Designs for Mothers Day

When I was pregnant I had this rose-tinted ideal of how my son and I would go shopping together, visit museums and peruse galleries. During the first few months he slept through anything, as long as he was in a stroller, so I managed to take advantage of this, thinking he would grow up to love going to the Museum of Modern Art or the Frieze Art Fair. Fast forward two years and what he loves most is running through museums, touching everything on display in a gallery, and most times, when he has convinced me he may be better out of the stroller than in, he makes a dash for it, with me chasing after him, and the stroller looking like some unfortunate installation. Hence why I believed this passion of mine was on hold until the toddler years would pass.

That is until this weekend when I braved it and went to BKLYN Designs. As one of the anchor fairs of NYCxDESIGN, BKLYN DESIGNS showcases Brooklyn’s finest designers, makers and brands. It's a relatively easy drive from Westchester and there's ample street parking, so we went along as my husband would entertain our son while I would get to wander around and get to see everything from modern heirloom furniture and artistic lighting to sustainable surfacing and handmade accessories.

With the show running over Mother’s Day weekend, the organizers have cleverly incorporated kids into their design-centric programming to ensure the show caters for all ages. From entering our son quickly dove straight into Rockwell Group’s popular Imagination Playground of architectural blocks and when he needed a break the table and chairs had pens, which  encouraged guests to draw all over. Perfect for a toddler although he was initially perplexed why he could this.

The fun didn't end there for him, as a train fanatic he was entranced by the graffiti subway light fixtures and overjoyed when they gave him a wooden train whistle to take home. As we wandered through the show exhibitors welcomed him to try out some of the designs and he enjoyed sitting/rolling around on the seesaw "Rocking Pacman" love seat. We also loved playing with the beanbag toss, while my husband picked up a few last minute gifts at their marketplace.

This show is fun, engaging and perfect for kids. If you don’t want to do the usual mother’s day brunch I suggest taking this drive into Brooklyn. It’s a fun experience and all 3 of us came home having enjoyed our time there.

BKLYN Designs is at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint and runs until May 8, 2016!