Giulia Rocking Horse, 2008 by Pininfarina Extra, as featured in Design for Children

Cool Designs for Cultured Kids – The Giulia Rocking Horse

Can you afford kids and a Maserati? Then try this stylish Italian toy featured in new book Design for Children

Most new parents would be well advised to avoid the allure of high-end Italian motoring – a sports car is something to be forgone, at least in the early years, in favour of giving the kids a solid start in life. (Once they've flown the nest you'll owe it to yourself to blow their inheritance on an outrageously expensive set of wheels).

There is, however, one Italian car designer that does produce an affordable ride for young families, as our new book, Design for Children, explains.

“Since 1930, Pininfarina has been synonymous with exceptional automobile design, having given shape to many of the Fiats, Ferraris, Alfa Romeos and Maseratis that we’ve come to love over the years," writes author Kimberlie Birks.

"In 1986, Pininfarina Extra was founded to bring their touch to things outside of the car sector – like Giulia. Carved from sustainable cedar, the rocker comes in both a coupe and a sedan version. Unlike its turbo-charged counterparts, however, this ride celebrates the organic, using no unnatural finishes or toxic glue. Cracks and fissures that appear in the wood over time merely contribute to the unique look of each piece.”

 

Design for Children
Design for Children

Keen to find out more about children's product and furniture design from the Bauhaus to today? Then buy a copy of Design for Children here. It's written by Kimberlie Birks, a New York-based design writer and editor who studied art history at Brown University and design criticism at the School of Visual Arts, where she wrote a graduate thesis on playground design.