Starting school is exciting for all children – and sometimes even more so for parents. It’s the fact that it signals the start of a new phase in the lives of children that makes it something very special. Thus the focus is also very much on the products required for this. On display at Insights-X, which took place in Nuremberg from 5 to 7 October 2022, were interesting products aimed at first graders and older schoolchildren for the coming academic year.
That’s the motto at German publishing company Häfft, which has issued a creative album containing plenty of space that parents and schoolchildren can fill in themselves. This way, they can record all the wonderful memories of starting school and the child’s first year there. And since school life also includes all their new school friends, they, too, can immortalise themselves in small profiles in the album. The child-friendly design with chic glitter foil on the cover will delight first graders. The album (148 mm x 210 mm) has a sturdy hard cover and the 48 pages are made of extra thick FSC-certified 170 g paper that was printed in a climate-neutral way.
In Germany, the first day of school includes the famous “school cone” (see image) that every new child proudly carries to school. Many parents would like to give their offspring a very special one, which is why they like to get creative themselves. Since making the school cone itself as well as the pretty bow can be quite a challenge, Roth offers school cone blanks and ready-made bows in various colours. LED technology integrated into the bow makes it shine even more brightly. Besides that, 3D stickers relating to various themes are also available, so that, thanks to this modular system, a large variety of different school cones can be created.
Schoolchildren’s satchels are often very heavy and even the youngest suffer from the weight hanging off their shoulders. Gianluca Siciliano wanted to change this and, together with osteopaths and physiotherapists, developed a two-piece school bag. With his "Frontbag", the storage space (and thus the weight) is distributed on the chest (one third) and on the back (two thirds). Thanks to the patented Frontbag-Easy-Click 4-buckle system, the bags can easily be put on and taken off on either side of the body. The Frontbag CoolTM system on the inner surfaces close to the body ensures breathability and the hip belt makes it easy to adjust the satchel to the correct body size. Reflectors on the sides together with the cheerful bright colours make it shine at any time of day or night.
The Made to Last brand from Kstationery has thought about the fact that children quickly get all excited about a certain trend, only for their enthusiasm to wane fast soon after. So that they use the school satchel for longer, two removable panels with different designs on them are included with every purchase; they can also be bought separately. The bag also has some impressive functional features, e.g. a reinforced, breathable and ergonomic back and reflective details for good visibility. It can be adjusted to suit different body sizes. It also has a laptop compartment, separators for small accessories, a removable keychain ribbon and side pockets for water bottles.
With its "Beach Happy" and "Galaxy Girl" themes, Papermnt wants to spread happiness and good vibrations among schoolchildren, especially girls. That’s why the Beach Happy school products come in bright neon colours and shiny materials and feature statements such as "sun, sand, the sea and me" or "don’t worry, beach happy". The Galaxy Girl collection in soft pastel colours and smooth colour gradients on shiny surfaces emits "good vibes" – because emotional slogans in trendy colours are still popular with the cool kids.
Children’s wishes and parents’ demands change over the course of a child’s time at school. The products presented above reflect this, both in terms of shape and design.
About the author
Gabriela Kaiser has been the owner of a trend agency since 2002, after working 6 years as designer for knitwear. She visits trade fairs as a trend scout and gives lectures there. She advises companies from industry and trade on upcoming trends and writes regularly for various trade magazines.
