toys! (9/1/2007)
It's no surprise that Webkinz is the hottest selling line in specialty stores across the country

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Dolls (8/1/2007)
Baby dolls are cute and cuddly, of course, but realism and detail are in demand, too

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Play Houses and Furniture (8/1/2007)
Dollhouses, tents, tables and stoves are selling in the play houses and furniture categories

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Plush (8/1/2007)
It's a zoo in the plush and puppet category, and the Lil'Kinz Gorilla is leading a wild display of exotic animals

H & T Imaginations Is More Than Plush (8/1/2007)
Kids are supposed to eat right, play well and grow up to have healthy bodies and curious minds. Yet, so many of today’s toys are about having fast fingers and eyes

Thank You, Canada! (8/1/2007)
In recognition of the importance Canada plays in the specialty toy market, TDmonthly Magazine spoke with retailers, manufacturers and experts north of the border to find out how much of their business is U.S.-driven, and what the pluses and minuses are.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Action Figures (7/1/2007)
Knights, pirates and even dragons rule, a recent survey of 34 specialty retailers told TDmonthly Magazine

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Die-Cast Toys (7/1/2007)
Realism is a real trend in die-cast, according to 34 specialty retailers TDmonthly Magazine spoke with recently

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Novelty Toys (7/1/2007)
Play Visions keeps stretching the limits of wackiness with the Flower Inside-Out Ball and Flex Net additions to its Hyperflex line

Thank You, Canada! (7/1/2007)
Canadian toy companies and retailers have a close relationship with their counterparts across the border

Boxing's Greatest Delivers Life Lessons With a Punch (6/1/2007)
Games about life are nothing new — we all grew up playing Monopoly, Payday and The Game of Life — but that isn’t stopping Rahn G. Porter from trying to crack into the genre, almost literally.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Licensed Toys (6/1/2007)
Most specialty retailers don't carry licensed toys, but which select few do some of them allow?

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Construction Toys (6/1/2007)
The Star Wars invasion continues, as retailers told TDmonthly Magazine that LEGO remains on top of the construction-toy universe

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Playsets (6/1/2007)
The Playmobil Pirate Micro World rules the high seas of the playset world

Giddy Goose 'n Gander: Imagination at Work (6/1/2007)
Gerry Groundwater, owner and founder of Giddy Goose ‘n Gander Games, is serious about the importance of thinking outside of the box in the games market.

LilyBugs Let Babes Chug-a-lug (5/1/2007)
Founder and CEO Crystal Kane of LilyBugs Inc. admitted to TDmonthly Magazine that she came up with the idea for her company’s baby-bottle covers by chance.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Bath Toys (5/1/2007)
The Alex navy patrols the high seas of bathtubs everywhere

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Infant /Toddler Toys (5/1/2007)
This month, retailers told TDmonthly Magazine that pull toys are pulling their weight in the infant category

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Travel Toys (5/1/2007)
Specialty retailers told TDmonthly that magnets attract attention in the backseats of cars across America

Playmaker: Not Your Typical Monkey Business (4/1/2007)
A screaming monkey flying across the room sort of speaks for itself. And it should, according to President Ernie Wong of Playmaker Toys

Baby Gets a Boom Box (4/1/2007)
Dan Lemay believes he has something that nobody else has in the toy, music or even educational industry

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Outdoor Toys (4/1/2007)
TDmonthly Magazine asked retailers what toys are hot when the weather is, too

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Sleds, Wagons & Trikes (4/1/2007)
According to 38 specialty toy retailers, Plasmart’s Plasma Cars are still one of the hottest new ride-ons out there, but there’s plenty of room for traditional wagons, sleds and trikes

Screaming Monkeys Are Serious Business (3/1/2007)
Ernie Wong, president of Playmaker Toys, believes that toys should speak for themselves. So his scream.

Yackle Ball Gets Folks Moving Again (2/1/2007)
Wanna Yackle? It's not quite a household name yet

TDmonthly's Top-10 New Games (2/1/2007)
Enter the Valley of the Pharaohs. That's what specialty store customers are doing

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Wooden Toys (2/1/2007)
Melissa & Doug is leading the wooden toys category with three toys in our top-10 list

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Games (2/1/2007)
Blokus by Educational Insights and Apples to Apples by Out of the Box continue to dominate the games category

TDmonthly's Top-10 Holiday Sellers (1/1/2007)
Webkinz by Ganz led the movement for interactive toys, according to 30 specialty toy retailers

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Gifts for Girls (12/1/2006)
Manhattan Toy’s Groovy Girls, Calico Critters by International Playthings, and Calin from Corolle prove that doll and critter power rules when it comes to last-minute gift ideas for girls.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Gifts for Boys (12/1/2006)
LEGO and Thomas the Tank Engine are still popular classics that make great last-minute gifts for boys, according to 48 retailers surveyed by TDmonthly Magazine.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Stocking Stuffers (12/1/2006)
Play Visions' Inside-Out Balls and Toysmith's Growing Lizard are just two of the novelty toys that will be peeking out from stockings this year

i-gami Makes Old Tricks New Again (11/1/2006)
What do you get when you combine an ancient art form with modern ingenuity?

Spotlight: Playing Works at The Fun Zone (11/1/2006)
When a new employee was about to start her job at The Fun Zone in Iowa City, Iowa, there was one last thing owner Mark Gauger required

TDmonthly's Top-10 Surprise Hits (11/1/2006)
When TDmonthly Magazine asked 57 specialty toy retailers about some of their surprise sellers of 2006, Webkinz and PlayFoam were the most impressive

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Classics (11/1/2006)
Thomas the Tank Engine keeps chugging along, bringing with him dolls by The Alexander Doll Company and Corolle, construction by K’Nex and plush by Gund

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Games (11/1/2006)
Their broad appeal to both kids and adults is why games such as Educational Insights' Blokus and Out of the Box Publishing's Apples to Apples are best sellers.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Costumes (10/1/2006)
Pirates are big, but Princesses are bigger, 67 specialty toy retailers told TDmonthly Magazine.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Fitness Toys (10/1/2006)
Classic Hop Ball sales are still hopping, as are stomping toys and textured balls, 67 retailers told TDmonthly Magazine.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Plush Toys (10/1/2006)
There's nothing cuddlier than a ... penguin?

i-gami Builds Interest (10/1/2006)
By transforming the ancient art of origami into an easy-to-use plastic building toy, Plastic Play has been turning heads in the toy industry.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Painting Toys (9/1/2006)
Hands down, painting easels are the best-selling art toys, 45 retailers told TDmonthly Magazine.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Foam Toys (9/1/2006)
PlayFoam by Educational Insights is the top-selling foam toy, according to 45 retailers that TDmonthly Magazine surveyed.

TDmonthly's Top-10 Most-Wanted Mini-Toys (9/1/2006)
Manhattan Toy's Groovy Girl Minis are tied with Papo Knights as the best-selling teeny toy, each getting a top-selling nod from 10 of 45 specialty toy-store owners surveyed

TDmonthly’s Top-10 Most-Wanted Cars & Trucks (8/1/2006)
Kids love cars ... and "Cars," too, 24 retailers from across the country reported to TDmonthly Magazine.

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