Name: Stone Penguin
Brand: Cheeky Beaks
Price: 99.00 NZD
Availability: InStock

Handmade at home

Every ceramic bird is handmade in our studio here in New Zealand. Each piece is carefully glazed and carries its own unique character—no two are exactly the same

Collect the flock

Collect them all! These cheeky birds love hanging in a flock - pop them on a windowsill, fence, or deck and watch your own colourful colony come to life.

Doing our bit.

With every bird sold, a portion is donated to conservation groups across New Zealand, helping protect and preserve our feathered friends for generations to come.

Miromiro | Tomtit

Tieke | Saddleback

How do we do it?

We won’t give away all our secrets, but here’s a peek behind the scenes at how our birds come to life.

Stone Penguin · Kororā Sculpture

Handcrafted | Springstone, Resin, Reclaimed Metal & Wood

The little blue penguin - New Zealand's smallest and most endearing seabird - captured in stone with irresistible charm.

Designed and crafted by Zimbabwean-born, New Zealand sculptor Jack Stobart, along with his team, each Kororā is shaped from dark springstone - its deep, near-black tones perfectly evoking the penguin's sleek back and cap. The bright white resin front creates a crisp, clean contrast, capturing the bird's distinctive tuxedo markings with quiet precision. No two pieces are ever alike.

The flippers and beak are carved from dark wood, to complement the stone, and the resin eye adds a small but characterful flash of colour. The splayed recycled metal feet are full of personality - as ungainly and loveable on land as the bird itself.

Upright, proud and utterly captivating, the Kororā is a favourite of locals and visitors alike - a piece that carries the spirit of New Zealand's coastline wherever it goes.

A genuinely handmade piece with a distinctly New Zealand soul - and a gift that will be kept for a lifetime.

Bird Design

Each bird is carefully hand-sculpted from clay, with a focus on staying true to its real-life counterpart - while adding a subtle, whimsical twist that gives it its own unique personality.

Slip Casting

Once a design is finalised, we create a plaster mould of the bird. After it sets, the original sculpture is removed, leaving a negative impression inside the mould. Liquid clay is then poured in and allowed to dry, forming a replica of the original model.

Fettling

The birds are then removed from their moulds, and we carefully add the finishing details - bottoms, beaks, wattles, eye rings, and all the little features that bring each species to life. Once complete, they are left to dry before being bisque fired in our kiln to 1000°C.

Glazing + Underglazing

Once bisque fired, each bird is carefully coloured using underglaze and glaze, with a focus on staying true to its living counterpart. After glazing, they are returned to the kiln for a final firing at 1250°C, bringing out their richness of colour and durability.