New supplier P'Kolino makes debut
By Gerri Hunt -- Kids Today, 1/1/2006
Woburn, Mass.— Entrepreneurs Antonio Turco-Rivas and J.B. Schneider, friends who met while working on their MBAs, are launching a new company, P'Kolino, which merges high-end products with functionality for children.
"We analyzed the market and decided long-term that we want to own the playroom," said Schneider, the marketing force of the pair.
"There are a lot of low-end plastic products that were very activity-oriented but not very attractive, and there are high-end products that are attractive but not very activity-oriented."
The partners decided to go high-end and functional, making furniture that will grow with children. They approached the Rhode Island School of Design and sponsored a class of 20 students who designed several products, including an indoor play table, to be launched late this month.
It's a modular product constructed of bent maple, high-density foam, high-end stain and water repellent fabric and Naugahyde, and it includes a table, two benches and a series of toy kits. The standard package will retail for $1,000.
The table can be set at two levels, either to grow with the child or to accommodate younger and older children at the same time. "It adds organization to the playroom, and helps clean the clutter out of there," said Schneider.
P'kolino also plans to launch an innovative storage ottoman that can be stacked three high and covered with a slipcover to make the pile look like a castle spire or a tree, with a target retail of around $170.
