Range of Book Nook Escape Rooms now available!

Made on a Glowforge
1

For those who have seen some of my previous posts, I a am a puzzl maker who has been utilising my Glowforge to make tiny dioramas and book nooks which double as escape rooms.

ARTFELT BOOKSHELFKS
ARTFELT BOOKSHELFKS1920×492 130 KB

As you can see, they have lights built in, and they really pop on the shelf!

BUILDING STRIPKS
BUILDING STRIPKS1920×492 121 KB

They come in kit form, so that they can be easily posted and transported.

PHOTOREELONAIRKSBN
PHOTOREELONAIRKSBN1920×492 128 KB

All of the wooden elements you see here were cut on a Glowforge, including the floor, which has a (shhh) SECRET PANEL.

REEL ARTFELTKSBN
REEL ARTFELTKSBN1920×492 147 KB

It was all outlined in Cuttle, then finished and artworked in Illustrator.

REEL SAVEWATSONKSBN
REEL SAVEWATSONKSBN1920×492 171 KB

This is the Sherlock Holmes set, ‘Save Watson,’ which is the current most popular set!

I launched the Kickstarter, Escape The Book Nook, a few days ago and it’s going really well. If you would like to build your own miniature escape room, please do take a look at the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1666104729/escape-the-book-nook?ref=4w8cvse

I’d also LOVE to answer any questions you may have!

37 Likes
2

You are amazingly creative and innovative!

Congrats on your Kickstarter!

10 Likes
3

Ah, thank you Martha!

I do love the fact with a laser you can come up with an idea, and quickly iterate an idea. I love cardboard especially for this purpose!

9 Likes
4

These look wonderful, congratulations!

Can you talk a bit about your iterative process?

8 Likes
5

Thank you!

I sketch out the idea of the room in my mind’s eye first, then on paper (I live life on scraps of paper, backs of receipts etc). To make the puzzles ‘sit’ right with the room, I create it with drawings, then devise the situation, then make the puzzles.

In order to post these, I have to use the restriction of the packaging dimensions, which I don’t mind as I find restriction breeds creativity!

Once I have designed the framework of the model, I cut it out in cardboard. This is cheap, quick to iterate, and helps to uncover where missing measures appear and disappear! Without fail, there will be one section 1cm short or too long!

IMG_3476
IMG_3476612×816 103 KB

Once the cardboard model is right, I’ll add any changes in the design and cut in MDF. It again is lovely ot use, cuts cleanly, and is perfect for these nooks, as every surface is covered or painted. In the UK, the vast, vast majority of our Birch Ply comes from Russia, so I feel like I’m being a slightly better citizen by using premier Irish MDF!

IMG_3477
IMG_3477612×816 121 KB

I’ll now go into Illustrator to finish the designs and object creations, to see how things sit and are laid out. As you can see from the model below, this set has a strip light which would traditionally sit along the room, but in a model, it looks like a chain dangling! For the final model, I moved it so it went across the room. Not techincally accurate, but much better aesthetically!

IMG_3478
IMG_3478612×816 142 KB

The floor is 2mm Birch, deliberately. Only by making it did I erealise I had to change several aspects of the model. When everything else is 3mm, adding 2mm changes plenty of dimensions.

I hope this was helpful!

16 Likes
6

These are amazing!

8 Likes
7

Ah, many thanks!

4 Likes
8

I was fortunate to get in on the first day . Looking forward to these - gifts for the kids who like puzzles & book nooks.

7 Likes
9

Ah amazing! How old are your kids? I’m wondering if I can put in a little Easter Egg somewhere for them…

5 Likes
10

They’re grown-up. 20s. But they love Martin Raynsford’s puzzles and a bunch of puzzle boxes from a couple of German makers. I first started doing & buying book nooks a couple of years ago. That fascination started with the Nutshell dioramas Frances Glessner Lee started making in the 20s/30s kick-starting forensic science. My daughter was considering a career in forensics and the MD Medical Examiners Office used to allow public tours of them pre-pandemic. Now they’re closed to the public so nooks like yours have to satisfy :slightly_smiling_face:

5 Likes
11

You have opened up a rabbithole of immense proportions here - I had no CLUE about these! Book duly ordered.

Also, yes, Martin’s puzzle boxes are beautiful and quite devilish in their challenge!

5 Likes
12

You’re welcome :stuck_out_tongue: It’s hard to believe now with DNA and professional policing, that it wasn’t that long ago that there was no science in policing and detectives mostly spent their time validating their preconceptions.

4 Likes
13

It’s getting a mention in Update 3 (and I’ve bought two books, so THANKS A LOT) - do you mind if I give you credit?

1 Like
14

No issue. But my daughter Avery deserves the credit - she’s the one who discovered them for me. :slightly_smiling_face:

If you ever get the chance, you might qualify as a whodunnit puzzle creator to a private viewing now that they’re no longer open to the public.

3 Likes
15

Wow!! This is wonderful! Congrats!!
Sorry for all of the exclamation marks, but they are warranted - haha

6 Likes
16

Don’t apologise, I love it!

1 Like
17

I will try for that. About a quarter of the way through the book.

1 Like
18

Your imagination is just absolutely incredible.

1 Like
19

Thank you!

1 Like