Around the world three little wooden birds with metal legs and pecker are well known among design lovers. Their sleek and simple look became a synonym for minimalist Scandinavian design. What most people don’t know is that the cradle of these shorebirds, or better their nest, is here in Húsavík.
The designer Sigurjón Pálsson was born and raised in Húsavík. He graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and won numerous awards for his design. He strives for the right combination of shape, function and materials. However, Sigurjón is not only into designing, he is also a well known writer of crime novels.
The Shorebirds were first to be produced by a local company but were then adopted by the renown Danish company Normann Copenhagen into their bespoke collection. The tallest bird is a whimbrel (lat. Numenius phaeopus), the medium size bird is a common redshank (lat. Tringa totanus) and the smallest of the trio is a purple sandpiper (lat. Calidris maritima).
Across the street from Húsavík church on a grassy plot stand all three birds, much larger in size than the ones decorating living rooms.
