HOW IT’S MADE

We all loved that show. Well, this is my episode on how my pieces come together but without the soothing narrator, banger tunes, or interesting video.

Step 5: Finishing Touches & Glue Up

Once everything is painted and sealed, it’s time to put the puzzle back together. Gluing might be my least favourite stage - so much room for error on a piece that I’ve poured my heart into. Lots of breathing exercises in this stage.

Step 6: The Finished Piece

And somehow after all of that, the pile of pieces resembles the thing I drew in the first place. One last longing look, an unreasonable amount of photos, and it’s done and ready to change custody.

Every piece is a little different because every single component has passed through my hands multiple times: cutting, shaping, sanding, painting and assembling. From my hands to yours.

Browse the shop for pieces already made, or start a custom request if you want one made just for you.

Step 1: Design and Pattern

It starts with a thought, sometimes mine, sometimes a client's, sometimes a half-formed idea that takes a few tries to get right. Once the design is settled, it gets sized and printed and glued onto some wood, ready to be cut on my scroll saw.

Step 2: Cutting

This is where the scroll saw earns its keep. Every curve, every letter, every tiny detail is cut by hand. It's slow, it's weirdly meditative, and it's the step that I enjoy the most.

Step 3: Shaping & Detail

Cutting is only 25% of the work. Once the pieces are cut, every single piece is sanded and shaped by hand. If there are 200 pieces, then that means I’m sanding 200 pieces by hand.

I use my rotary tool outfitted with burrs, and an obscene amount of sandpaper, to round edges, carve contours and add dimension. I’ll add some shims to create height and trim down other pieces so the finished design doesn’t look like a bunch of flat shapes stacked together.

This stage is where it starts to take shape - pun intended. It’s also where most of the sawdust happens.

Step 4: Priming & Painting

Hurray! We’re at the fun stage of the project. Paint brings it to life. Each piece is primed and painted individually, using a combination of Molotow, Krylon and Rust-Oleum spray paints. While it may appear that I used one colour for a singular piece, I can assure you, I probably used three variations of that colour to add shading and depth and dimension.