Milan 2016: the latest designer rocking horse comes from Stockholm studio Front, which has based its minimal design for Gebrüder Thonet Vienna on an old bent-wood chair from the furniture brand's archive.
Front has designed the Furia rocking horse for the company first established by German designer Michael Thonet in 1819, which has a long tradition of working with bent wood.
Influenced by this history, the designers applied features of the iconic 1860s Thonet Rocking Chair to a piece suitable for a child.
"For the Furia rocking horse we have been inspired by the classic well-known Thonet Rocking chair," Front co-founder Anna Lindgren told Dezeen. "We wanted to create a piece inspired by the rocking motion, and we were inspired to make something that Thonet didn't have in its collection already." "A rocking horse is an old toy that has been loved by children through history," she added. "Pieces of furniture by Thonet are often passed on in the family, and we wanted to bring together the long legacy of the company with a new generation."

Related story: Front revisits Gebrüder Thonet Vienna's roots to design bent-wood furniture

Lindgren stressed the importance of designing for younger generations, with many toys currently on the market being made from "poor materials and of a poor quality".
"We think people are looking for toys that are more durable," she said. "Today the activities in th...