Besides being the land of sun-filled nights and $25 Whopper meals [seriously], Iceland was the land of Stokke surprises.
First (and second) were the Super-sized and Happy Meal-sized Tripp Trapp high chairs. But then at the same Fifa baby store in Reykjavik, we spotted this amazing-looking Stokke rocking toy perched on top of some boxes in the corner.
The sales people didn't know anything about it except the price (around $150 after VAT refund), and it was the only ony one (and a little shopworn). If they'd had the box for it, I would've seriously considered packing that bad boy home.
Turns out it's called the Stokke Hippo, and it's something of a mystery. It's clearly for sale in the UK and other EU countries, but there's no mention of it anywhere on the Stokke corporate site.
It's an inspired design, though; the arcs look awesome and work really nicely together. It's got some obvious similarities to the classic Creative Playthings Hobby Horse, with two main differences: the top bent ply arc is inverted, and DWR didn't knock this one off.
The Stokke Hippo comes in two sizes, and in natural birch or an odd multi-color combination. Back in Action sells the small version for £129 [backinaction.co.uk]
Google shows the Hippo has turned up on eBay, but I don't see one at the moment. But you can check in periodically on Stokke-related auctions on eBay. [ebay.com]
