The Magic Box

Recently, a customer that I was doing some work for asked me if I would do some repairs on a small wooden box that was very special to her. The little box was brightly painted with images of a sun, moon, and stars painted on the outside. She called it her “magic box,” and she told me a story about having it since she was a little girl. She thought she remembered it having been built by a famous rock musician… Maybe one of The Doors? That idea would sound completely crazy if it wasn’t for the fact that her father worked in the music industry during that era, and know a lot of famous people. I decided to take the little box to my shop and replace the mirrors that were inside of it. It’s the type of fun little job that I really don’t get to do very often. My customer told me she would contact her dad, and find out more information about where the magic box came from.

When it came time to return the box after completing work on it, there was a lot of new information available. She had spoken to her dad about the item, and learned that box was actually made by the “The Fool” design collective. This is the Dutch group of artists that designed clothes, sets, and musical instruments for the Beatles and other musical groups in the 60s and 70s. This particular piece was designed and built by Marijke Koger. It was so much fun learning about the history of this little wooden box, and having the opportunity to work on it. Here are some links you can check out to learn more about The Fool Collective and their work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fool_(design_collective)

http://sweetjanespopboutique.blogspot.com/2012/04/fool-design-collective-1967.html

http://www.retrokimmer.com/2010/11/fool-psychedelic-design-collective.html