the good, the bad & the downright ugly

So the Baby Expo. I say nothing, but my eyes speak volumes.
And as you can't see my eyes I'll have to elaborate.

Starting from the middle: the bad.

I'm probably going to get slammed for this one but I'm going ahead anyway. I HATE BARNEY.

I try hard not to judge (honestly, I really do) but I hate that purple dinosaur. I don't see any real value in introducing him into one's kid's life, I see no real education, I see nothing but problems (and a bit of sadness) with one's kids becoming so violently brand conscious at such a young age and I spent the weekend seeing so, so many kiddies melting down at the Expo because the Barney show hadn't started yet, or had just ended, or had hyped them into a stupor or hurt their ears.
I'm not just being a hater, I've thought this through. And what I saw (and heard at 1000 decibels), this weekend just confirmed it for me, I hate that guy.

The good.

Some totally gorgeous Cape Town design. I mentioned last week that Skinny laMinx was there. Blossom Creations and The Little Fire Company were two other stands stuffed with simply gorgeous baby, mama and kiddie products.
I saw so much beauty, ingenuity and inspirational local talent. Such confirmation that baby & kiddie products needn't be bedazzled, cartoon-infested or screamingly red, yellow and blue.

But instead,

~ maroon ~ 

baby sling from Blossom Creations

 ~ primrose ~

baby bag from The Little Fire Company

and

~ verdigris ~

smock dress from Skinny laMinx

 

 And as for the downright ugly ...

I was considering using this one for a nice or naff post but the naff-ness was too undeniable. 

Shopping trolley pouches. 

I'm not including images as I don't want to single out any one company here. We're all trying to make a living in this crazy world (shut it Barney, you've made enough dough to be fair game ok?), google it if you really want to have the experience.

The ones I saw this weekend were not particularly attractive at all but the ugly part is actually this, taken from actual marketing material:

'Shopping Trolleys have more germs than toilet seats.'

'Doesn't your child deserve a more Comfortable and Cleaner shopping experience?

Oh because the producers of these monstrosities are just sooooo concerned about your child's health and safety? Because as parents we really need more things to worry about?

By all means view shopping trolleys with suspicion. Keep your baby in a pouch or pram, swab the whole thing down with antiseptic wipes (which btw most big grocery stores offer these days), purchase a trolley pouch or fashion your own, but please, please don't let companies lure you with fear.

That's just ugly.