A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles
Pairing craft cocktails with crafty puzzles
Ze Genie Bottle
Sometimes, it’s rather useful to have a genie lamp handy. It may not actually produce any genies, or grant wishes, but you never know. Stephen Chin, the master of the lathe, worked some impressive magic with his “Ze Genie Bottle”, which he produced for the 2017 International Puzzle Party.
Of Mice and Mazes
Dr. Thomas Beutner is an aerospace engineer who has worked with the Navy and the Department of Defense for many years. Simultaneously, he has been a woodworker for twenty five years, honing and refining his skills, and bringing his intelligent and clever ideas to life.
Traditional Box (Stickman No 32)
When it comes to traditional puzzle boxes, the history books direct us to the Hakone mountain region south of Tokyo in Japan. The thousand year old wood marquetry technique known as yosegi-zaiku is the region’s greatest claim to fame.
Pharaoh’s Secret
Those familiar with the creations of the Sandfield brothers won’t be surprised to see that this pyramid is held together by perfect dovetails, impossibly positioned at opposing sides all around.
TARDIS Box
Who doesn’t love a confusingly eccentric Time Lord who goes around saving the world? Dr. Who (his real name is exceedingly hard to pronounce) originally premiered on November 23, 1963 starring English character actor William Hartnell, who would go on to be known as the First Doctor.
Drunken Dancing Fraulein
I’m turning upside down with this post as well and channeling my friendly dentist from down under, that madman of mechanical mischief, the Leonardo with a lathe, puzzle maker Stephen Chin.
Caterpillar Box
Nature is full of beautiful sounds, don’t you agree? Especially in Colorado, where artist Kagen Sound and his family reside.
Jack in the Box
Perhaps it is no surprise then that a puzzle box can serve as a biography of a life as well. It seems perfectly fitting that someone who has spent a lifetime with puzzles should write their own autobiography into the wood.
Dragonfly Box
Designed for the Karakuri Creation Group’s “Travel” themed exhibition, Sugimoto channeled his feelings and emotions regarding the theme for his Dragonfly into its movements rather than trying to create something more overtly travel related in appearance.
Birthday Surprise
The “Birthday Surprise” is a very limited edition, sequential discovery puzzle box which holds a surprising reward, should you be clever enough to find it, perfectly protected inside.
Quartet Box
The follow up puzzle to the Ixia Flower Box also utilizes the cutoffs from other productions that Juno hated to waste. He created little flowers on the Ixia box with them, and he created outright gears for the Quartet Box.
Tile A While
Thomas Cummings is at it again with a new design based on an old classic. Cumming’s clever creations to date have featured many varying styles of puzzle incorporated into the lid of each detailed box.
Bear Gets Ready
Yoh Kakuda makes wonderfully whimsical creations for the group, with boxes which almost always take the form of animals. For the travel theme, Yoh chose a bear who is getting ready for a trip of his own.
Bon Bons
Perry McDaniel, the premier purveyor of puzzling pastries, is one of the most precise craftsman I know who can create incredibly complex mechanism in the tiniest pieces of wood. He has outdone himself with his Bon Bon series, scaling things down to a diminutive box which resembles a bite sized bon bon.
