Kagen Sound (formerly Schaefer) is an American

puzzle box A puzzle box (also called a secret box or trick box) is a box that can be opened only by solving a puzzle. Some require only a simple move and others a series of discoveries. Modern puzzle boxes developed from furniture and jewelry boxes with ...

and puzzle furniture craftsman, and is recognized as a leader in these fields. Sound has developed a worldwide following, and is recognized as a Friend of the Karakuri Creation Group, the world's only puzzle box guild, and remains the only member of this group to be of non-Japanese origin (as of June 2017). He has won more awards at the annual International Puzzle Party (IPP) than any other designer.

Early life

Sound spent his childhood in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, at which time he developed an interest in mathematics. He would often draw elaborate mazes in primary school, and was first introduced to puzzle boxes by a fellow student in his first-grade class. He began designing his own puzzle boxes in middle school. After completing high school, Sound attended

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

, where he received a mathematics degree in 2000. He then began working as a teaching assistant in the college's mathematics department, as well as assisting in the art department's woodworking studio. After his first win at the

Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition is an annual award and competition in the engineering and design of mechanical puzzles. The location of the competition rotates between North America, Europe, and Japan. It was founded in 2001, and ha ...

in 2002, Sound took a series of woodworking jobs in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, before relocating to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

to focus on improving his skills. He returned to Denver in 2005.

Career

Sound's work has attracted celebrity attention, with film director

Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker. His films are noted for their surreal, dramatic, and often disturbing elements, frequently in the form of psychological realism. His accolades include a Golden Lion ...

commissioning him in 2007 to create a custom work known as the Pipe Organ Desk. The desk took a total of four years to design and build, reaching completion in 2011, and is made from exotic woods such as South African

pink ivory Pink ivory (''Phyllogeiton zeyheri''), also called red ivory, purple ivory, umnini or umgoloti, is an African hardwood used to make a variety of products (for example: billiard cues and knife handles). The pink ivory tree grows predominantly in ...

, ''

Lignum vitae Lignum vitae (), also called guayacan or guaiacum, and in parts of Europe known as Pockholz or pokhout, is a wood from trees of the genus '' Guaiacum''. The trees are indigenous to the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America (e.g., Co ...

'', and Bastogne

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

one of the world's most valuable woods. The total cost of materials equated to approximately $10,000 (USD), and was sold for the price of a “nice car”. He experienced a significant increase in demand in 2012, when ''Fine Woodworking'' magazine published an article about the desk. Another notable design of Sound's is the Lotus Table, the top of which is composed of ten concentric rings of inlaid wood which must be rotated to create geometric patterns. If the correct patterns are formed, drawers will open in sequence, resulting in the table resembling a

lotus flower ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as the pink lotus, sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant taxon, extant species of aquatic plant in the Family (biology), family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a ...

. The first prototype of this table was completed in 2010, after development since at least 2008. This design was also transferred across to a series of boxes beginning with a prototype in 2011 and later consisting of the Caterpillar, Lotus, and Butterfly boxes. His most popular and repeated design is the Maze Burr and its variations. It was originally made in 2006, when it was declared “Puzzle of the Year” by the IPP judging committee. Five batches of this design and its variations have been produced in total, with the latest in 2011 (as of June 2017). His woodshop is currently located at Ironton Studios and Galleries in Denver, Colorado.

Personal life

Sound married his wife Megan in 2013, at which time they both changed their last names to Sound, citing the common phrases “sound of character” and “structurally sound” as reasons for this.

Awards and achievements

Sound received awards in the

in 2002 for the Block Box (first place and People's Choice Award), in 2003 for the Decorated Box (Honorable Mention), in 2004 for the Dodecahedron Box (Grand Prize and People's Choice Award), and in 2006 for the Maze Burr (Grand Prize and People's Choice Award). In 2009 he received the Sam Loyd Award for promoting interest in

mechanical puzzles A mechanical puzzle is a puzzle presented as a set of mechanically interlinked pieces in which the solution is to manipulate the whole object or parts of it. While puzzles of this type have been in use by humanity as early as the 3rd century BC ...

from the Association of Game and Puzzle Collectors.Association Awards: Sam Loyd Award
Association for Games & Puzzles International

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sound, Kagen Puzzle designers Living people Colorado College alumni People from Denver Year of birth missing (living people)