Boxes and Booze 1/4/20 Boxes and Booze 1/4/20

55-Move Box (Stickman No. 2)

The first Stickman box, the Oak Wood Slide Box, was not truly “No. 1” in the series until there was a second, naturally. I wrote about that one, another favorite, a few years ago as a nice year end tribute, so let’s focus on No. 2 now, a box that launched an empire.

Boxes and Booze 12/28/19 Boxes and Booze 12/28/19

Art Deco Clock Box

Reflecting on time has been a preoccupation since at least the ancient Greeks, whose original god of time, Chronos, personified the concept.

Boxes and Booze 12/21/19 Boxes and Booze 12/21/19

Santa’s Workshop

St. Nicholas was a Greek monk from the third century, born near modern day Turkey. He was famed for his generosity and kindness, especially to children, and his life was celebrated.

Boxes and Booze 12/14/19 Boxes and Booze 12/14/19

Moulin Rouge

With a stroke of his pencil and paintbrush, the famous French painter Toulouse-Lautrec released his art on the world so that it might live. His philosophy might also give insight into the driving force behind the desire to solve a puzzle box – as an inherent act of life itself, perhaps.

Boxes and Booze 12/7/19 Boxes and Booze 12/7/19

Japanese Measuring Cup

The masu, traditionally made from Japanese cypress wood, is a simple cubic box made to a very specific measurement. These were originally used to measure exactly 1 serving of rice, known in Japanese as “go”

Boxes and Booze 11/23/19 Boxes and Booze 11/23/19

Kakoi

Japanese puzzle box artist Shiro Tajima has been inspired by the Japanese Zodiac to create a whole series of animal themed boxes over the years, and more recently, by the Japanese language itself.

Boxes and Booze 11/16/19 Boxes and Booze 11/16/19

Beaulid Box

The Beaulid Box was one of Fuller’s few box collaborations, a category which includes the Stickman No. 4 Clutch Tile Box with Robert Yarger, the Portable Pen Box with John Devost, the B-Box / Reactor with Goh Pit Khiam, and the Penultimate Burr Box Set with Ken Irvine.

Boxes and Booze 11/9/19 Boxes and Booze 11/9/19

Gold Chest

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.” – J.R.R.Tolkien

Boxes and Booze 11/2/19 Boxes and Booze 11/2/19

Scriptum Cube

We are taking a journey this week back in time and place, to ancient Greece and the realm of the great heroes and gods.

Boxes and Booze 10/26/19 Boxes and Booze 10/26/19

Don’t Shout Box

It’s fitting then to remember the man who made this puzzle box on Halloween this year. I've always thought that the “Don’t Shout” box is well suited for the Halloween theme, because perhaps it contains a spooky surprise inside that will make you want to scream.

Boxes and Booze 10/19/19 Boxes and Booze 10/19/19

Spider Chrysanthemum Box

“Thou mightest beter meten the myst on Malverne hulles

Then geten a mom of heore mouth til moneye weore schewed!”

Boxes and Booze 10/12/19 Boxes and Booze 10/12/19

Triple Locked Box

It’s time to praise the mohawked master of mischief, that devious delighter of mis-direction. Eric Fuller, whose Cubic Dissection wooden puzzle company is booming, can probably teach a masterclass in running a successful small business.

Boxes and Booze 10/5/19 Boxes and Booze 10/5/19

Caged Block Box

Bill makes beautiful furniture in the Scandinavian and Shaker influenced style, ascribing to the moto that form follows function. He also likes puzzles, and has a successful puzzle shop called Black Dog Puzzle Works where he offers his hand-made challenges in elegant hardwoods.

Boxes and Booze 9/28/19 Boxes and Booze 9/28/19

Where’s My Hammer

The box alone is a work of art, but the puzzling aspect makes it particularly appealing. This is a 7-step sequential discovery puzzle box, with well-hidden secrets and a clever combination of items to find and use to open it.

Boxes and Booze 9/21/19 Boxes and Booze 9/21/19

Golden Ratio Box

Let’s contemplate ratios for a moment – specifically, when two quantities have a ratio that is equal to the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities.

Boxes and Booze 9/14/19 Boxes and Booze 9/14/19

Magic Hat

Shiro Tajima, former Karakuri Creation Group artist gone solo rogue puzzle maker, created a clever animal series of puzzle boxes based on the signs of the Japanese Zodiac.

Boxes and Booze 9/7/19 Boxes and Booze 9/7/19

Secretum Cista

The provenance of the name, “Secretum Cista”, is rather auspicious and steeped in mystery. From the Latin, “Secretum” has many translations, notably “secret seal”, or more simply just “secret”.

Boxes and Booze 8/31/19 Boxes and Booze 8/31/19

Trike

I’m on a transportation kick it seems, following up the Slammed Car puzzle box with an offering from Karakuri Creation Group artist Osamu Kasho. This little baby goes from zero to twenty in two minutes!

Boxes and Booze 8/24/19 Boxes and Booze 8/24/19

Slammed Car

Slammed Car, designed by Junichi Yananose (Juno) and produced by his puzzle company Pluredro (Juno and his wife Yukari) in Queensland Australia, is their latest and greatest sequential discovery puzzle, and one of the best new puzzles in the world.

Boxes and Booze 8/17/19 Boxes and Booze 8/17/19

Puddleduck Pastures

Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild with a faery hand in hand, for the world's more full of weeping than you can understand - William Butler Yeats

A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles