Now furniture and furniture trade is the second most important event, 3daysofdesign Copenhagen is often synonymous with images of well-crafted Danish modernist wooden chairs, sophisticatedly designed lighting fixtures and other luxury goods. Few realize that the city-wide festival is also home to the expanding, increasingly loosely defined sector of design, welcoming brands working on everything from acoustic solutions to home tech. Conquering the world with the highly successful canary-shaped indoor climate screen four years ago, local startup Birdie has just introduced an expanded range of home products and naturally chose this event, which took place earlier this month, to do so.
The company appeared in 2022 with the simple but smart proposition of making our indoor spaces healthier. According to founder Hans Høite Augustenborg, we spend 90 percent of our lives indoors, but we rarely know how fresh or harmful the air we breathe can be. The short-term effects are multiple: headaches, allergies, asthma and sleep disorders. The long-term effects are even more worrying.
The cute, almost cartoonish, opening product does a simple thing, but it can make a big impact. Its animal-like form drops when air quality is poor, prompting homeowners to open a window. It’s a seemingly harmless act that can make a difference. As conditions improve, the bird recovers and climbs back to its original upright position.
After a successful crowdfunding campaign, Birdie launched three new products and revealed them through a naturally playful yet informative screening at its central Copenhagen studio. On display were the next generation Birdie Pro display, the Birdie Podium air purifier and the Birdie Flame LED candle. This fresh and renewed range completes what the brand offers and how it executes its central mission.
The updated Birdie Pro introduces more advanced sensors, app support and smart-home integration. All of this was built in without taking away from its basic analog functionality, which made it popular in the first place. Perhaps more in line with that image of the wooden Danish chair mentioned earlier, the Birdie Podium is an air purifier housed in a carefully assembled piece of furniture. A far cry from comparable products, in which aesthetics—the look and feel of a device’s shell—are often an afterthought, this new device presents itself as a crystal pedestal, even a minimalist side table. Shouldn’t all home technology devices be re-examined in this direction?
Sitting atop the Birdie Podium, the Birdie Flame is as simple yet innovative as its counterparts. Few people realize how much pollution a conventional candle emits. The alternative LED reproduces its flickering. Adding the same level of playfulness and degree of physical engagement not usually associated with advanced technology like the original Birdie, the device is activated with the same gesture as lighting a match. There is no need, in fact, for cumbersome remotes, buttons and apps.
To know more about the brand, visit little bird. design.
Photo by Theis Bothmann and Kasper Westergaard Nielsen.
