About David M. Bird

About David M Bird

Hi, I'm Dave.

I'm an artist, toy designer, and the creator of Becorns. I live in Rhode Island, USA, with my wife and two kids.

I remember when I was a kid, the world seemed full of magic and possibilities. Becorns is my effort to hold onto that feeling of wonder, no matter how old I get.

I began honing my skills to create Becorns long before I had the idea for them. I started my career as a toy designer at LEGO headquarters in Denmark.

There, I developed characters for a brand of buildable action figures called Bionicle.

I learned about character design and how to use storytelling to spark kids’ imaginations.

The Beginning of Becorns

Years later, I left LEGO to be closer to my family in the US.

One day I was sweeping my mom’s driveway, wondering if I’d ever find a job that was as fun as building characters out of Legos.

I looked down at the pile of acorns and sticks at my feet and the idea suddenly struck: I didn’t need Legos - I could build my own world entirely from natural materials.

I was completely captivated by the idea and devoted all of my free time to experimenting with every stick or seed that looked cool to me.

Slide show: The Evolution of Becorns

This was one of the first Becorns, made in 2008. My early creations all looked like insects, so I called them “Stickbugs.” The name stuck for years, long after my focus had evolved beyond insects.

Swipe or click the arrows to view the slide show

From the start, I was endlessly inspired by the materials I found in nature. I loved exploring the woods and inspecting the plants and ground for treasures to build with. This creature’s head is the hollow root of a reed that I pulled up one day and peered at with fascination. “It looks like a skull!”

Here are some of my other early experimental creatures. I never knew what I was building until I was finished. I looked for materials that looked like body parts and I glued them together.

Some of my early creations were inspired by the warriors I designed when I worked at Lego.

These were the first characters inspired by humans, built in 2008, just a couple months after I started building Stickbugs. I didn’t give them mouths because I thought they looked quiet and contemplative.

Once I discovered how to build acorn people, I eagerly tested out different proportions, materials, and accessories. I noticed that some figures looked alive, while others didn't, so I studied my pictures carefully to identify why.

With practice, my characters started to look more lifelike and nuanced. As I honed in on the aesthetic of acorn people, I started referring to them as “Becorns.”

As I grew more comfortable making Becorns, I started making scenes to suggest stories.

I had the idea that squirrels were enemies to the Becorns, and I wanted to get a picture of a battle. So in 2010 I upgraded my equipment and started using a remote control to trigger my camera. I spent hours in the woods waiting for squirrels to come. This was my first (somewhat) successful picture with an animal.

A breakthrough came when I moved out of my city apartment and into a house with a yard and woods. This allowed me to observe animals closely and plan shots in advance.

Since then, my photos have gotten more involved, requiring careful planning and patience as I try to improve my techniques. I also now create process videos with music that I lovingly write and record myself. I still have so much to explore in the Becorn world. Thanks for following along!

I treated Becorns as a private hobby for over ten years, while I worked as a toy designer. But in 2019 I started selling prints and sharing photos online. Here I am at my first local craft show.

My life’s dream has always been for my personal creative projects to support me financially. That dream came true in 2022 when a Becorn video went viral on Instagram. I was inundated with orders and in the space of a week, I quit my freelance toy design job, hired an assistant, and rented an office. It was a very busy week!

Since then, I’ve had lots of triumphs and challenges as the world of Becorns has grown.

What amazes me most about my creative journey is how it’s brought me closer to nature. In the beginning I was interested solely in building; I knew little about the plants and animals around me. But through Becorns, I’ve come to know so much about plants as I've hiked in search of materials, dissected plant parts, and even grown Becorn materials in my garden. I’ve become so much more aware of the complexities of the animals around me as well. And the more I learn, the more I stand in awe of these neighbors of mine.