A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles
Pairing craft cocktails with crafty puzzles
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.
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.
Flaskolation
Japanese Karakuri Creation Group artist Yasuaki Kikuchi has been thinking about life in the pandemic for a while, and wanted his new creation to express his observations, his frustration, his belief in science, and his ultimate hope.
El Capitan
Tyler Williams of Beard’s Woodshop continues his Avenger’s themed offerings with the Captain of them all.
Portal
According to Arthur C. Clarke, the Monolith ought to be an evolutionary accelerator. I’ve always thought of it as more of a “portal”. But it turns out that there is another portal, and perhaps all of this messing around in space ships has been a colossal waste of time. Why take the space highway when you can just teleport from point A to B in an instant?
The Joy of Hex
From the mischievous minds at play in the Two Brass Monkeys workshop in merry old England comes their most raucous achievement yet, a set of twelve hexagonal burrs stick puzzles that are sure to make you blush.
Architecto
Christophe has a mind full of artistic visions, and each of his unique productions has taken inspiration from an identifiable source and story which he meticulously brings to life in his incredible way. Despite the clear and obvious influence of MC Escher’s “Relativity” on his newest masterpiece, Architecto, the roots for this creation began elsewhere.
EWE EFO
From the mischievous mind of Canadian woodworker and puzzlemaker Kelly Snache comes an absolutely interstellar space ship themed puzzle box that comes with its own silly story. Every community has its band of renegades, I suppose, and it seems that this rebellious group of ewes would rather rock the flock than sit around chewing grass all day. Something about a haircut spurred them on to road trip it into outer space aboard their stunning shiny “Ewe” Flying Object. I’m sure ewe ain’t seen nothing like it before.
Space Case
I think it’s a fairly universal truth (universal in the sense of applying to all of humanity, not to the actual universe, which would be rather preposterous to presume about, and here I go anyway) that we are all fascinated in one way or another by the idea of other life, “out there”.