A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles
Pairing craft cocktails with crafty puzzles
Defying Gravity
Fans of Alex Owens’ fantastically complicated interlocking puzzles, such as the Heart Box and the award winning Piano, know he is a master of engineering intricate puzzling experiences. How forcefully you fall for his newest oldest puzzle will theoretically depend on your individual mass.
All Aboard!
In Japan, there are “passenger pushers”, known as oshiya, who help push people onto the overcrowded trains to keep things moving on time. Although they are not as prevalent as they once were, you can now practice the skill on yourself with this charming packing puzzle by Jordi Gallen.
Looks That Kill
I recently found myself in possession of an incongruous mixture of rare colorful wood, reminiscent of a tiny, beautiful Rubik’s like object, fashioned together into a motley cube.
Lost City
German Jesuit Renaissance scholar and polymath Athanasius Kircher was a prolific academic thought leader of his era, like Leonardo DaVinci. He was known as the “Master of a Hundred Arts”, and his personal wunderkammer (cabinet of curiosities) became what is thought to be the first museum in history.
The Royal Game
Marc Duran, a French business consultant and IT specialist with an interest in “history, architecture, cryptology, brain teasers and puzzles”, decided to embark on a new passion project a few years ago: creating his own perfect puzzle boxes that embody all of his interest.
A Tribute to Gary Foshee
In the spirit of transparency, this offering is really just an excuse to tell a few stories about one of the original members of the mechanical puzzle community, a mentor and friend to so many.
Back in Black
Book themed puzzle boxes are always intriguing to me. I suppose they embody the ultimate symbolism of how a good puzzle box tells a story, of adventure, secrets and reward. It’s a pleasure to get lost in a good book, and a book puzzle box offers that sentiment as a tangible experience.
Hunger Games
Seafaring puzzle adventurers who were equally thrilled, befuddled and impressed by a tiny metal puzzle box that made its way across the world a few years ago have been patiently waiting for their next great “white whale” to surface.
It’s Slow Time!
Tortoise is another beautifully crafted and charming production from Juno, the master of pleasing SD puzzles in wood.
Making Cents
Popular in the late nineteenth century, the “high wheel” bicycle is now better known as the Penny Farthing, a colloquial name derived from its one large and one small wheel, like the large British penny and small farthing coins of the time.
Season’s Greetings
I’m not sure what the Peugot brothers would think about the “Pepper Mill” from Mark van Elteren, an invention of an entirely different sort.