Bird songs
Product Line
An installation, product line and music events that revolve around bird sounds and nesting.
Bird songs is a project aiming to open our ears to the music flying above us in the sky and floating by on a lake, as well as exploring how adults weave nests for their offsprings - both humans and birds alike.
Designers of ÞYKJÓ studied the fascinating collection of birds’ nests at Natural History Museum of Kópavogur and created furniture for children inspired by their intricate textures and shapes.
The designers started looking for local craftsmen specializing in basket weaving, leading them to Blindravinnustofa, the Icelandic organization for the visually impaired. Blindravinnustofa has decades of experience in weaving baskets and cribs for infants, creating job opportunities for the visually impaired. ÞYKJÓ’s nests are based on their vast knowledge and craftmanship, pushing their technique to capture the organic forms of perching birds’ nests. In our design we allow for other textiles to be woven in afterwards, as is the case with birds nests where one can find woolen threads from a sheep passing by, feathers and the odd glittering materials.
Each nest contains textile eggs designed by ÞYKJÓ, which have been programmed with bird sounds by musician Sóley Stefánsdóttir. The eggs were similarly a collaboration with biologists who sourced recordings of bird songs which Sóley played with in her recording studio. Through playing with the eggs children are introduced to octaves, pitch, melody, rythm and other elements of the language of music. The bird sounds are waiting to be put together in endless melodic combinations, serving as a new platform for children to compose their own music.
Bird song introduced a series of music events: Sóley Stefánsdóttir invited groups from kindergartens as well as families to a Bird Song Workshop where they could explore their own voice in context with the voices of birds. Melkorka Ólafsdóttir curated a concert featuring compositions inspired by bird songs, including Messaien.
The team will be adding rhythmic Beetles and serenading Songwhales to the collection of instruments later this year. How can whales sing together? Can crickets always keep the rhythm? ÞYKJÓ’s collection of instruments will be permanently featured in an nteractive music installation for children and their families at the ground floor of Harpa Music Hall.
Nests
ÞYKJÓ’s designers studied a collection of nests at the Natural History Museum of Kópavogur in close collaboration with their resident biologists. Following their research period the designers started experimenting with creating their own human size nests in close collaboration with sight impaired craftsmen at Blindrastofan – the Icelandic organization for the visually impaired. The nests were then further workshopped with children from the local kindergartens who experimented with weaving from varied textile materials sourced by ÞYKJÓ’s designers.
Nests
ÞYKJÓ’s designers studied a collection of nests at the Natural History Museum of Kópavogur in close collaboration with their resident biologists. Following their research period the designers started experimenting with creating their own human size nests in close collaboration with sight impaired craftsmen at Blindrastofan – the Icelandic organization for the visually impaired. The nests were then further workshopped with children from the local kindergartens who experimented with weaving from varied textile materials sourced by ÞYKJÓ’s designers.
Blindravinnustofa
Stefán B. Stefánsson, Denni, has worked for Blindravinnustofa, the Icelandic organization for the visually impaired, over the past 30 years. He worked in close collaboration with ÞYKJÓ’s designers on developing our nests for kids. Denni is legally blind but knows his workshop like the back of his hand. The collaboration between ÞYKJÓ’s designers and Denni involved finding new ways of communicating designs beyond technical drawings and experimenting with craft techniques. Our meeting point was the physical birds’ nests borrowed from the Natural History Museum of Kópavogur.
Blindravinnustofa
Stefán B. Stefánsson, Denni, has worked for Blindravinnustofa, the Icelandic organization for the visually impaired, over the past 30 years. He worked in close collaboration with ÞYKJÓ’s designers on developing our nests for kids. Denni is legally blind but knows his workshop like the back of his hand. The collaboration between ÞYKJÓ’s designers and Denni involved finding new ways of communicating designs beyond technical drawings and experimenting with craft techniques. Our meeting point was the physical birds’ nests borrowed from the Natural History Museum of Kópavogur.
Music Eggs
Our music eggs are a new hybrid design product, somewhere between musical instruments and textile toys for children. Their shapes and patterns were inspired by a collection of eggs at the Natural History Museum of Kópavogur which the designers studied in collaboration with their resident biologists. The eggs are programmed with bird sounds, collected and sampled by musician Sóley Stefánsdóttir.
Music Eggs
Our music eggs are a new hybrid design product, somewhere between musical instruments and textile toys for children. Their shapes and patterns were inspired by a collection of eggs at the Natural History Museum of Kópavogur which the designers studied in collaboration with their resident biologists. The eggs are programmed with bird sounds, collected and sampled by musician Sóley Stefánsdóttir.
Sóley Stefánsdóttir
Birdsong Workshop
Sóley created a musical web of bird songs in layers, creating a fantastical forest sound installation. Children were invited to add their voices to the mix, singing short sequences into Sóley’s electrical equipment - looping, pitching and playing with songs by birds as well as children pretending to be birds.
Sóley Stefánsdóttir is an Icelandicmulti-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. She studied classical piano playing and jazz at FÍH from an early age and later went on to Icelandic Academy of Arts to study composition. She has released the albums We Sink, Ask the Deep og Endless Summer to critical acclaim. Her latest album, Mother Melancholia was chosen by Grapevine as Album of the Year 2021.
Sóley Stefánsdóttir
Birdsong Workshop
Sóley created a musical web of bird songs in layers, creating a fantastical forest sound installation. Children were invited to add their voices to the mix, singing short sequences into Sóley’s electrical equipment - looping, pitching and playing with songs by birds as well as children pretending to be birds.
Sóley Stefánsdóttir is an Icelandicmulti-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. She studied classical piano playing and jazz at FÍH from an early age and later went on to Icelandic Academy of Arts to study composition. She has released the albums We Sink, Ask the Deep og Endless Summer to critical acclaim. Her latest album, Mother Melancholia was chosen by Grapevine as Album of the Year 2021.
Melkorka Ólafsdóttir
Lovebirds and Shells
Melkorka curated a series of concerts, with experiential design elements and installations by ÞYKJÓ. A journey through a catalogue of classical music inspired by bird songs, leading to a more meditative repertoire inspired by animals who can retreat into their shell. The events were an experiment in making concerts with an immersive design element, akin to installations and promenade performances.
Melkorka Ólafsdóttir is an Icelandic musician, poet and yoga teacher. She graduated with B.Mus from The Royal Concervatory in Haag, went on to finishing an M.A from the Concervatory in Amsterdam and further studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Melkorka has performed as a solist in Europe, US and Japan, as well as performing with various orchestras and chamber groups at home and abroad. She currently performs with Viibra flute ensamble with Björk. Melkorka is a member of Impostor Poets, a female writers collective based in Reykjavík, Iceland.
Melkorka Ólafsdóttir
Lovebirds and Shells
Melkorka curated a series of concerts, with experiential design elements and installations by ÞYKJÓ. A journey through a catalogue of classical music inspired by bird songs, leading to a more meditative repertoire inspired by animals who can retreat into their shell. The events were an experiment in making concerts with an immersive design element, akin to installations and promenade performances.
Melkorka Ólafsdóttir is an Icelandic musician, poet and yoga teacher. She graduated with B.Mus from The Royal Concervatory in Haag, went on to finishing an M.A from the Concervatory in Amsterdam and further studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Melkorka has performed as a solist in Europe, US and Japan, as well as performing with various orchestras and chamber groups at home and abroad. She currently performs with Viibra flute ensamble with Björk. Melkorka is a member of Impostor Poets, a female writers collective based in Reykjavík, Iceland.
Bird songs
Product Line
An installation, product line and music events that revolve around bird sounds and nesting.
Bird songs is a project aiming to open our ears to the music flying above us in the sky and floating by on a lake, as well as exploring how adults weave nests for their offsprings - both humans and birds alike.
Designers of ÞYKJÓ studied the fascinating collection of birds’ nests at Natural History Museum of Kópavogur and created furniture for children inspired by their intricate textures and shapes.
The designers started looking for local craftsmen specializing in basket weaving, leading them to Blindravinnustofa, the Icelandic organization for the visually impaired. Blindravinnustofa has decades of experience in weaving baskets and cribs for infants, creating job opportunities for the visually impaired. ÞYKJÓ’s nests are based on their vast knowledge and craftmanship, pushing their technique to capture the organic forms of perching birds’ nests. In our design we allow for other textiles to be woven in afterwards, as is the case with birds nests where one can find woolen threads from a sheep passing by, feathers and the odd glittering materials.
Each nest contains textile eggs designed by ÞYKJÓ, which have been programmed with bird sounds by musician Sóley Stefánsdóttir. The eggs were similarly a collaboration with biologists who sourced recordings of bird songs which Sóley played with in her recording studio. Through playing with the eggs children are introduced to octaves, pitch, melody, rythm and other elements of the language of music. The bird sounds are waiting to be put together in endless melodic combinations, serving as a new platform for children to compose their own music.
Bird song introduced a series of music events: Sóley Stefánsdóttir invited groups from kindergartens as well as families to a Bird Song Workshop where they could explore their own voice in context with the voices of birds. Melkorka Ólafsdóttir curated a concert featuring compositions inspired by bird songs, including Messaien.
The team will be adding rhythmic Beetles and serenading Songwhales to the collection of instruments later this year. How can whales sing together? Can crickets always keep the rhythm? ÞYKJÓ’s collection of instruments will be permanently featured in an nteractive music installation for children and their families at the ground floor of Harpa Music Hall.
Nests
ÞYKJÓ’s designers studied a collection of nests at the Natural History Museum of Kópavogur in close collaboration with their resident biologists. Following their research period the designers started experimenting with creating their own human size nests in close collaboration with sight impaired craftsmen at Blindrastofan – the Icelandic organization for the visually impaired. The nests were then further workshopped with children from the local kindergartens who experimented with weaving from varied textile materials sourced by ÞYKJÓ’s designers.
Nests
ÞYKJÓ’s designers studied a collection of nests at the Natural History Museum of Kópavogur in close collaboration with their resident biologists. Following their research period the designers started experimenting with creating their own human size nests in close collaboration with sight impaired craftsmen at Blindrastofan – the Icelandic organization for the visually impaired. The nests were then further workshopped with children from the local kindergartens who experimented with weaving from varied textile materials sourced by ÞYKJÓ’s designers.
Blindravinnustofa
Stefán B. Stefánsson, Denni, has worked for Blindravinnustofa, the Icelandic organization for the visually impaired, over the past 30 years. He worked in close collaboration with ÞYKJÓ’s designers on developing our nests for kids. Denni is legally blind but knows his workshop like the back of his hand. The collaboration between ÞYKJÓ’s designers and Denni involved finding new ways of communicating designs beyond technical drawings and experimenting with craft techniques. Our meeting point was the physical birds’ nests borrowed from the Natural History Museum of Kópavogur.
Blindravinnustofa
Stefán B. Stefánsson, Denni, has worked for Blindravinnustofa, the Icelandic organization for the visually impaired, over the past 30 years. He worked in close collaboration with ÞYKJÓ’s designers on developing our nests for kids. Denni is legally blind but knows his workshop like the back of his hand. The collaboration between ÞYKJÓ’s designers and Denni involved finding new ways of communicating designs beyond technical drawings and experimenting with craft techniques. Our meeting point was the physical birds’ nests borrowed from the Natural History Museum of Kópavogur.
Music Eggs
Our music eggs are a new hybrid design product, somewhere between musical instruments and textile toys for children. Their shapes and patterns were inspired by a collection of eggs at the Natural History Museum of Kópavogur which the designers studied in collaboration with their resident biologists. The eggs are programmed with bird sounds, collected and sampled by musician Sóley Stefánsdóttir.
Music Eggs
Our music eggs are a new hybrid design product, somewhere between musical instruments and textile toys for children. Their shapes and patterns were inspired by a collection of eggs at the Natural History Museum of Kópavogur which the designers studied in collaboration with their resident biologists. The eggs are programmed with bird sounds, collected and sampled by musician Sóley Stefánsdóttir.
Sóley Stefánsdóttir
Birdsong Workshop
Sóley created a musical web of bird songs in layers, creating a fantastical forest sound installation. Children were invited to add their voices to the mix, singing short sequences into Sóley’s electrical equipment - looping, pitching and playing with songs by birds as well as children pretending to be birds.
Sóley Stefánsdóttir is an Icelandicmulti-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. She studied classical piano playing and jazz at FÍH from an early age and later went on to Icelandic Academy of Arts to study composition. She has released the albums We Sink, Ask the Deep og Endless Summer to critical acclaim. Her latest album, Mother Melancholia was chosen by Grapevine as Album of the Year 2021.
Sóley Stefánsdóttir
Birdsong Workshop
Sóley created a musical web of bird songs in layers, creating a fantastical forest sound installation. Children were invited to add their voices to the mix, singing short sequences into Sóley’s electrical equipment - looping, pitching and playing with songs by birds as well as children pretending to be birds.
Sóley Stefánsdóttir is an Icelandicmulti-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. She studied classical piano playing and jazz at FÍH from an early age and later went on to Icelandic Academy of Arts to study composition. She has released the albums We Sink, Ask the Deep og Endless Summer to critical acclaim. Her latest album, Mother Melancholia was chosen by Grapevine as Album of the Year 2021.
Melkorka Ólafsdóttir
Lovebirds and Shells
Melkorka curated a series of concerts, with experiential design elements and installations by ÞYKJÓ. A journey through a catalogue of classical music inspired by bird songs, leading to a more meditative repertoire inspired by animals who can retreat into their shell. The events were an experiment in making concerts with an immersive design element, akin to installations and promenade performances.
Melkorka Ólafsdóttir is an Icelandic musician, poet and yoga teacher. She graduated with B.Mus from The Royal Concervatory in Haag, went on to finishing an M.A from the Concervatory in Amsterdam and further studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Melkorka has performed as a solist in Europe, US and Japan, as well as performing with various orchestras and chamber groups at home and abroad. She currently performs with Viibra flute ensamble with Björk. Melkorka is a member of Impostor Poets, a female writers collective based in Reykjavík, Iceland.
Melkorka Ólafsdóttir
Lovebirds and Shells
Melkorka curated a series of concerts, with experiential design elements and installations by ÞYKJÓ. A journey through a catalogue of classical music inspired by bird songs, leading to a more meditative repertoire inspired by animals who can retreat into their shell. The events were an experiment in making concerts with an immersive design element, akin to installations and promenade performances.
Melkorka Ólafsdóttir is an Icelandic musician, poet and yoga teacher. She graduated with B.Mus from The Royal Concervatory in Haag, went on to finishing an M.A from the Concervatory in Amsterdam and further studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Melkorka has performed as a solist in Europe, US and Japan, as well as performing with various orchestras and chamber groups at home and abroad. She currently performs with Viibra flute ensamble with Björk. Melkorka is a member of Impostor Poets, a female writers collective based in Reykjavík, Iceland.