Every Celeb Kid Is Strumming On This Quaint Fairytale Instrument, But Why?

What do Chrissy Teigen, Kourtney Kardashian, Busy Philipps, Mariah Carey, and P!nk's kids have in common? Yes, they are all the children of extremely famous parents, but much more specifically, all of these kids are the proud owners of elegant toy instruments. How do we possibly know that? Let's backtrack.

At the beginning of May, Chrissy Teigen posted two photos of her 2-year-old daughter Luna, sitting on a small pink stool and strumming a matching pink harp. Teigen gave the photos the hilarious caption "very soothing. house sounds like a spa. 4 stars would recommend." Once we got over the preciousness of Luna's excited face and had a good chuckle over the review of her playing, we were struck by how fancy this toy is.

Later, another celebrity whose Instagram presence "gives us life," as they say, shared a picture that featured the same harp. In a photo from her cover shoot for the July/August issue of Health Magazine, Busy Philipps poses angelically amongst the chaos often found in a home where young kids live. In the photo, her daughter Cricket gleefully gives a thumbs up while sitting at a tiny pink piano and a matching harp is propped up near her older sister Birdie, who is reading on the couch.

We weren't the only ones that noticed. One Instagram user actually commented on Philipps' photo to ask, "Does everyone in LA have this amazing children’s harp???? Someone tell me where I can get one or ten please!!" We, of course, wondered the same thing, so we set out to get the scoop.

If you zoom on in these photos, you can see that the toy harp is made by Schoenhut Piano Co. A quick google tells us the 15-string toy harp with its bench costs $150 (£113). According to the company's website, Schoenhut has been making toy pianos since 1872. The brand boasts that its miniature instruments have been used by the "who's who in music" and by "fine-tuned toddler[s]." Based on photo evidence in the site's "Gallery of Stars," this claim is very true. Bruno Mars, Pharrell Williams, Alicia Keys, The Lumineers, and Tom Waits are shown playing around on the tiny pianos, as well as the babies of stars like P!nk and Mariah Carey. Depending on the size and number of keys, Schoenhut grand pianos can cost anywhere from £50 to £190.

In addition to those famous folk, Schoenhut's owner Len Trinca told Refinery29 in a recent email that the Kardashians are "big fans" of the company's products. "They are Rob’s go-to for baby showers," Trinca says. A tiny pink Schoenhut piano was even spotted alongside a full-sized grand piano — that just so happens to be a Kardashian family heirloom — in a photo of Kourtney Kardashian's "piano room" shot for a 2014 home tour story for InStyle.

While the Schoenhut's small pianos are adorable and clearly quite popular among celebs and their kids, we're much more taken with the company's mini harps. Plenty of kids have toy pianos — though maybe not ones this fancy — but the toy harp is much more unique. According to Trinca, that is part of the reason Schoenhut decided to introduce the toy harp in the first place. "We came out with the harp eight years ago in 2010. We decided to go with the harp because we felt it was a good way for children to learn hand coordination by playing the different coloured strings. We felt like it was a magical instrument that allows children to step into a fantasy land while they play," he explains.

So, it looks like celebrity babies are loving this extra-special Schoenhut harp because it's a wonderful way for them to develop their brains and escape into a fantasy world through music. The fact that they create soothing sounds, serve nicely as whimsical photo shoot props, and fit perfectly into highly-designed homes are likely just added bonuses for their famous parents.