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Baby Show: Pregnancy. Baby. Toddler
Time warp – 21 years of the Baby Show
15 August 2014
The Baby Show began 21 years ago in 1993, so let us briefly take you back in time. 1993 was the year of songs with
exclamation marks like ‘Whoomp! There It Is’ by Tag Team and ‘Boom! Shake the Room’ by The Fresh Prince. There were
songs so difficult that the people who sang them then, can’t sing them now, like Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love
You’. And Prince changed his name to a symbol and became ‘The Artist Formerly Known As Prince’. Happy days.
'Jurassic Park’ made $357,067,947 at the US box office, ‘Power Rangers’ first hit TV screens, and ‘Cheers’ finished its
award-winning run. It was the year that gave birth to the Internet – but also Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Liam Payne
from One Direction. Go figure.
Meanwhile in Auckland, the Baby Show took its first shuffling steps towards becoming New Zealand’s biggest, most
popular, and longest-running parenting event.
Baby First has been at every show
Baby First exhibited at that very first Baby Show and every show since then. Bruce Nuttall from Baby
First reckons the products on show in 2014 are streets ahead of their 1993 equivalents.
“Buggies, prams, baby carriers, and other essential products are generally safer, stronger, lighter,
and better value for money than they were when we started with the Baby Show,” says Bruce. “We’re
selling Lillebaby Carriers this year and they’re simply amazing. You can wear them on your front, hip,
or back, with baby facing in or out, right from newborn up until they weigh about 20kg.”
Natures Sway turns 21 this year too
Kate Hornblow made her first Natures Sway baby hammock in 1993 for her firstborn, Madelynn. Now
Madelynn is 21 years old and works the Natures Sway stand at The Baby Show alongside her mum.
“I used to sell baskets at the Titirangi Market and I just hung Madelynn up in the hammock in the
tree behind me. People loved it so I started making more of them and we now retail in Denmark
Japan, and Australia,” says Kate. “We started exhibiting at the Baby Show in 2002. Back then our
natural, organic approach was unusual but now people are much more interested in natural products,
particularly when it comes to their precious children.”
Plunket & Huggies have been together 21 years
Well, actually 22 years – they celebrated the 21st anniversary of their partnership last year. And this year they have
teamed up to create the amazing Huggies & Plunket Parent Room, a welcome oasis where parents can change and feed their babies, take a wee breather, and
test-drive the latest nappies from Huggies featuring the new DryTouch layer.
Yes, everything seems to have got bigger and better since 1993. But when it comes to products, services, advice, and
info about everything to do with babies and young children one thing hasn’t changed: the Baby Show is the best place to
find it all.
ENDS