Bixie wood balance bike is an innovative design and sustainable solution for kids to learn cycling. The balance bike has the look of a real bicycle except for being smaller. Such a design concept suits a child’s primary desire to use the same products as their parents to imitate them. At the same time, the product improves environmental issues and is, due to its natural design, incomparably safe for use by children.
Andrej Kregar, the inventor of the Bixie, trained as an architect and an industrial designer, decided to design and develop a sustainable, natural and plastic-free bicycle that will grow with a child. The design process of Bixie was bumpy but honest, to make something enjoyed by children, liked by parents and harmless to the environment and society. 83% of parts and craftsmanship that go into Bixie are sourced locally within a radius of 30 km. Bixie has natural material’s colour intact and covered with wax and oils, making the bicycle appropriate for all weather conditions. Since the seat height can be adjusted, the bike can be adapted to suit children of different ages and heights.
The elements are manufactured locally in Slovenia in the core of the Alps. The Alps were the main inspiration for this natural product. Source of inspiration was also alpine cows, which inspired the shape of the handlebar, which also contributes to the authentic appearance of the product. The seat is very comfortable and has an interesting solution to use the seat clamp on the wooden frame to adjust the wooden seat pole.
About the design studio:
Kreatif Design studio unites several experts from different creative fields into a group capable of setting new trends and sparking fresh ideas. We solve problems interdisciplinarily and invite in-house and external experts to contribute to the final design by sharing their ideas as well as hesitations regarding the drafts of our initial solutions.
We believe that design should be not only aesthetic but also logical, which is why we strive to intertwine the two objectives in a synergistic relationship in all our solutions. To achieve this, we use the creativity of young, but experienced, designers to continually innovate. Our best example yet is 2wheela design that was published on four continents in more than 20 countries as one of the most exciting concepts of new transport solutions.
Andrej Kregar had always found himself being equally enthusiastic about architecture, interior design, industrial design, and yacht design. He proved that innovation and creativity could be essential to solving the design problems of all those fields. Standards, knowledge, and materials which are usually in one area can be used as innovation in another field. He finds it most enjoyable when he can intertwine more than one field and combine the knowledge he gained in different industries.
He started his career in a company as a yacht designer for J&J Design, as an exterior and interior designer of yachts and sailing boats. In 2014, he had begun focusing more on his independent career.
Much more than working by himself, he loves working with a team of innovative and ambitious individuals, where they are contributing to the development of products or architectural design of buildings each in their specific way. While operating and managing the Kreatif Design Studio, he also collaborated with various Slovenian companies and proved that Slovenian design could even cross borders, since he also worked with several foreign companies and startups in the recent years.
FILE
Design: Andrej Kregar, Kreatif Design
Producer: Bixie
Photo: Kreatif Design (c)
Year of production: 2019
Text provided by the authors of the project.