HABA enters furniture category
By Gerri Hunt -- Kids Today, 10/1/2007
HABA, traditionally known for its high-quality toys, introduced four juvenile beds at the ABC Expo last month.
"Our toys are really rockin.' They're all wood and still made in Germany," said Lea Culliton, vice president, sales and marketing. "But people kept asking us to make furniture."
It was a natural fit, as HABA was already making furniture for schools, not to mention bedroom accessories.
"[The furniture] is really durable," Culliton said.
The bed designs take their cues from Germany, where the furniture is manufactured with native beech and birch wood. The company couldn't just export German beds because their sizes are different.
"We made these especially for the U.S. market and its twin mattresses," Culliton said. "In Germany, there are loft beds with slides coming down from the second level."
While HABA's beds aren't quite as drastic, they certainly are fun.
"They are platforms with slats screwed on, for breathability," she said.
The Cozy Cabin provides three units in one: a cabin, a twin-size bed and a play area. Just move the mattress platform out of the way and the child can play inside or pull in a chair and read. Fabric covers the top.
Spring Dream is a simple platform bed for girls with short poles sticking up, topped with fabric flowers and fruit, plus two pedestals to hold items like a clock and a book. Its little-boy counterpart is Fantasy Voyage, with creatures and vehicles on the poles. Roll-out drawers on casters offer under-bed storage, and can be purchased separately.
The final bed is Garden Chalet, a whimsical wonderland with strands of pink fabric roses strewn about and a "flower pouch" for storing special items. When the child grows, the platform bed can be used as a stand-alone piece.
HABA had a Garden Chalet desk on display as well, but desks for the other collections are not available yet.
HABA also is developing dressers for the bedrooms.
The beds are shipped in pieces, but Culliton said they are easy to put together. "Cozy Cabin arrived in three boxes (to the ABC Kids Expo) and it only took a half hour to build," she said.
Spring Dream, one of HABA's new beds, has fabric flowers and two pedestals to hold a book or clock.
