The Battery Operated Box

2023 IPP Design Competition first Prize!

Solid Wood Batteries Included!

The Battery Operated Box is unlike any other I have created. It is an entirely different puzzle that requires discovering four solid wood batteries. It presents a playful riddle and its mechanism is very secretive. It is a box in the spirit of the Karakuri Creation Group secret boxes from Japan. I used material from my past furniture projects in this piece including woods saved from the Pipe Organ Desk and Lotus Table productions. The Battery Operated Box has a wide variety of woods in it. More than any other box I have created in the past. Solving it will reveal a feat of magic and leave you pondering how this is possible?

Elements of performative magic came up in this design in terms of creating subtle forms of misdirection. I will not say more as a magician never reveals their secrets.

The Battery Operated Box will have a sibling box in the near future called the “Coin Operated Box”. It will take a similar theme and appearance but with a new challenge. Stay tuned for more.