Boxes and Booze 11/16/24 Boxes and Booze 11/16/24

Pioneer Daze

The Pioneer spirit is alive and well in the debut puzzle from Dylan Christopher, a mechanical engineer with a flair for ingenious design.

Boxes and Booze 10/5/24 Boxes and Booze 10/5/24

Military Brass

Who Dares Wins is a British television show named after the SAS (Special Air Squadron) motto. It is also now a collaborative puzzle lock box from a bunch of brilliant Dare Devils....

Boxes and Booze 6/22/24 Boxes and Booze 6/22/24

Going crazy

We head back to Tel Aviv to visit our friend Boaz Feldman, Israeli puzzle maker and heir to the Feldman lock legacy.

Boxes and Booze 4/27/24 Boxes and Booze 4/27/24

Open and Shut

From the workshop of French mechanical engineer Benjamin Baley, proprietor at Simple Puzzle and creator of the original Simple Lock 1, comes, to put it simply, the sequel.

Boxes and Booze 6/17/23 Boxes and Booze 6/17/23

Simpleton

Simplicity of design and elegance in motion can make for historically great inventions or products throughout history. The same can be said for puzzles.

Boxes and Booze 2/25/23 Boxes and Booze 2/25/23

Looping In

I’m unlocking another episode of “Locks and Libations” this week on the blog to visit with our old friend Boaz Feldman, heir to the DanLock legacy and a brilliant puzzle maker in his own right.

Boxes and Booze 1/14/23 Boxes and Booze 1/14/23

Reindeer Games

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

Boxes and Booze 9/24/22 Boxes and Booze 9/24/22

Keepsake

The Norman invasion of England brought with it an architectural fortification system known as motte-and-bailey, which was fairly simple to construct even for unskilled laborers, while at the same time being militarily effective.

Boxes and Booze 8/13/22 Boxes and Booze 8/13/22

Cheap Goods

“The North American word schlock”, according to Vocabulary.com, “comes from the Yiddish word shlak, … "junk," or from the German Schlacke, "dregs," "slag," or "refuse."” It’s crap.

Boxes and Booze 1/29/22 Boxes and Booze 1/29/22

Loki

“Because,” said Thor, “when something goes wrong, the first thing I always think is, it is Loki’s fault. It saves a lot of time.” ― Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology

Boxes and Booze 5/15/21 Boxes and Booze 5/15/21

Goldilock

It’s been a minute since we visited our old friend the locksmith so it’s high time we hail him again. Masquerading by day as Kent’s own master locksmith (when he isn’t a master carpenter), this English entrepreneur has the key to your every locked away desire.

Boxes and Booze 10/17/20 Boxes and Booze 10/17/20

Champion

I’m unlocking a new edition of “Locks and Libations” this week to feature another fantastic creation from magician and inventor Eric Stevens. Let’s look at another one of his unusual, innovative and original ideas – a puzzle lock made entirely from playing cards.

Boxes and Booze 8/22/20 Boxes and Booze 8/22/20

Lock Box

Do you like a box that locks?

Do you like a lock like box?

Yes, I like a box that locks

Yes, I like a lock like box

Yes, I like a lock like box that looks like lock of box that locks

Boxes and Booze 6/1/19 Boxes and Booze 6/1/19

Bovalis Lock

This unique creation comes from the mind of Greek American Constantine Bovalis, a mechanical design engineer from Illinois. Constantine notes that the inspiration for his puzzle creations comes in a roundabout way from traditional Japanese puzzle boxes

Boxes and Booze 3/9/19 Boxes and Booze 3/9/19

Popplock T9

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Rainer Popp’s fabulous T9 puzzle lock, regarded by many as one of his very best.

Boxes and Booze 11/10/18 Boxes and Booze 11/10/18

Haleslock 5 (Firestarter)

Over the years Shane has created a number of devious and mysterious wooden puzzles, and more recently, a series of puzzle locks. He loves to restore old and vintage locks, and knows the fascinating history of his craft. It’s no wonder he comes up with such intriguing and clever mechanisms.

Boxes and Booze 8/25/18 Boxes and Booze 8/25/18

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.

Boxes and Booze 7/28/18 Boxes and Booze 7/28/18

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.

Boxes and Booze 6/9/18 Boxes and Booze 6/9/18

Popplock T11

Rainer Popp is a German craftsman who has turned his passion for restoring and collecting vintage antique locks into his own brand of modern day puzzle locks. Because of his skill and creativity, many believe that he is the greatest puzzle lock maker living today.

Boxes and Booze 4/28/18 Boxes and Booze 4/28/18

B-Lock

Locks appear to run in this family, and it should come as no surprise that the debut from Dan’s son Boaz is a brilliant puzzle as well. Growing up in a house full of puzzles must have had something to do with it.

A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles