Junior Chefs

It's out with the old and in with the . . . old? Well, not quite. But at the 124th California Gift Show in Los Angeles recently, there seemed to be far less new under the sun than you might expect. Indeed, regular readers of this column wouldn't have been surprised to see merchandise adorned with the likes of Winnie the Pooh and Curious George, as well as an invasion of alien products. Perhaps for us earthlings, nothing works so well as the tried and true. A roundup of what's out there:

• The spirit still moves us: As we move ever closer to the millennium, our fascination with all things spiritual continues. An Eastern influence, in particular, was seen in the prevalence of such New Age perennials as the yin/yang symbol.

• What do you know? With so many educational toys designed to boost kids' musical, scientific and analytical thinking skills, it's clear retailers are riding the crest of a major learning curve.

• A picture is worth a thousand frames: Although it's been developing for some time now, the trend toward artistic picture frames in varied shapes, colors and materials remains strong.

• Happy days are here again . . . and again . . . and again: Every time we think we've seen the last of that little yellow smiley face, it crops up again--on accessories, jewelry and other products. If this gift show is any indication, the happy face will continue to beam its way into stores for the foreseeable future.

This article was originally published in the April 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Junior Chefs.