About
Charlie North was inspired to design a boat kitset after he and his father completed a build of their own.
I loved building the boat with dad and the shared experience brought us closer together. - Charlie North, Stitchbird Founder
We wanted to offer other families and groups the boat building experience, without the need for a large workshop or expensive tools. The Stitchbird dinghy kit is designed to require minimal time, experience and tools.
Outside of his day job as an engineer, Charlie began work on the first prototype. The objective was to create a design which could be built with a minimum of time, tools and experience. The first Stitchbird dinghy took its maiden voyage in 2014.
Annabel Weber joined the business in 2016 to develop the brand and marketing. Annabel is from a boating family and passionate about promoting hands-on creative projects over mass-produced products.
While both are proud New Zealanders, the business is international with Charlie based in Auckland, Annabel in Copenhagen.
Stitchbird’s mission is to provide positive learning experiences through making.
Where it all started: Miss Ponsonby was built by Charlie and his Father in their workshop at home.
The name
Our name is inspired by the endangered Stitchbird from New Zealand, also known as the Hihi.
Photo: Janice McKenna, taken at Zealandia
Stitchbird also reflects a key aspect of our design, the "stitch and glue" process. This technique uses the humble cable-tie instead of expensive tools.