A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles
Pairing craft cocktails with crafty puzzles
Bank Account
Located a few miles northeast of Hollywood and known as the “media capital of the world”, the Los Angeles adjacent city of Burbank, California, is occasionally confused with a puzzle.
Hidden Gem
When Eric Fuller decided to team up with Frederic Boucher and modify one of his devilishly fun designs, he knew he could create something even more outrageous, complex, challenging, unusual and fun.
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.
Index Case
An index case, also referred to as “patient zero”, is the first documented patient in a disease epidemic within a population, or the first documented patient included in an epidemiological study.
Into the Vortex
The vortex theory [of the atom] is only a dream. Itself unproven, it can prove nothing, and any speculations founded upon it are mere dreams about dreams. - Lord Kelvin
Box of the Celts
How do you fit all the “Gauls, Celtiberians, Gallaecians, Galatians, Britons, Gaels and their offshoots” (Wikipedia) into a little box? That stunt would take some gall, I imagine.
The Tippenary Mystery Tour
Goodbye, Piccadilly, Farewell, Leicester Square! It's a long long way to Tipperary, But my heart's right there. – Jack Judge and Harry Williams, 1912
Penultimate Burr Box Set
As if having a unique and beautiful burr set made by Eric Fuller were not enough, the box that contains the set is also rather special.
Dabbit Invasion!
This story arguably starts back in 1892, in a German satire magazine called Fliegende Blätter (flying leaves / loose sheets), where the first published illustration of these ambiguous animals appeared with the caption “Rabbit and Duck”. Was it a rabbit, or a duck?
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.
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.
Dark Fairy Door
“Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame!” - William Butler Yeats
Caged Block Box
Bill makes beautiful furniture in the Scandinavian and Shaker influenced style, ascribing to the moto that form follows function. He also likes puzzles, and has a successful puzzle shop called Black Dog Puzzle Works where he offers his hand-made challenges in elegant hardwoods.
Ned Kelley
Behold the infamous tale of Ned Kelley, the notorious Australian bushranger and outlaw wanted for a series of police murders in the late 1800s. Kelley and his gang’s evasion of police capture for over two years ended in a famous gun battle in which the outlaws wore makeshift iron suits and helmets which have become iconic.
Little Game Hunter
Fancy going on an African safari, anyone? The allure of the classic game hunt is the stuff of novels by the likes of Isak Dinesen in my book, and the only shooting I’d be interested in is with my camera.