We wanted to create something memorable as gift this year. And while we wanted to take advantage of modern production techniques, we also wanted the piece itself to be of old, earth materials. Wood and metal.

The initial inspiration came pre-dawn at Quelab. I was working on something for Maker Faire, and Troy showed me one of his lasercut laptop stands that make use of “bendable” wood. The curve of the wood reminded me of book spines somehow. People who haven't had the “fortune” of smelling lasercut material all afternoon love the way it smells also – of wood and fire and char and other old things. The nod to modern times is the precision of the cutting, the machined hardware and the recessed nuts.

Queenellen came up with the stories and art. Of course, we ensured that all text related to the stories (even the colophon on the back of the card stock) came to six words as well.

Each piece is four wooden plates, with two metal bolts and nuts holding them together. All cutting and engraving was performed using the 80w C02 laser cutter at Quelab.

The cardstock for the front and back of the “packaged” pieces was pre-printed at our office on an inkjet, then lasercut after the fact.

Click here for technical notes on cutting, file prep and more.