scene

On Nov. 29th this staid convention center in Ohio became a tween hot spot for one night. The parents evidently hadn't read the news saying they'd spend less on tweens this season.

A Bar Mitzvah took over a ballroom and conference rooms as Guitar Hero, a "tattoo parlor," video karaoke, a DJ and a full sit-down dinner rolled out. I suspect that this child didn't just get the predicted books and board games as gifts, either.

I was there for the other end of the age spectrum. My 83-year-old widowed father was getting married. Some of our younger guests (under 35) went next door to get tattooed.

Look at me, I'm a designer!

You can design for your avatar in your favorite virtual world, and you can do the same for your tween girl self at Fashionology LA. Not only that, you can model it and show your creation and yourself on large screens throughout the store. As soon as you grow out of that, you'll grow into your personally-designed Lill Street bag.

Kids always say "I do it self!" The business of creating a platform and letting the young customers create content is not just for them, but they'll lunge for it fastest.

Universal tweens

While in London, I visited a family in Hammersmith Barnes: 11-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister--lovely, sociable kids living with a single Anglo-Guyanese mother.

They were perfect tweens. The boy loved his Wii, the Simpsons, soccer stars, and Playstation.The girl loved her iPod, Ashlee Simpson, Brittany Spears, Jamelia and Hannah Montana.

I offered them an Edgar & Ellen "Rare Beasts" Book. The boy's eyes lighted up. "I LOVE them!" He said. He had found Edgar & Ellen's "Under Town" and "High Wire" in his school library.

Now I'm crossing my fingers that Edgar joins Bart in his heart. And that his mainstream tastes predict that the twins will catch the big tween wave.

Axe Deodorant and Disney Cars

My favorite image from Kid Power this year was Wynne Tyree's picture of a tween boy's dresser. It answers the question, "what is a tween boy?" Answer: he's halfling ricocheting between boyhood and lady's man. The Disney Cars in the center of his dresser, he tried to hide from the photographer. He proudly displayed the Axe.