Latvian producer Stum’s wooden balance bike for children, Choppy, has just won a gold award at the international design competition iF Design Award. The jury appreciated both the Choppy’s aesthetics and its sustainable design. Not only is the balance bike made from responsibly sourced timber, but it is also durable and easily adaptable for a growing child. Furthermore, the Choppy’s compact packaging is made to be played with.
The design of Choppy is based on Latvian know-how of bent plywood — this material has excellent mechanical properties, it is strong, stable, and has an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. The seat and handlebars can be adjusted to suit the height of the rider, and the springy seat protects the child’s back. Choppy is easy to assemble – any adult can put the bike together and adjust its height without any tools.
«With Choppy, Stum has given the children’s balance bike the aura of a design classic. The use of birchwood ply ensures simple, clean lines in a robust and lightweight form. Designed for self-assembly without a single screw, there’s nothing superfluous here. Thanks to well-thought-out craftsmanship, quality concedes nothing to aesthetics. Designed to make kids fall in love with cycling!» says the iF Design Award jury.
The iF Design Award is not the first major award Choppy has won. In 2022, the bicycle also won the A’ Design Award, and the packaging for the bicycle, which can be used by children for playing, has also received awards in a number of competitions, including the European Product Design Award. Aldis Blicsons, designer and founder of Stum, comments on participating in design competitions: «If you want to enter the market with a new, innovative product, design awards are one way to do it. We choose to invest our money in design competitions rather than online ads, which don’t generate anything more than some likes. Our small team has won a total of eighteen national and international awards, which helps to show Stum as an innovative, user-friendly lifestyle and leisure product design company. We have made it our primary goal to promote Latvia as a part of the Northern European design family, with a strong focus on materials, simplicity, and sustainability.»
Choppy is the second product created by Stum’s team of designers and engineers. Choppy has evolved from the award-winning Brum Brum balance bike which was designed to be lighter, more eco-friendly, more comfortable, and better suited for children up to four years old. More about the balance bike on the Choppy website.
Viedokļi