On this blog, we talk a lot about horses. Of course we do – it’s our bread and butter, building and selling portable horse barns and sheds. But every so often we like to touch upon other aspects of horse culture that we find fascinating, and that includes rocking horses, that classic toy of the Victorian era that seems to be a mainstay in every kids’ bedroom on a historical house tour. These beautiful handcrafted toys are making a comeback, if this Forbes article is correct.
Mark Ewing writes about twin brothers Marc and Tony Stevenson, makers of high-quality pedal cars and rocking horses. Since the early eighties, the brothers have been determined to make rocking horses popular again. In Marc’s words, “We wrote our three goals on the shed wall. First, to reintroduce the rocking horse as a toy for today. Next, to be the best rocking horse makers in the world. And finally, to inspire others to discover their own creativity.”
So far, their goals have been realized, as they have produced more than 8300 rocking horses and similar handcrafted horses, including a carousel for the Sultan of Brunei. Their list of clientele is certainly impressive and from all accounts it seems that they have indeed played a large role in making rocking horses cool again.
For more information on the brothers and their rocking horses, read the Forbes article. It’s always exciting to talk about interesting horse stories, regardless if the horses are real or not! Because even rocking horses can inspire creativity and spirituality in us.