By Diana Holiner
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
When you think of your middle school wood shop class, the most common project that probably comes to mind is the birdhouse.
For the Westwood father-daughter team of Nima and Mina, the birdhouse turned into more than just a one-time project.
It all started when Mina was eight years old and found a robin’s nest in her backyard. This led to the father-daughter duo creating a first birdhouse and inspiring an idea: Chirp Birdhouses, a design workshop that specializes in creating and selling unique birdhouses.
Nima and Mina’s work is on full display at the Westwood Public Library as a part of its art gallery exhibit for the month of January. There are a plethora of birdhouses on display at the library’s gallery, many of which were inspired by architects such as Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid. Each birdhouse is unique in its design and comes with a description and a QR code to learn more.
While you may think all birdhouses look the same, you’d be surprised with how creative this father-daughter team got with theirs. Every individual house employs different design techniques, making for a truly special collection in which each birdhouse can stand as a unique creation on its own. Some even have 3D birds on their display.
Chirp Birdhouses not only has a mission to make beautiful birdhouses, but to give back to the environment. With every item they sell, Nima and Mina plan to plant a tree. These birdhouses are available to purchase pre-assembled, or as a kit. The kits are designed to help build collaboration between kids and their parents as they work together to assemble them. Nima was able to use the project with his daughter, Mina, to teach her some of the valuable lessons in carpentry, commerce, design and entrepreneurship that he has learned as an architectural designer.
You can view the Chirp Birdhouse’s exhibit in the Westwood Public Library gallery section during open hours. The exhibit will be up for the month of January. On Saturday, January 28, at 2 p.m., an artist’s reception will commence.
To learn more about Chirp Birdhouses, visit their website at www.chirpbirdhouses.com or follow them on Instagram @chirpbirdhouses.
