Name: Stone Ruru
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 Morepork · Ruru Sculpture

Handcrafted | Brown Serpentine & Reclaimed Metal

New Zealand's only surviving native owl, carved in warm, earthy stone.

Designed and crafted by Zimbabwean-born, New Zealand sculptor Jack Stobart, along with his team, each Ruru is shaped from rich brown serpentine - its mottled tones of rust, bronze and deep brown a natural mirror of the Morepork's own streaked, bark-like plumage. The stone's variation means every piece is entirely its own.

The Morepork's most arresting feature - those wide, watchful eyes - are rendered in vivid amber resin with a deep black pupil, giving each sculpture an almost unsettling intensity of gaze. The small hooked beak is carved from dark timber, and the recycled metal talons anchor the piece with characteristic grip.

Compact, characterful and quietly commanding, the Ruru has been a guardian presence in New Zealand's forests and mythology for centuries. This is a piece that holds your attention - much like the bird itself.

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.