Boxes and Booze 8/7/21 Boxes and Booze 8/7/21

Book Puzzle Boxes

It’s time to reach for a good book. We love books at Boxes and Booze headquarters, and puzzle boxes compete for space on the bookshelves with them here. Monday Aug 9 (2021) is National Book Lover’s Day, which is cause for celebration, and calls for an apropos special offering.

Boxes and Booze 7/31/21 Boxes and Booze 7/31/21

Donay Apple

Last summer I spent a puzzling “sabbatical” teaching classes at the University of Berkeley. The course didn’t take place in sunny California, however; rather, it was located in the English Midlands county of Leicestershire, where master turner John Berkeley resides.

Boxes and Booze 7/24/21 Boxes and Booze 7/24/21

Perpetual Hinge

The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can not be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. The second law relates to entropy, stating that any system will move toward a state of disorder. These two laws should suggest that the mythical “perpetual motion machine”, a device that works via its own contained mechanics, forever, is an impossibility.

Boxes and Booze 7/17/21 Boxes and Booze 7/17/21

Tornado

Master craftsman Akio Kamei, the founder of the Karakuri Creation Group of Japanese artisans, is famous for his ability to create pieces that tell a story. His work is prized for its novelty, beauty and ingenuity. It’s no wonder that he has been a source of inspiration and admiration for American artist Kagen Sound, whose own work is highly prized for similar reasons.

Boxes and Booze 7/10/21 Boxes and Booze 7/10/21

Hydrant

The Hydrant was Austrian puzzle designer Stephan Baumegger’s sensational entry in the 2018 International Puzzle Design Competition, where it garnered him a top ten vote award.

Boxes and Booze 7/3/21 Boxes and Booze 7/3/21

CORVI 2020

Of course everyone responds to a pandemic in their own way. If you happen to be an Australian dentist with lots of drills and no teeth in sight, you start dreaming about a virus puzzle.

Boxes and Booze 6/26/21 Boxes and Booze 6/26/21

Nail Box

Bill Sheckels has been crafting fine furniture for over fifty years. He has been fortunate to run a successful small business over the years in pursuit of his life’s passion. His beautiful craft is highlighted by Scandinavian and Shaker style sensibilities and the simplicity of form that follows function.

Boxes and Booze 6/19/21 Boxes and Booze 6/19/21

One Hand Box

Those who follow the works of Robert Yarger, the brilliant puzzle maker behind the Stickman Puzzle Box Company, know that he likes to create new puzzles and explore different genres. He rarely revisits an idea, and when he applies his focus to a new project it becomes extraordinary.

Steven Canfield 6/12/21 Steven Canfield 6/12/21

Surprising Drawer

So how does one create something actually surprising in a puzzling object? A set of drawers, for example. What is surprising about that? A plain set of three drawers, like this one, beautifully crafted and ordinary. No one would think twice about them, except for the fact that they come from the Karakuri Creation Group of puzzle box artisans.

Boxes and Booze 6/5/21 Boxes and Booze 6/5/21

Small Cabin

Benno de Grote has been tinkering with his puzzling ideas since he was a little boy, and despite limited access to materials and tools, has been able to produce quite a number of puzzle boxes which many will recognize.

A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles