Dinghy Regatta 3

Three small sailboats tacking around one another in the air. Christian Flensted designed Dinghy Regatta in 1964 with real beech-wood hulls and paper sails, and it has the particular charm of a mobile that is also a toy boat: kids reach for it, sailors recognize it, and it looks right in a beach house, a bathroom, or a child's room by the coast.

Because the boats hang at different heights and the arms are balanced to a hair, the slightest draft sets a regatta going: one boat comes about, the other two follow. This is the compact version, 11 inches tall and 15 wide, good for a shelf-height corner, a hallway, or a smaller nursery. Choose the 5-boat version for a bigger fleet and a wider spread.

Handmade in Denmark by the Flensted family, mobile makers since 1953.

At a glance: Design: Christian Flensted, 1964 · Size: 11" H × 15" W (28 × 38 cm) · Materials: beech hulls, cardboard sails, stainless steel · Elements: 3 dinghies · Handmade in Denmark · Ships from Princeton, NJ