Hump Day

I realize that in terms of the days of the week, "hump day" was really yesterday. Today is a different kind of hump day- that's right, we're talking about camels. I never thought I'd be typing a sentence like this, but don't you think camels are sort of "in" right now? It all started with the Sex and the City 2 stills that have recently been released. Carrie et al seem to be having a fine old time on their camel ride in the desert.

Then, of course, this antique camel saddle turned up in the most recent issue of Lonny. Charlotte Moss protege Sean McNally snagged this saddle at a flea market and now stacks it with books as a chic footstool of sorts.  

From what I can understand, the rounded wooden ends of the saddle sit on each of the camel's humps, then the rider sits on the cushion in the middle. So I think. But I'm no camel riding expert!

The Bonanno blog has a great feature about how they recovered a tattered cushion from a camel saddle in a scrumptious brown gator fabric. 

Recently I got lucky at a thrift store and came across a vintage camel saddle for the bargain price of $6.99. Something tells me the store had NO idea what it was. The cushion is so worn that it's paper thin, but I love the character. For the warmer months I now have it in front of my fireplace to add a focal point to the black slate hearth.

You can also find camel saddles on Ebay

Of course, here's a totally different take on the camel- one that I just love- the camel garden stool.

Camel garden seat, Trocadero

They used to have this camel stool at Mermaid Hut but it looks like it's out of stock. I bet it's Two's Company, don't you think?

Textile designer Virginia Johnson makes shawls and pillows with a fresh camel motif.

What do you think- are you a fan of the camels? Or will you just stick to the color? 

***Update***

We just had to post these pictures sent in by MoS reader Nancy, who recently went on a trip to Turkey (jealous!) and did a little camel riding herself. Looking good up there, Nancy!