The Hippo was born in 1955. Its main function everyday was to keep track of Kay Bojesen’s sketching pencil. For decades, the animal universe of Kay Bojesen has united children and adults in endless hours of storytelling and day dreaming. The Hippo is made of white oak. It is an exact replica created from Kay Bojesen’s original drawings.
Material untreated oak or painted beech
Natural oak - 21,5 x 5,5 x H9 cm
Black - 26,5 x 6,5 x H12,5 cm
Kay Bojesen
Kay Bojesen is famous for his wooden figures but it is widely unknown that Kay Bojesen was in fact a silversmith. He started his career as a silversmith with Georg Jensen and has designed both jewellery, cutlery and silverware. Interest in wood was sparked after the birth of his son Otto. This inspired his fascination with children's play and most importantly wooden toys.
Kay Bojesen began experimenting with wooden materials and soon he had created a series of wooden animals that would inspire children through play. For Kay Bojesen, it was important that the animals were not very realistic in order to trigger children's imagination. For this reason, his motto was "the lines should laugh".
Kay Bojesen is considered one of Denmark's foremost designers and when he died at the age of 72, he left a big legacy behind. A legacy of design icons like the classic wood pan, zebra, puffin and the pair of doves ‘Lovebirds’.