Nine months ago we gave away 10,000 B. You Onesies to celebrate our first B.irthday. The response was truly unB.lievable. (Many of you who are reading this right now are probably friends we met on that day.)
In the months that followed, photos of babies wearing the onesies poured in. Each one put a smile on our face as wide as Meowsic's. We received photos of babies B.ing happy, B.ing silly, B.ing sleepy, B.ing peaceful, B.ing curious…but they all had one thing in common. They were B.ing themselves. Which is the best thing any of us can be.
Some of the babies who got these onesies weren't even born at the time we gave them away, but now, 9 months later, they're all here. And they're all part of the B. family.
We put this video together so you could experience the kind of joy we do every time someone sends us a photo. Watch it now. Then bookmark it for a day you need a smile. This video never fails. Just B. Just you. B. you.
Every time we create a new toy we try to challenge convention and defy expectations. (Even our own.) This time we took it to the extreme. We are so excited…after sooooo long…to finally introduce one of the most innovative toys we have ever made. Symphony in B. Just wait until you play with it. You won't want to stop.
When we created this toy we wanted children to feel like the conductor of a world-class symphony. We wanted them to choose instruments one at a time and hear the beautiful music build. We wanted them to recognize that one song can be played hundreds of different ways, depending on which instruments are playing it. But most of all, we wanted kids to have fun and nurture that love of music we all seem to be born with.
Symphony in B. has 13 instruments to choose from. Pick up to 6 at a time and put them in the "orchestra pit" and hear them play together. Then change up the instruments (all of them or one by one) and hear the beautiful, musical transformation. With 15 songs and symphonies to choose from and 13 instruments to play, there are literally millions of gorgeous combinations. You could even play the same song 100 times and not have it sound the same twice. It's truly magical. And addictive.
How does it sound? If you know anything about us, you know we've always eschewed the nasally, synthetic sounds that are typically assigned to children's toys. Yuck, yucky, yuck-yuck. The music of a toy should make kids' hearts sing. (And should make parents' hearts sing, too. The sound of a musical toy should fill the house with the same kind of joy the sound of a child's laughter does.)
So we asked ourselves, can gorgeous, rich music come from a toy made for children as young as 3 years old (and as old as 13…okay 93)? Turns out it can. But it's not easy. :)
We professionally (and meticulously) recorded the rich music of 13 carefully chosen instruments from around the world, including clarinet, flute, tuba, trumpet, xylophone, drums, cymbals, piano, accordion, koto, guitar, violin and sitar. (Do you even know what koto is? You will now!) It's truly gorgeous. We've even programmed lights to teach the sections of an orchestra and show which instruments are woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboards and strings.
Yes, I know. I've gone on and on. (Aren't we allowed to do that about our babies?) But this toy is more than a toy. It's more than we ever thought possible when we set out to create it. It's a revolution. And it's a whole lot of fun.
-Lisa Jobe-Carmack
P.S. This toy is so hard to explain in words we decided to make a video. We invited nieces, nephews, cousins and friends to join our own kids for an all-day Symphony in B. play date. Watch the video above and see (and hear) for yourself.
I couldn't resist snapping a shot of this little guy at Target today. He was so engrossed with Zany Zoo that he climbed right onto the shelf next to it! :)
B. is all in the family and we take any opportunity to share and make merry with kids. And to dress up our logo.
My little sister, Miss Kristine, celebrated Groundhog Day with her students yesterday—and B. was invited to the party. A box full of crayons and seventeen B. stencils got the students in her 2nd grade class skipping down B.eauty-color Avenue to dress up Punxsutawney Phil and his shadow. How wonderfully unique all of our B. stencils became : )
This year Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which means we should expect six more weeks of winter. Maybe it’s time to cross our fingers for a little snow this year, and prepare six weeks of winter activities? Here are a few to get you started: Watch your children bundle dive outside and make snow angels. Go out and make one with them—and don’t forget to get it on camera! Have an acorn hunt. Make maple syrup popsicles. Decorate a snowman/snowgal with Pop-Arty! beads.
Embrace it now because Spring is just around the corner and any white, sparkling snow we get will melt just like ice-cream does on a hot summer’s day.
