When Prince George, the youngest member of the British royal family, was born in 2013, he received a fantastic range of luxurious gifts. But one in particular captured the public attention: a rocking horse from toy manufacturers Stevenson Brothers. Somehow, the rocking horse ticks all the right boxes: it’s an heirloom, a domestic icon, and it carries a sense of childhood past as well as a feeling of continuity. But had the rocking horse become stuck in a 19th-century groove? Well, yes, which is why modish parents everywhere will be delighted that, in recent years, rocking horses have been given a new lease on life. Designer Marc Newson set the ball rolling with Rocky, made in 2012 for the design company Magis. Then came Reggie the Eco Rocker, by Australian designer Shell Thomas, a flat-pack cardboard rocking horse made of tough Ultraboard. But our favorite is Kartell Kids’ H-Horse (pictured) by Canadian/Japanese designer Nendo, rendered in transparent methacrylate. This model has taken the rocking horse to a whole new level of design-buff seriousness. Stylish, innovative, fun… it rocks. kartell.com
