Kagen Sound
{{Infobox person
| birth_name = Kagen Schaefer
| nationality = American
|alma_mater = Colorado College
| occupation = Puzzle artist
| notable_works = Pipe Organ Desk, Lotus Table, Maze Burr
| spouse = {{marriage|Megan Sound|2013}}
}}
Kagen Sound (formerly Schaefer) is an American puzzle box 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).{{cite web|url=http://www.karakuri.gr.jp/creation/frends_of_kcg-e.html|title=Friends of KCG|accessdate=June 1, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://denverlifemagazine.com/2016/06/local-artist-kagen-sound/|title=Thinking Outside of the Box: Local Artist Kagen Sound|author=Arvidson, Anna|accessdate=June 1, 2017}} He has won more awards at the annual International Puzzle Party (IPP) than any other designer.{{cite web|url=http://www.cpr.org/news/story/meet-denvers-master-puzzle-box-maker|title=Meet Denver's Master Puzzle Box Maker|author=Brasch, Sam|date=April 22, 2016|accessdate=June 1, 2017}}
Early life
Sound spent his childhood in Colorado,{{cite web|url=http://www.karakuri.gr.jp/creation/kagen/kagen.htm|title=Kagen Sounds|accessdate=June 1, 2017}} 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.{{cite journal|author=Perry-Smith, E.|title=Boxed In|journal=5280 Magazine|issue=July 2011}}
After completing high school, Sound attended Colorado College, 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 in 2002, Sound took a series of woodworking jobs in Los Angeles and Denver, before relocating to Portland 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 commissioning him in 2007 to create a custom work known as the Pipe Organ Desk.{{cite magazine|author=Friend, T.|title=Heavy Weather: Darren Aronofsky gets Biblical|magazine=The New Yorker|issue=March 17, 2014}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/03/17/heavy-weather-2|title=Heavy Weather|last=Friend|first=Tad|date=2014-03-10|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=2018-01-15|issn=0028-792X}}{{refn|group=nb|Though no known source explicitly states that Darren Aronofsky owns the Pipe Organ Desk, the New Yorker article ‘Heavy Weather’ makes reference to his owning a desk which shares a number of specific defining characteristics with it, including the fact that it is custom-built; is made of woods such as Bastogne walnut and pink ivory, both of which are extremely rare; its drawers have the ability to play an octave of musical notes when slid in and out; the presence of over 20 other puzzles; and the fact that to open the final safe the correct tune must be played by the drawers. The buyer was also described as “a famous filmmaker, a man known for making dark, psychological thrillers” who lives in New York City. It can therefore be concluded that Aronofsky’s desk is indeed the Pipe Organ Desk.}} The desk took a total of four years to design and build, reaching completion in 2011,{{cite web|url=http://www.kagenschaefer.com/pipeorgandesk.html|title=The Pipe Organ Desk|author=Sound, Kagen|date=2011|accessdate=June 1, 2017}} and is made from exotic woods such as South African pink ivory, Lignum vitae, and Bastogne walnut{{mdash}}one of the world's most valuable woods.{{cite journal|author1=Voulgaridis, V.|author2=Vassiliou, V. G.|title=The walnut wood and its utilization to high value products|journal=Acta Hortic|volume=705|year=2005|issue=705|pages=69–81|doi=10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.705.7}} 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.{{cite journal|author=Scott, S.|title=A Woodworker's Musical Masterpiece|journal=Fine Woodworking|date=March 22, 2012}}
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. The first prototype of this table was completed in 2010, after development since at least 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.kagenschaefer.com/Lotus3.html|title=Lotus Table (Prototype)|author=Sound, Kagen|date=2010|accessdate=June 1, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.kagenschaefer.com/lotus.html|title=The Lotus Table|author=Sound, Kagen|date=2008|accessdate=June 1, 2017}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.kagenschaefer.com/Lotusbox.html|title=Lotus Box|author=Sound, Kagen|date=2011|accessdate=June 1, 2017}}
His most popular and repeated design is the Maze Burr and its variations.{{cite web|url=http://www.kagenschaefer.com/page2.html|title=Gallery|author=Sound, Kagen|date=December 18, 2016|accessdate=June 1, 2017}} It was originally made in 2006, when it was declared “Puzzle of the Year” by the IPP judging committee.{{cite web|url=http://www.johnrausch.com/DesignCompetition/2006/results.htm|title=2006 Puzzle Design Competition Results|author=Puzzle Design Competition Committee|date=July 30, 2006|accessdate=June 1, 2017}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.kagenschaefer.com/Page1.html|title=About Kagen|author=Sound, Kagen|accessdate=June 1, 2017}}
Awards and achievements
Sound received awards in the Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition in 2002 for the Block Box (first place and People's Choice Award),{{cite web|url=http://www.johnrausch.com/designcompetition/2002/results.htm|title=IPP22 Competition Results|author=Puzzle Design Competition Committee|date=2002|accessdate=June 1, 2017}} in 2003 for the Decorated Box (Honorable Mention),{{cite web|url=http://www.johnrausch.com/designcompetition/2003/results.htm|title=IPP23 Competition Results|author=Puzzle Design Competition Committee|date=2003|accessdate=June 1, 2017}} in 2004 for the Dodecahedron Box (Grand Prize and People's Choice Award),{{cite web|url=http://www.johnrausch.com/designcompetition/2004/results.htm|title=IPP24 Competition Results|author=Puzzle Design Competition Committee|date=2004|accessdate=June 1, 2017}} 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 from the Association of Game and Puzzle Collectors.[http://www.agpc.org/index.php/awards/128-association-awards Association Awards: Sam Loyd Award] Association for Games & Puzzles International
Notes
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