Boxes and Booze 2/8/20 Boxes and Booze 2/8/20

Whale

“It is the easiest thing in the world for a man to look as if he had a great secret in him.” - Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

Boxes and Booze 1/11/20 Boxes and Booze 1/11/20

Ripple Out

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa

Boxes and Booze 12/7/19 Boxes and Booze 12/7/19

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”

Boxes and Booze 11/23/19 Boxes and Booze 11/23/19

Kakoi

Japanese puzzle box artist Shiro Tajima has been inspired by the Japanese Zodiac to create a whole series of animal themed boxes over the years, and more recently, by the Japanese language itself.

Boxes and Booze 11/9/19 Boxes and Booze 11/9/19

Gold Chest

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.” – J.R.R.Tolkien

Boxes and Booze 9/14/19 Boxes and Booze 9/14/19

Magic Hat

Shiro Tajima, former Karakuri Creation Group artist gone solo rogue puzzle maker, created a clever animal series of puzzle boxes based on the signs of the Japanese Zodiac.

Boxes and Booze 8/31/19 Boxes and Booze 8/31/19

Trike

I’m on a transportation kick it seems, following up the Slammed Car puzzle box with an offering from Karakuri Creation Group artist Osamu Kasho. This little baby goes from zero to twenty in two minutes!

Boxes and Booze 7/27/19 Boxes and Booze 7/27/19

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?

Boxes and Booze 6/22/19 Boxes and Booze 6/22/19

Color-colo

“Life imitates art far more than art imitates life” – Oscar Wilde, 1891

Boxes and Booze 5/25/19 Boxes and Booze 5/25/19

Present for You

Let’s start with a present, shall we? For me? Really? There can’t be many better puzzle boxes for this occasion than the “Present for you” box by Karakuri Creation Group artist Shou Sugimoto.

Boxes and Booze 5/18/19 Boxes and Booze 5/18/19

Toilet

I’m jumping on the pop culture bandwagon this week with a themed offering, although I’m doing it in my own special way. As everyone who has been paying even the tiniest fraction of attention in the world knows, Game of Thrones has become a global obsession.

Boxes and Booze 5/11/19 Boxes and Booze 5/11/19

Rose

Red roses have had the symbolic meaning of love for centuries, with the origins traced back to Greek mythology. Aphrodite is usually cited as the source, perhaps from her tears, and the red color from her blood or from the blood of her lover Adonis.

Boxes and Booze 2/2/19 Boxes and Booze 2/2/19

I’m Home

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home – John Howard Payne

Boxes and Booze 1/26/19 Boxes and Booze 1/26/19

My Dog

Kakuda evokes the love felt for our fond companions and describes the scene of this dog jumping and prancing in anticipation as her dinner is set down.

Boxes and Booze 1/5/19 Boxes and Booze 1/5/19

Walking with the Moon

I’m facing the new year with this sense of wonder, walking with the moon, if you will. Yoh Kakuda captures the sentiment beautifully in this piece, which is closer in style to his automaton work where the movement is the beginning and the end.

Boxes and Booze 12/29/18 Boxes and Booze 12/29/18

Pineapple Secret

Hiroshi Iwahara’s Pineapple Secret is one of the most strikingly beautiful pieces he has created and is an incredible achievement from this master of the Karakuri Creation Group.

Boxes and Booze 12/22/18 Boxes and Booze 12/22/18

Code Name L

Code Name “L” is an extremely creative box which will keep you guessing until you experience the wonderfully satisfying AHA moment.

Boxes and Booze 12/1/18 Boxes and Booze 12/1/18

Sleep Lion

I’ll never get tired of the whimsical, adorable creations of Japanese artist Osamu Kasho. As he admits in his brief bio on the Karakuri Creation Group site, he embraces and cherishes playfulness in his work.

Boxes and Booze 9/22/18 Boxes and Booze 9/22/18

I’m Shy

“I’m Shy”, Kakuda’s introductory piece for the group, features a charming little turtle with a wobbly grin. Kakuda modeled him after a real life red-eared turtle kept at school, and relates a tale of the tiny turtle who is now grown up, and doesn’t look quite so shy anymore.

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

Dragonfly Box

Designed for the Karakuri Creation Group’s “Travel” themed exhibition, Sugimoto channeled his feelings and emotions regarding the theme for his Dragonfly into its movements rather than trying to create something more overtly travel related in appearance.

A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles