A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles
Pairing craft cocktails with crafty puzzles
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Happy Hour
Puzzle historians will be well familiar with the works of Angelo John Lewis, an English lawyer and avid magician, who catalogued a compendium of puzzles of the Victorian era.
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Coastal Living
There was a time, once upon a time in the not too distant past, when becoming a metagrobolotegestolomixologist was merely a speculative thought experiment meant as clever wordplay.
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Coasting Along
Watching a coast as it slips by the ship is like thinking about an enigma. There it is before you, smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage, and always mute with an air of whispering, "Come and find out". ― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
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Canfield-Shaker
I’m about to shake things up here at Boxes and Booze – figuratively, literally and otherwise.
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Beer-Stein
“Beer, if drunk in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit and promotes health.” – Thomas Jefferson
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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”
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Memo Pad
Every so often I come across a puzzle box which happens to embody something inherently apropos for the central theme of this odd blog of mine, which attempts to pair puzzle boxes (and the occasional non-box puzzle) with craft cocktails. I call them “perfect” Boxes and Booze boxes, which is not to imply they are my absolute favorite boxes, but how can I not like them?
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HoKey CoKey Lock
The HoKey CoKey Lock was an exchange gift from Steve Nicholls at this year’s IPP. He famously made everyone who received a copy do the actual dance with him first. It was quite a sight.
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Hales Cabinet Lock
A few months ago, if you happened to be visiting headquarters and the spirit moved you, you would find yourself steered toward a beautiful old armoire style cabinet which was painted black and had decorative white flowers and a see through mesh which revealed a few choice bottles.
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Spring Night
In Japan, the frog is a common symbol of spring, perhaps due to the many species which erupt in song all throughout the rice fields this time of year.
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Ze Super Pen
Stephen Chin, the madman wood turner well known for making tippy tops, whistles, eggs and spheres out of beautiful wood has set his considerable talent to fine writing implements as well.
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Whisky Bottle
Happy World Whisky Day! This holiday really takes me back. All the way to Babylon and Mesopotamia in 2000 BC! Evidence of fermented, distilled grain (whisky!) exists from archaeological sites in the middle east dating all the way back to those ancient times.
The Gates of Time
“Time is an illusion” – Albert Einstein. I might add that all good illusions could be considered puzzles, and derive that time is a puzzle. Which is quite literally true this time.
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Writer's Block
At the risk of becoming boxed in, I present a box which turns things inside out for me, as I find myself inside of it. The creative woodworker Tracy Woods Clemons, from Rochester, New York, has been making her designs in wood for many years.
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