Five Interesting Facts About Sophie La GirafeBaby by John Pang - November 10, 2015December 18, 20151 Sophie la girafe is the world’s favourite baby teether and it has been entertaining teething babies since 1961. Babies love it as it stimulates all their 5 senses, while parents love it because it’s safe, natural and made in France. Having done extensive research, a lot of parents know a lot about Sophie, but here are some surprising facts about Sophie la girafe that you may not have found out.Sophie was “born” in 1961Sophie was “born” in Asnieres sur Oise, a small town north of Paris in France, in 1961. She was created by Monsieur Rampeau, who was an expert in transforming the sap from the Hevea tree using the rotational moulding of rubber as a toy-making concept. He came up with the idea of designing a giraffe, as such an exotic wildlife figure would be a first on the market. Its size and shape would be ideal for a baby’s small hands to grasp.Rumilly, the home of Sophie la girafeSophie la girafe is still traditionally made today in a town in France called Rumilly . This is a small commune in the south-east of France, near Annecy and Geneva. The locality is beautiful, tranquil and picturesque. Annecy is the capital of the Haute-Savoie region, and is a very popular holiday region for French during summer holidays.Sophie la girafe is still made by hand in the same way as she was back in 1961There are 14 manual steps to make a Sophie la girafe, starting from making of the mould, to packing Sophie into her gift box. Here are some pictures of our visit to the Sophie la girafe factory. Squeaker is added by hand Rough edges are smoothed off by hand Painting the food paint onto Sophie, again by hand Moulds ready to be used to make Sophies Checking the freshly “baked” Sophies Freshly “baked” Sophies Latex is poured into the moulds, and loaded into the rotomoulding wheel behind It takes up to 4 months to make Sophie la girafeSophie la girafe needs to be left to dry out, so as to ensure there are no further changes to the natural rubber. This is a long process, and can take up to 4 months, depending on the time of the year and the humidity levels. Up to half a million Sophies may be put into the controlled environment for drying out. After Sophie is sufficiently dried, the process of decorating Sophie can begin.Designers and Sophie la girafe4 years ago, Sophie la girafe celebrated her 50th birthday with a charity auction of 73 art pieces made with blank Sophie la girafes, imagined by designers, artistes, as well as arts students. In total, Vulli raised €83,000 for cancer research in France. Here are some of the pieces we love.
My kids have tried several teether that is made locally but this one is the best teether! Good thing we shared good stuffs like this. 🙂