Safe Keeping
Malabar Safe
It’s always nice to discover a new puzzle box designer out in the world. Mechanical puzzle design is something which allows for a satisfying mix of creativity, problem solving, artistry and fun. I’m always curious how people come up with their ideas, and how they see them to production. Akhil Sudeep, a designer from India, recently shared his story and the origins of his new puzzle box with me.
Malabar Safe by Akhil Sudeep
“My Name is Akhil Sudeep, I am an Industrial Designer from Kerala (South India). I used to work as a Product Designer for a company which makes S.T.E.M activities/games for kids. I was in charge for all the 8-12 years product segment. I made a couple of games, puzzles and activities based on certain topics. One of the topics was Mathematics, which I hesitated in the beginning but loved it in the end because that is when I made my first puzzle box. It was a simple box made out of laser cut ply wood. The assembly was made simple so that a child could assemble it and they could lock/open it using a simple mathematical equation and also they could change the equation when they wanted. That's when I realized ‘This Is It!’, this is what I wanted to do. I started researching on puzzle boxes online and I stumbled upon a YouTube channel by Mr. Chris Ramsay. Through his channel I released the puzzle box as a thing and I got to know more about other puzzle designers like Jesse Born, Felix Ure, Robert Yarger and also company's like ID Venture and Labsterium. I started making small puzzles on the side and gave them to my colleagues to play, which made me happy and excited to make more. But for the Company, I had to make the products very simple and there were lots of restrictions regarding the difficulty level, the assembly process, budget, part size etc and also they were moving towards online classes for children, which I didn't feel it was my thing. So after a year I left the Company and planned to start something on my own.”
Akhil’s “Malabar Safe” is a charming sequential discovery type puzzle box with a few secrets in store. He hand cuts and assembles each rustic box with a clever system he devised that allows him to create what he envisions using the skills and tools he has at his disposal. Considering all this the final product is very nicely done, provides a fun diversion, and is quite inexpensive for something so intricate.
safekeeping
“Back when I was in college I got an internship in a Design Studio called Sangaru Designs. It's a furniture based company mostly dealing with natural materials like wood and bamboo. The whole design studio is run by just one person, Mr. Sandeep Sangaru. He is one of my favorite designers. Since India has a lot of different artforms and artisans, Mr. Sangaru collaborates with them to create products which combine ancient yet beautiful wood working techniques with modern form language to create interesting furniture. At the very beginning of Akhil Designs, I had created a couple of different working concepts for puzzle boxes in wood as well as in laser cut files, but the laser cutter was becoming very expensive due to the lack of a laser cutting machine near where I stay, so I continued working with wood. Later I released it will be very tough to make copies of them since I didn't have any wood working machines. Later on I invested in getting a Dremel machine and a Sander but still it was very difficult and time consuming, so I came up with a concept of wooden strips. The initial process could be done by the local carpenter which is planing and cutting into strips, and then those strips can be further cut, arranged and stuck together in certain ways to get a unique piece. I felt it was a win-win solution, and also different kinds of wood can be added as well. With this technique I was able to visualize some of the mechanism for the box without putting it down on paper, so I started building directly with those wooden strips and that's how the first Malabar Safe puzzle box was made. Earlier the Safe puzzle box was called prison break but neither the name or the visual look went with it. After some brainstorming and rearranging some parts, "The Safe" theme was finalized. After creating a few prototypes I took them to the college where I teach for user testing. The Name Malabar Safe came from the region it was made.”
it’s safe to say
Themed puzzle boxes are always fun because they immediately tell a story and invite you to experience that story by trying to discover the box’s secrets. Malabar Safe hides more than one secret, and while it may not take a criminal mastermind to crack this vault, you will still feel smugly satisfied when you find the gold. If the Safe is any indication, we are in for many more stories from Akhil Designs. “Since I live in a place where there are different cultures, languages, festivals, religions, different authentic food items and lot and lots of ancient / mythology stories which I feel it will be very interesting to see some of them communicating through some of the future puzzle boxes. Since my dad was in the Indian Air Force, we travelled and lived in different parts of this country getting to meet different people, culture, artforms, architecture, taste some delicious authentic food, get to experience beautiful festivals and also many ancient/ mythological stories. So in my journey of puzzle creation I would like to communicate some of the above mentioned experiences into puzzles/ puzzle boxes.”
Safe Passage by Kenaniah Bystrom
It's safe to say that the toast to this safe is a safe bet. Kenaniah Bystrom is the creative mind behind Seattle’s The Essex, the side bar to Brandon Pettit’s elevated pizzeria Delancey. With almost no prior bar knowledge, he helped prepare and open the bar in 2012. And very quickly rose to become its manager. He spent many hours simply watching other bartenders, listening to them, reading, and sampling spirits on his own. Rather than trying to describe the taste of something to others with his own words, he seeks to invite them into the story by creating drinks that do just that. The sentiment resonates with me as someone who appreciates the stories of these creations that I love.
playing it safe
His Safe Passage is a very tasty take on the amaro spritz (perhaps you are familiar with the extremely popular Aperol Spritz?). Bystrom’s cocktail is actually an homage, which he created for a special dinner at Delancey in celebration of the launch of Brooklyn restaurant Franny’s new cookbook - Franny’s Simple Seasonal Italian. The original cocktail from the book, Sweet Olive, uses Meletti amaro, and was something their bartender recreated after a trip to Venice. The introduction of olive brine into the drink is what really sets it apart and makes it incredible. Bystrom uses a very different amaro as the starring ingredient in his creation, which has also been featured in a book - Amaro, by Brad Thomas parsons. Amaro Nardini is described as a gently bitter amaro, with notable flavors of chocolate and bitter orange on the palate. It sounds delicious but has been challenging for me to source, and I often make an homage version using Averna amaro with added chocolate and bitter orange accents from other spirits, a strategy that worked extremely well here. Bystrom told me he has been surprised by the subsequent popularity of his cocktail in the years since it lived on his menu, but I’m not surprised. In It’s a winning combination – cheers!
cracking good Safe cracking
Safe Passage by Kenaniah Bystrom
1 oz Amaro Nardini
¼ Aperol
¼ oz lemon
¼ brine from Castelvetrano olives
2 ½ oz prosecco (or other sparkling wine)
explore more: