Design Design objects Architectmade
BIRD
Kristian Vedel's turned oak bird of 1959, whose loose head can be tilted to show joy, sorrow or curiosity, made today by Architectmade.
- Designed by
- Kristian Vedel
- Made by
- Architectmade
- First made
- 1959
Pictures © Architectmade, from architectmade.com.
Why it is renowned
The BIRD is known for how much a plain turned form can say: tilt the head and the bird looks glad, sad or curious, and the birds can stand alone or as a family.1 It has been in production since 1959.1 Its designer, Kristian Vedel, won a silver and a gold medal at the Milan Triennale and the Lunning Prize in 1962.2
The story
Kristian Vedel trained as a cabinetmaker and studied under Kaare Klint at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1944 and 1945; in 1954 he set up a design studio in Humlebæk, outside Copenhagen.2 He drew the BIRD in 1959 as a family, from child to grandparent.1 Architectmade makes it in Danish oak, natural or smoked, in a small, a large and a chubby shape; the eyes, of maple or wenge, are set in by hand, and each bird is finished by hand.1
Sources
- BIRD, Architectmade. architectmade.com, read 1 October 2026.
- Kristian Solmer Vedel, Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org, read 1 October 2026.
Last checked 1 October 2026, against the maker's own pages.