Ohmygosh, you guys -- one of you should have warned me that I needed to be training like a triathelete in order to keep up with trade show life! We've been on the go from about 5 am till midnight or so the past two days. It's not all filming time, of course, but prepping and prepping and prepping some more. In between that and the filming, I've been trying really hard to get to all the vendors I already know and love as well as newer vendors -- and there are so many! There is an entire section of the bottom floor dedicated to entirely new vendors.
One of my favorites from yesterday (the official day 1) is from Born Out of Necessity -- also known as bo2n. You might remember seeing the reviews we've written on both ePregnancy and BabyTV, and we recently featured them in the 
PoshCravings Baby Shower Gift Guide. We all are just completely smitten with their diaper bags -- and yesterday Beth, the owner and designer, showed me one of her new prototype bags -- it wasn't even a completely finished prototype. The lining wasn't all there yet, but it really didn't matter -- the bag is absolutely to die for. The material is the most buttery-soft leather I've ever felt, and Beth has smartly tapped into the resurgence of the hobo bag trend with this piece. The leather is soft enough to give you that really nice slouch, but the way the strap is manufactured gives the bag enough structure to keep it from 
being a complete loose pile of leather. It also includes the Mylar waterproof pocket that we loved about the larger diaper bags. One of the pieces I inspected also included a new cell phone pocket -- attached to a fob and completely detachable. And, it's plenty big enough to hold your Blackberry or the new iPhone. But the best, most ab-fab part (as with many of the bags I've seen here) is the hardware. It's simply stunning and I've never seen anything like it. (I hope you can see it well enough in the picture -- I was having some minor camera malfunctions -- but that's better than a "wardrobe malfunction"
) I'm thrilled that Beth brought these pieces to the show. They are every bit as thoughtful and beautiful as the other bags I've seen from her -- and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!
I am so excited for you all to see the filming that we did yesterday and today. Yesterday's footage is already running on BabyTV.com -- there are some really great pieces from Metro Mama (super-cute blinged out baby wraps), UppaBaby (great strollers), Orbit Baby (more great strollers), Cleanoz (finally, an alternative to the bulbous blue aspirator we're all familiar with!), and so much more.
I wish I was able to snap pictures of all the ultra-fashionable pregnant women I'm seeing here -- and forget that, just the fashionable non-pregnant ones! I am in complete awe of the women who are able to run around this trade show all day in their 3-inch Prada heels -- I feel like I'm barely making it in my Crocs! (Who, by the way, are also here, with a brand new line of Jibbitz, and some really cute new kids' designs). But, back to the point, I think it would make a fab "real woman" fashion piece. Or, even better, I'd love to have you all tell me what you are wearing! I'm seeing lots of clothes that I suspect are regular clothes re-purposed as maternity clothes. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about the bag, and what the heck you are wearing these days!
'til next time....
-m