Kathleen Malcolmson started making her puzzles in the mountains of Colorado where she founded the original Cleverwood puzzle company. More recently she has collaborated with the Sandfield brothers to produced some of the most iconic puzzles.
For this April Fool’s Day I’m turning to one of my favorite groups of fine folks, the local Texas talents of Kathleen Malcolmson, Perry McDaniel, and Robert Sandfield. Together they produced a classic little conundrum which purports to be nothing of the sort.
The Sandfield’s ReBanded Dovetail was their IPP 32 exchange puzzle in 2012. Designed by Robert and Kathleen and crafted by Kathleen from light baltic birch plywood, walnut and lacewood, these little boxes feature a double dovetail on the ends and are wrapped tightly with double bands of shimmering lacewood.
I’m very fortunate to live near one of the best American puzzle makers to have done so in recent years. Kathleen Malcolmson now resides in Houston, Texas, the home of Boxes and Booze as well. A few years ago she produced a series of beautiful Japanese style puzzle boxes with a twist in her workshop in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains outside Cotopaxi, Colorado, where she used to reside.
Haven’t we all felt like we are missing our tail, now and then? I suppose we have a choice in those situations, to see things like Eeyore, where everyone else is to blame, or like Pooh, who approaches life with a sunnier disposition.