Growing up, my Dad had the coolest stuff. He had beautiful chess sets, cool travel kits from IcelandAir (our relative, Sigurdur, was credited with pioneering the hippie airline), volcanic rocks, fossils, binoculars, and a small stuffed Icelandic horse. The horse was given to him by his father, and his brother had a black one.
Left to right: my father’s horse, mine.
I frequently scour Etsy for Icelandic things, with little results. Is it because it’s such a small country, or are they just so smart that they hold on to their coolest stuff? I’m not sure, but one day a few weeks ago, my clicking labor paid off BIG. I found the beautiful brown Icelandic horse above in the shop Plant Dreaming and had to have it. Of course it’s cool to find something handmade or a piece of affordable art on Etsy, but this will always be my favorite find. The most meaningful.
My family is the best, but I can’t always be with them. I don’t often get to see the Icelandic side of my family that lives scattered across America, let alone have the luxury to visit family in Iceland, but at least I can surround myself with hand-me-downs and this special find to remind myself what’s important and keep myself inspired year after year.
Aw this is a really sweet post. I’m glad you were able to find a little horse of your own.
Such memories. I still have the very same horse in dark grey with a light grey mane! I’m sure it was by the same craftsperson/group. I bought it in the summer of 1969, the first year I crossed the Atlantic to Europe, at the age of 10 on my first trip. That was the summer I saw the man land on the moon on Amsterdam TV and was awestruck by Anne Frank’s attic home and also went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. This trip was via an Icelandic prop-jet, from JFK, with a stop over (for fuel) in Iceland. I wanted the horse so badly and my mother wouldn’t let me get it. For 3 weeks I dreamed of it, and did make the purchase on the ‘stop’ on the way back to the states.