Handcrafted Eco-Friendly Font Puzzles For Typophiles Hand Made in Italy.

above image is cropped

Fan of fonts? These beautifully designed and crafted painted plywood puzzles from Looodus are laser cut and hand-finished in the hills of Trivero in Piemonte, approximately two hour’s drive from Milan, Italy.



The puzzles are a true collaboration between designer and artisan, exploring the possibilities of computer aided design and hand finished products. A marriage of new technologies and pride in a craft handed down from father to son. Each puzzle goes through numerous checks to ensure a product which is precise and modern while being unmistakably artisanal.




Extreme care has been taken by Looodus to use a manufacturer who shares their values with attention to craft and quality while ensuring that the product is as environmentally friendly as possible. The process begins with the selection of wood used to create this beautiful piece. All the plywood is FSC (Forestal Stewardship Council) certified Poplar from the surrounding Padana Plane. This is where the majority of Poplar is grown for Italian paper and the carpentry sectors.




The concept for the Puzzle, like many of Looodus’ products, is born from observing the designer's baby daughter and her real life experience of being a first time parent. The Fonts were selected to be appropriate for their shape and size but also have a special place in the world of design. The colours have been checked and tested to offer a harmonious range across Green, Blue and Red.




“There are opportunities which arise every day to be creative and make quick fun toys for her, using the most rudimentary materials and sometimes these mini prototypes can become more refined products,” explains Kurt Stapelfeldt, Co-founder and Looodus Chief Designer.

NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER THREE YEARS OLD



buy them here

30 Carved Wood Baseball Bats by Vincent Kohler in 'Turnaround.'

'Turnaround' is an artistic project by Vincent Kohler which focuses on the theme of the baseball bat. It consists of a collection of thirty baseball bats, turned on a lathe using different species of woods. Each bat is unique in form, and a book combining texts by various authors and photographs was specially done on the subject for this project.

The 30 Bats:




Details:







The bats in use by the Challengers Baseball Club of Zurich:





The project has been implemented thanks to the cultural percentage allocated to the building of the Heerenschürli sports center in Schwamendingen - Zurich, which includes the first ballpark in Switzerland that conforms to the game’s regulations.

Official Baseball Bat Rules, Article 110:

(a) The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2 3 / 4 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.
Note: No laminated or experimental bats shall be used in a professional game (either championship season or exhibition games) until the manufacturer has secured approval from the Rules Committee of his design and methods of manufacture.

(b) Cupped Bats. An indentation in the end of the bat up to one inch in depth is permitted and may be no wider than two inches and no less than one inch in diameter. The indentation must be curved with no foreign substance added.

(c) The bat handle, for not more than 18 inches from its end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance to improve the grip. Any such material or substance, which extends past the 18 inch limitation, shall cause the bat to be removed from the game.
Note: If the umpire discovers that the bat does not conform to (c) above until a time during or after which the bat has been used in play, it shall not be grounds for declaring the batter out, or ejected from the game.

(d) No colored bat may be used in a professional game unless approved by the Rules Committee.

Baseball fans will really appreciate the in-depth text that accompanies the project and it is available to read in French, English and German here.

Production: ville de Zürich - Amt für Hochbauten, Fachstelle Kunst und Bau.
photos by Geoffrey Cottenceau

Turnaround by Vincent Kohler

Adorable Hand Carved Wooden Puppets By Australian Wez Champion.

With initial training and a mentorship in Prague under Puppet master Michaela Bartonova, Wez Champion is establishing himself as a “one of a kind” puppet carver in the Australia. Combining the traditional Czech carving techniques with the unique Australian experience and “heart”, Wez is constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible in wooden puppet building and loves the challenge of custom puppets.


above: Wez Champion with one of his unique puppets. Photo by Mike Sea, courtesy of PS Magazine

Here's a look at a few of his adorable one-of-a-kind hand carved puppets which he sells under the name of Loutky Puppets.

Wombat Tabletop Puppet:




The ears are made from "Cane Toad Leather" (the cane toad is a pest in Australia, responsible for widespread destruction of their native species). Not only is use of this leather a distinctive feature in Wez's Puppets, but it has a unique texture and pattern, adding more life to these puppets.

The two arms are moveable with brass rods inset into the elbow joints.
$367.65, Buy it here

Tasmanian Figured Myrtle "quoll" tabletop puppet:




The quoll is a legendary animal that is on the brink of being wiped out from our world. This native Australian carnivore is rare to see in the wild.

Individually crafted By Wez Champion from "Figured Tasmanian Myrtle" (a native Australian exotic wood), this quoll puppet as unique as it is adorable.

The ears are made from "Cane Toad Leather" and the neck joint of the quoll puppet is a new development in wooden puppet building and a distinctive technique of Wez's work, allowing for amazingly expressive movement of the head.

The two arms are moveable with brass rods inset into the elbow joints.
$395.57, buy it here

He also sells finger puppets such as these hand carved out of Australian Red Cedar with ears created from leather off cuts that were salvaged from leather suppliers:


For Do-It-Yourselfers, he has blank DIY finger puppets upon which you can draw, paint or decorate any way you'd like:


Visit Loutky Puppets to learn more.

Loutky Puppets on Etsy

photos by Susan Wang photography

Le bureau de Paolo by Sam Baron

This unusual and beautiful desk is made in a limited edition of 8 pieces. Crafted of Teak wood by Sam Baron for the Secondome Gallery, it measures 120cm X 75cm X 150cm and has lots of storage in its wonderfully modern design.





Inquire about the price and availability at the Secondome Gallery

Luxury Racing Bikes Exquisitely Crafted of Mahogany Wood By Sueshiro Sano.

Exquisite craftsmanship and attention to detail make this wooden bike the finest about which I have written. While it's true I introduced you to Woody Bicycles and the first FSC- certified wooden bicycle, the elegance and proportions of Sanomagic's wooden bikes are in a class by themselves.



A ninth generation ship builder, Sueshiro Sano, shown above with his Mahogany Bike T2, has created a lightweight high performance luxury bike using layering techniques employed in shipbuilding to make the wood stronger and more durable.



above images courtesy of Adeyaka Magazine

Sano made his first Mahogany bicycle in January of 2008. Since then he has completed ten and is working on the eleventh in which he is introducing Mahogany deep polished rims.






Every element on the bike, other than the gears and brakes, is handcrafted of mahogany wood. A curved wooden frame, wooden spacers, wooden handlebars, a wooden saddle, wooden kickstand and wooden seat. Even the the wheels, the drink holder and the little cap on the tire valves is wood as well.










Sano claims the bike outperforms aluminum models and even some of the most cutting edge carbon fiber models. Like Carbon fiber, wood is a fiber which has holes inside for water which contain air. So, when the wood gets a shock, it expels the air much like a sneaker sole. This absorbs the majority of the shock and provides a seamlessly smooth ride.




Despite the fact that many people see his bikes as a 'design project', Sano considers safety and functionality first.


above: The Sanomagic workshop

Mahogany Bikes made by Sueshiro Sano.