Cafe Wall Box

In 1894, German-American psychologist Hugo Munsterberg described a peculiar observation. When high contrast blocks of light and dark are staggered in rows, parallel lines drawn between the rows appear to be crooked. In 1973, British psychologist Richard Gregory described the same effect, seen on the wall of a café at St Michaels Hill in Bristol.

The origins of Kagen Sound’s Cafe Wall Box can thus be traced back in time, although he was not consciously aware of this at the time, and the direct lineage is really his Pattern Box, which he made about twenty years ago, or perhaps his “Decorated Box” even further back. It seems that Kagen has been fascinated by the classic decorative Greek Key pattern since the beginning of his work. “The whole idea of it was born out of just creating a Greek Key.” He recalls making wood inlay strips to form the intended key pattern, way back when, but then seeing many patterns emerge from the strips as they shifted.

He describes his newest creation. “The box is not too tricky but it’s got a few nice steps. The difficulty aspect of it is balanced with a few challenges to do. My younger self would have wanted to try harder, adding as many challenges as possible, like I had more to prove in my abilities to make a really hard or complex puzzle. But my older and wiser self is ok with having more balance between challenges and enjoyment in the solve, with just enough to be satisfying. I think this box strikes that balance well. I can say ‘this is good’ now.

Back when Jerry Slocum was putting the Lilly Library collection together, he sent out a request for submissions, a contest to create a puzzle table design which needed to have a secret compartment. He specifically wanted a long table which would go against a wall rather than a table for the center of the room. “I thought of using the idea from my Pattern Box, but adding geared mechanisms to it, to make a “Patterned Wall Table”. I was really excited that my submission was accepted, especially because the only other person whose table design was also accepted was Akio Kamei. This was incredibly affirming to me as a young designer, to be selected along with one of my inspiring heroes. When the table was completed and the library collection opened, I was able to visit, where I met and talked with Kamei, and got to watch him solving his own puzzles, which was really fun!”

The “Patterned Wall Table” is not actually the name of Kagen’s table in the Lilly Library. “When I was building the table I didn't know what to call it for a long time. I think I might have been calling it the Pattern Table at first and a friend who was visiting walked into my workshop. I happened to have the pattern table strips laying out but not in any particular pattern, and he said ‘that's really neat, that's a really cool optical illusion, isn't that called The Cafe Wall Illusion?’ I was so immersed in the work I couldn’t see it. It was really neat to have a friend walk in who had no idea what I was doing and see the illusion happening, and in that way he helped me name the table. I'd seen the illusion before and just never connected those two dots.”

Fans of Kagen’s work know how meticulous, precise and mathematical he is with his creations, and how much care he takes in the crafting. Beautiful, elegant geometric patterns typically emerge on the surfaces of his puzzles as the solution “journey” unfolds. Yet he named his table, and now his box, after an illusion which tricks the mind into thinking that things are misaligned and crooked, for some reason ... very interesting! This may (or may not) be something he explored at the very end of the production process for these boxes in an unusual detour. He admits that as cool as the illusion can be, it makes him profoundly uncomfortable! We are definitely seeing an evolving, more philosophical and more whimsical Kagen Sound.

The Cafe Wall Box is really quite special. Kagen added a few initial steps beyond the prototype, which serve as an introduction and present a tricky challenge that needs to be solved before you can proceed further. The reason for this, beyond the pure enjoyment of more tricks, is interesting from a production perspective. Early on he noticed an issue with stability in the lid, and in solving that issue, ended up creating a second secret compartment in the box. He then integrated this into the overall solving experience. He also added a final step that ties the box together with its origin story. As he mentions, the whole experience provides a nicely satisfying balance. That would likely be more than enough, but he chose to build the main body of the box with highly figured Afzelia Xylay, a scarce wood which he acquired many years ago from a guitar maker. Xylay refers to the specific type of figuring found in this rare variation of the wood species, a pattern which has been compared to lace or alligator skin. It is unusual to find pieces large enough to make boxes this size, and Kagen had been saving it for something special. “I have only ever seen a tiny bit of this kind of wood. Usually it's a very small piece. This one is some of the nicest wood I had so it was waiting for a good project to use it, and this fit the bill in terms of being a good size box for the wood itself, and also the stability and the color of the woods were really appealing. It has this really pretty, almost veiny kind of look to it that's so unusual.”

spanish vermouth cafe drink — “Cafe Vermouth”

A toast to the Cafe Wall Box ought to embrace cafe culture, don’t you think? I suppose that could mean something with coffee, which most people would naturally associate with a cafe. I know the Espresso Martini, a drink from the nineties era, is having a moment or two in the spotlight lately. But I’m in the mood to channel a more European sensibility of the cafe. I love the types of bitter aperitifs and digestifs they like to enjoy in the afternoons in Italy, France and Spain. So let’s have a cafe vermouth.

In Spain, in particular, vermouth has been called a “lifestyle”, because it embodies much more than just the beverage. To “do a vermouth” in Spain means, ‘let’s meet for a drink in the middle of the day’. At many bars and restaurants you will likely find unlabeled jugs of wine infusing with bitter herbs and regional botanicals, the house vermouth. A good vermouth is already a perfect cocktail, which when done well is a balance of spirit, bitter, sweet and sour, after all. Vermouth can contain all of these flavors at once – even umami. It’s very common to add something salty on the side, or in the glass, such as traditional anchovy stuffed Spanish olives. Those plus a hearty wedge of orange set the stage for the start of a lovely afternoon. Cheers!

Cafe Vermouth

2 oz good quality vermouth

Spanish olives

Orange wedge

Pour vermouth over ice and garnish. Simple and perfect.

explore more:

Cafe Society

Cafe Wall Box

Nuclear Option

Coastal Living