Stephen Kirk
“Cryptic Woodworks is my desire to create wooden products with a sense of wonder and mystery. I desire to make products with movable parts, puzzles, and secrets. I draw inspiration from early furniture makers like Roentgen, Jefferson and others who incorporated mechanisms and hidden compartments. Video games, fantasy and science fiction also greatly influence my designs. Cryptography and brain puzzles add the final layer.
I've had a long history of woodworking. Growing up my dad and grandfather had wood shops that I learned to use. I did the staple projects: bird houses, note holders, key holders, etc. In my later teens I learned scroll sawing and fret work and made a number of pieces, mostly for gifts or just for fun and the challenge. In college I had a few commissions that I'd build over a break.
Once I had the room (and money) to start setting up my own shop I jumped in. At first I was just making items for our house, but soon I was asked about some commission. I trained at several places: The Arts at ACS, Philadelphia Furniture School and Chuck Bender's Acanthus school.
While I liked furniture, I always had a love of puzzle boxes, trick opening furniture, mechanisms, riddles. Having a small shop, down sizing from furniture to box work made a lot of sense. I was laid off from a long time job, luckily with a severance, so I was able to put several months into shop work and designs. Out of this came my first sets of tea boxes plus my first run of puzzle boxes - The Mysterious Wood Puzzle Box.
I am working full time again but I continue to make and sell puzzles in my spare time.”
