Nate Olson
12 posts

Final Report Pt.2 – Puzzle Box

Nate Olson
2023 - new, Post 12 - 2023
No Comments
Manufacturing proved to be very difficult over the course of this project. I began by creating a CAD model of my design and tweaking it so that it would be as easy to manufacture as possible. I then chose my materials and ordered them – the exotic woods were from Ocooch Hardwoods and the dowel,…

Final Report Pt.1 – Puzzle Box

Nate Olson
2023 - new, Post 11 - 2023
2 Comments
For my final project, I wanted to combine functionality and form, and I wanted my dynamic element to be purposeful and not solely aesthetic. I chose to create a puzzle box, which is a storage container that is often difficult to open and requires a hidden series of slides, twists, pushes, and other manipulations to…

Puzzle Box Progress Report

Nate Olson
2023 - new, Post 10 - 2023
2 Comments
In order to create my puzzle box, I first determined which wood would be used for each part, then ordered S4S hardwood blanks corresponding to exactly what I needed. I then spent several days trying different ways of indexing different templates, as I needed to route the outer shape, but once I do that I…

Design Preview – Celtic Puzzle Box

Nate Olson
2023 - new, Post 9 - 2023
3 Comments
For my final project, I wanted to choose something that was decorative and ornamental as well as functional and purposeful. I landed on a puzzle box, which is a box with a complex, hidden, or convoluted mechanism of opening. Often, these boxes require sliding, pushing, spinning, and reorienting in order to unlock various portions and…

Specifications and Constraints – Puzzle Box

Nate Olson
2023 - new, Post 8 - 2023
2 Comments
The aesthetic that I chose for my project incorporates elements of Celtic design, and because of this, my puzzle box project will be shaped like a triskelion (pictured below). This will involve a significant amount of shaping and sanding with a variety of routers, dremels, belt sanders, and spindle sanders. The puzzle box features three…

Alternative Aesthetics – Puzzle Box

Nate Olson
2023 - new, Post 7 - 2023
1 Comment
My current plan for the aesthetic of my project is to create a wooden puzzle box with celtic patterns and engravings covering the exterior faces, as well as potentially some wire inlays. However, I would like to explore alternative aesthetics to see how this project might look in other contexts and styles. One option is…

Admired Designer – Jeremy Fish

Nate Olson
2023 - new, Post 5 - 2023
3 Comments
Jeremy Fish is an illustrator that I learned of due to his work with 303 Boards, a local skate shop in Boulder. Born in 1974, he has been commercially active as an artist since 2007, when he created a series of 40 pieces called “Seasons of Change” representing the four seasons.        …

Musician’s Garden Report

Nate Olson
2023 - new, Post 4 - 2023
2 Comments
My inspiration for this project came from my love of music and retro styles, as well as my desire to implement nature and greenery into everyday objects and environments. I began creating my artifact by sketching concepts of what I wanted to produce and speaking with staff at the manufacturing resources around campus to determine…

Upcycling Progress Report – Succulent Garden

Nate Olson
2023 - new, Post 3 - 2023
1 Comment
As elaborated in my previous post, I am creating a succulent garden centered around upcycled music equipment and accessories and displaying a 70s aesthetic. After experimenting with molding records, I realized that full 12″ EP/LPs would be too large to comfortably fit inside any hole I could bore in the fretboard. I reached out to…

Upcycling – Succulent Garden

Nate Olson
2023 - new, Post 2 - 2023
1 Comment
My upcycling project will center around a music-themed succulent garden. The basin for the plants and soil will be a molded vinyl record with the label at the base. I have several scratched or otherwise damaged records with vintage 70s surf-style record labels which I plan to mold using a plastic cup and heat gun.…

Aesthetic Exploration – Blobject

Nate Olson
2023 - new, Post 1 - 2023
1 Comment
A blobject is characterized by flowing curves and the absence of sharp angles or brutalist styles. They’re typically brightly colored and feature friendly childlike design. This style reached ultimate popularity in the early 2000s, especially with the rise of Apple iMac computers, which took a much different path than the boxy, gray, sharp Commodore 64…

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0