Brothers Netta and Avner Shalgi set out to create a simple, handmade, durable, eco-friendly wooden toy that would combine nostalgia and creativity - and they have succeeded. Now using kickstarter for funding, My Wooden Horse is a beautifully designed functional pull or push toy for children that is also a keepsake in an era when toys lose their shelf life in a matter of years.
Made up of more than 40 individual pieces, the toy horse is completely made out of wood, except for the ears and tail which are made of real leather. It moves just like a horse does and comes in a stunning array of color options.
Brothers Netta and Avner Shalgi made numerous observations on various types of horses. Sketching its elegant movement, muscle structure, and general pose led to the final proportions for the horse. Since every single part of My Wooden Horse is handmade using all wooden pieces, it is not feasible to manufacture them quickly enough for the amount of people who request them. This is where Kickstarter steps in.
Once they reach their goal on Kickstarter, they will have enough capital and resources to manufacture them at an industrial level, therefore providing them to everyone who wants one without having to skimp on quality.
Details from their kickstarter pitch:
Design
We made numerous observations on various types of horses. Sketching its elegant movement, muscle structure, and general pose led to the final proportions for our horse. We changed and stretched some of the characteristics as a means of encouraging its iconic “toy” and “humoristic” attributes.
Since each horse in the wild varies from color to color making each one unique, so can My Wooden Horse. The soon-to-be My Wooden Horse owner gets to choose among several options for their horse including the type of wood and, if they wish, what color of paint for their horse. For the client who prefers a natural wood finish, they have three options of wood to choose from: maple, oak, and beech.
Once the client chooses his or her color and wood combinations, we make an illustration and send to the client for approval.
Material
Each horse, unless specified otherwise, is made from high-quality, sturdy maple. However, if someone wishes a different type of wood, such as beech,oak or walnut, we are happy to meet their needs. While proceeding to industrial scale manufacturing we now have to consider many other factors such as factory location, availablilty of local raw material, costs and wood weight for shipment. According to the factory we shell work with- we will make a decision regarding our raw material for the horses.
Sustainable and Eco-Friendly
They will only work with factories that use 100 percent eco-friendly products in the creation of each My Wooden Horse. All of the materials used will be made from sustainable resources; every time a tree is cut down, two more are planted. They also understand that happy employees make for happy horses, so they take pride knowing every employee is treated with the utmost respect.
Cutting
Each horse is assembled from more than 30 pieces, which essentially means there is a lot of cutting to be done throughout the process. For a single order, we cut it all manually. Though for a larger order, we use CNC milling to get a series of parts.
Shaping
It's a great joy to transform a raw chunk of wood into a perfectly smooth toy. The fine finish of each horse is due to the quality of and the amount of sanding that goes into creating each piece. It may take hours of sanding to get each leg, head, and shoe in the desired position and in a perfect shape. Hence, this is the part where most of the time is spent.
Their Moto:
We believe this is important because My Wooden Horse is more than just a toy; it is a way of life. Each horse represents an idea, an emotion. Since My Wooden Horse lasts a lifetime, so too will the memories. My Wooden Horse represents the simple, small things in life that sometimes get overshadowed by the shiny, new, tech-related products out there, but just as quickly as the newest phone model hits the markets, so too do those tech toys lose their allure. My Wooden Horse stores more memory and nostalgia than even the biggest of hard drives. We know everyone will agree!
Help fund My Wooden Horse here (lots of cool goodies for backers!)