The Hedgehog Story
After losing his wife to cancer, Bjørn Holte left New York City and moved with his young children to Hemsedal, a small mountain village in Norway.
Starting a new life as a single father came with plenty of challenges—and one surprisingly persistent everyday problem: keeping the family’s shoes, boots, and gloves dry and organized.
In Hemsedal, where snow and rain are part of life for much of the year, wet gear was everywhere. Gloves disappeared, boots were constantly soaked, and there never seemed to be enough dry gear ready for the next day. For an active, outdoorsy family, staying warm and comfortable starts with staying dry.
Bjørn tried the shoe and boot dryers already on the market, but found them slow, weak, and ineffective. He needed something powerful enough to dry the family’s gear quickly, while also providing a simple way to keep everything organized.
When he couldn’t find it, he decided to build it himself.
“I didn’t want to create something that was just a little better than the existing solutions. I wanted to revolutionize the industry,” says Bjørn.
Together with his new wife, Erin, Bjørn founded Hedgehog Dryer.
The name came directly from the product itself. The original dryer was designed with multiple drying arms—or “spikes”—for hanging and drying shoes, boots, and gloves. With all the spikes in use, it looked a little like a hedgehog. The name stuck.
What started as a solution to a problem in their own home quickly grew into something much bigger.
Working with engineers from the Water Power Laboratory at NTNU, Hedgehog developed specialized high-performance turbine technology to deliver dramatically more airflow than conventional drying solutions. The team has since worked with experts in fan and heating technology and conducted extensive safety testing and certification to create products that combine powerful drying performance with safety, durability, and Scandinavian design.
In 2022, Hedgehog received the prestigious Red Dot Award for Product Design in the “Innovative Products” category. The Red Dot jury praised the product, stating: “The Hedgehog Dryer offers sophisticated functionality for drying shoes, boots and gloves and offers enhanced user safety.”
Today, Bjørn and Erin have five children together, and the little idea born from the daily chaos of wet boots and gloves in Hemsedal has grown into an international company.
More than 50 people across 10 countries now work with Hedgehog. Hedgehog products are available in more than 2,000 stores, and more than 200,000 Hedgehog dryers have been sold.
Yet the idea behind Hedgehog remains remarkably simple: create products that solve real everyday problems—and make them dramatically better than what existed before.
Faster smarter dryer
With three (now four!) young children, gloves, shoes and boots were frequently soaking wet or totally misplaced once they arrived at home. Hemsedal, like much of Scandinavia, has snow and rain most of the year. For an active outdoorsy family, staying cozy means staying dry, whatever the weather.
Bjørn tried to use shoe dryers on the market, but the other products were weak and ineffective. He needed a simple solution that would dry and organize his family's gloves and boots quickly and decided to create a new product that would solve the problem. This is how the idea of Hedgehog originated.
Hedgehog has now developed a market-leading series of products across Scandinavia within the shoe dryer category. The team has designed its turbine technology with engineers from the Water Power Laboratory at NTNU; engaged engineers from leading fan and heating manufacturers; and has performed extensive safety tests and certifications to deliver a safe and quality product. Hedgehog design and technology are now also protected with a portfolio of patents that cover all markets the company enters.
