The little giraffe was born on 25th May in year 1961...Saint Sophie's day!.
In those days, the only animal toys available were farm animals or pet figures... That is why one day in France, a certain Monsieur Rampeau, who was an expert in transforming sap from the hevea tree using the rotational moulding of rubber as a toy-making concept, came up with the idea of designing a giraffe.
Such an exotic wildlife figure would be a first on the market, and its size and shape would be ideal for a baby's small hands to grasp.
Sophie the Giraffe, who looked exactly the same then as she does today, went into production on a Thursday 25th May, whence her name. Sophie the Giraffe is still "traditionally" produced to this day, a process that involves more than 14 manual operations.
She is made from 100% natural rubber derived from the sap of the Hevea tree.