A little while ago my designer friend Meta and I went antique shopping (one of my favorite things to do with her! I love the hunt and that girl can find hidden wonders most people miss) and she spotted this fabulous vintage rocking elephant. We talked about how it was perfectly Playful French Industrial and that I couldn’t live with out it. I agreed. But decided I would let it sit and see if it was still there the next time I came back.

Well not two days later Meta shows up at my door with this perfectly weathered wooden pachyderm! Best friend ever! And she was right. It was meant to find a home with us.

And we love this guy. You can tell a lot of love went into making him. His trunk actually moves back and forth with a hinge too. So cool! I love finding toys made by hand. They are so special and rare these days. It used to be almost common place for parents to build toys for their kids. I love it when we can bring a bit of that magic – that history – back into our homes today.

This guys a bit hefty but we’ve come to love that aspect of him too. The boys can actually comfortably sit on him as well and will often perch here while watching a movie. It’s pretty cute.

And I love that Miss M adores Mr Elephant and her new birthday rag doll Maggie. We made a felt ball necklace for her and have a number of outfits in mind. We also made a little sleeping bag that she goes into right next to Miss M each night. She calls her “baby” and its super adorable. Pretty much a bowl full of doll playing dreams coming true over here. And I’m not going to lie…I’m loving it.