Voices
Save the date: the can’t miss Earnshaw’s conference 
A staple of Playtime & Kid’s Hub New York, we look forward to the can’t miss conference hosted by our partner Earnshaw’s Magazine every season. For winter 23, we couldn’t be more excited to talk about the new buzzword in the kids’ fashion and lifestyle industry: COMMUNITY! You want to grow your brand? Look around you. Your community just might be your biggest asset. Time to get on the community flywheel, where consistent investments in your brand’s fans can produce outsized results in sales and loyalty.
We’ll answer questions like: How can you use in-person and digital techniques (Facebook Groups, Instagram and Discord) to drive sales and build brand loyalty? What makes for a great community? What attracts people and gives your community staying power? How do you start that community flywheel?Moderated by Jennifer Cattaui, owner of Babesta and consultant for The Big Small Show in New York, this seminar cannot be missed! Seating will be limited, so RSVP to join us February 14th at 8:00am in the Restaurant.
Kara has been passionate about bringing communities together since she was a kid, and has been doing so professionally for nearly 10 years. Prior to Facebook, Kara built and scaled communities for brands and organizations in media (theSkimm), mental health (The Shine App, recently acq. by Headspace), and higher education (Alpha Delta Pi Sorority). She has driven online and offline community experiences that support a variety of business functions from user acquisition and growth to grassroots marketing and product development. Now at Meta, Kara gets to support and empower fellow community leaders, creators, and businesses in building and growing meaningful communities of their own.
Erin is a seasoned childrenswear expert and heads up the WGSN kidswear division. She has over a decade in brand strategy and design development, distilling ever-changing market trends into actionable insights and forecasts for clients. With a background in design at Target, Aeropostale, and Dickies, Erin has an innate understanding of a brand’s needs from both a design and strategy perspective, including data-driven analytics, retail planning, brand licensing, and the creation of WGSN’s Future Forecast reports.
Kevin is the Co-Founder, CEO, and President of Rylee + Cru Inc. Self-employed for 40 years in graphic design, apparel design, apparel production, sales, and distribution, Kevin is currently working on the overall growth and operational strategies for The Rylee + Cru Collective of brands.
Kelly is the Brand Manager, CMO, and Sales Director for Rylee + Cru Inc. Kelly is involved in all aspects of brand development with an emphasis on marketing strategies, domestic sales, marketing platform development, and e-commerce user experience.
Alana is an 18-year marketing and strategic communications veteran with a specialty in high-growth startup brands. She most recently served as a senior member of the team that sold Bai Beverages to Dr Pepper Snapple for $1.7B. Prior to that, Alana was a VP at Flywheel Sports and DreamDry after many years in the agency world.
A graduate of the Booth School of Business, Cheryl has held key management roles in businesses serving the children’s market. She was formerly the Vice President of Sales & Operations at Fridababy and Head of Sales & Operations at littlehipstar, a European e-commerce concept shop.
Read more in our article all about Alana, Cheryl, and State of Kid here!
Jennifer is the founder of Babesta, a retail and ecommerce shop serving city kids based in lower Manhattan. She works with the Playtime team each season to arrange the seminar, media and editorial content. A lawyer by profession, she has worked as a legal consultant, editor and fellow at a venture fund. She is passionate about retail and is always looking to what’s next and is patiently waiting for technology to crack the code of scaling service without losing authenticity and the personal touch.
With so much expertise on the panel, we’re all sure to be experts at community building after this can’t miss conference! Get your pass to visit Playtime & Kid’s Hub New York, and please email madeline@iloveplaytime.com to reserve your seat if you would like to attend the Earnshaw’s conference Tuesday, February 14th at 8:00am in the Restaurant.
