My mahogany Iphone case arrived the other day in a beautiful laser-cut package from the Dutch company, Miniot. The build quality of the case is astounding; the wood volume buttons, perforated speaker grills, and magnetic closure all functioned perfectly. The standard case is incredibly beautiful, but a little laser customization never hurt. I decided to laser engrave the silhouette of a tree into the rich brown mahogany. The warm nature of the wood and the deeply engraved tree have drastically improved the feel of this previously cold hunk of aluminum and glass.

New to the Artist series: RAZAUNO! on Vimeo.

I’d like to welcome Venezuelan artist Max Vogel aka RAZAUNO to the Engrave Your Book artist series. This isn’t the first time Max has experimented with laser art; he was featured in the February issue of Juxtapoz magazine for his laser engraved wood pieces.

The pictures below are from his recent solo show in Paris, “Better Known As Brooklyn”, which featured wall size hand-painted letter-forms, custom skateboard decks, and laser engraved wood panels. Be on the lookout for other laser collaborations with Razauno.

The folks at NOTCOT just posted images of one of my laser engraved Moleskine designs as seen through a microscope. The close-up depicts the triangular tip of the USB symbol. The images are engraved at 400dpi, so the lines are not visible with the naked eye, but under a microscope at 200x magnification, one can see the individual passes of the laser beam. I simply cannot imagine a more in-depth product write-up - thanks NOTCOT! Design your own laser engraved Moleskine notebook at Engrave Your Book.

One word - BRILLIANT! UK-based designer and artist, Nicky, AKA “monster-munch“, designed this clever engraved Moleskine. The strap takes place of the more traditional fig leaf - what a great parody of the classic Adam and Eve paintings! When Nicky is not crafting cheeky ad campaigns for the creative firm Poke, she is busy making one-of-a-kind sock monsters like this scary guy below. Great work Nicky!

Design your own custom engraved Moleskine at Engrave Your Book for the chance to win the next design of the month competition and two free engraved books.

Check out the new line of laser-cut acrylic jewelry that I produce for my friends at The Opulent Project . “The silhouettes of earrings worn by royalty are made from a plastic often used as nametags for service workers and the silhouette of ornate chandeliers are cut from fluorescent light panel covers.” I love the way the light refracts through the prismatic florescent light diffuser material! Get a pair for Mothers-day (5-11) ASAP!

First the band Radiohead shocked the recording industry by allowing their fans to download the album “In Rainbows” at whatever price they chose. Now the group is encouraging their fans to remix the new hit single “Nude” and vote on the results. The design of the site is really simple - yet effective, it reminds me of the new mp3 sharing site, Muxtape.

I’ve been into Radiohead all my adult life, and I’m amazed at how they continually reinvent themselves and the music industry. This official remix site is probably inspired by the popularity of underground remixes like Amplive’s Rainydayz Remixes, and Easy Star All Star’s Radiodread remix.
Innovation is key! - what will they roll out next?

Thanks to NeuBlack for letting me know about this new concept laptop from Fujitsu that was introduced at Milan Design week 2008. The beveled edges are reminiscent of the new Apple MacBook Air, but I’m not feeling the integrated soft case. Leave it up to the design geniuses at Apple to create an elegant all wooden laptop, hint, hint….
Asus is also exploring natural materials with their concept bamboo laptops.
My favorite example of this new trend is by Holland-based Miniot, makers of wooden iphone/ipod cases. I just ordered one to engrave, I’ll post the results soon.

After a killer live show, I’m usually the first one in line for band merchandise. T-shirts are an essential for promoting any band, but now bands can offer their bookish fans something new: laser engraved Moleskine notebooks. The Portland based band,Yacht came up with a great design to help promote their current world tour. If you haven’t heard their music, check them out - It’ll knock your socks off!

Check out these wooden bearded men I just laser engraved for french artist/designer, Christopher Bettig. Chris has designed for Urban Outfitters, Carhartt, and has had several solo exhibitions. To see more of his work, check out The Mountain Label. His next solo show opens on May 8th from 6:30 - 8:30 at Candystore which is located at 3153 16th Street SF, CA 94103

I’d like to welcome Portuguese artist and designer, David Carvalho (aka Hello Karpa).



David has been creating since he was a child, and has designed everything from logotypes to skateboards. David launched the first design related PDF magazine, Camouflage, in 2002 and has participated at exhibitions in London, Paris, Bruxelles, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tokyo, Barcelona, Lisbon, Porto, Milan, and São Paulo. Check out more of his work at Hello Karpa.

His new Moleskine design, “Diamond Ruin”, can be purchased at Engrave Your Book

The 2009 Planners need to be ordered by April 27th, so head over to www.engraveyourbook.com to reserve a few. They sell out really quick because they are the best planners made. The red ones look great engraved too!

Now anyone can get a custom laser engraved Moleskine notebook! Upload a picture, scan a drawing, or submit vector art, and we’ll send you a notebook that is truly yours. Check out Engrave Your Book for more details.

This laser engraved half-white, half-black Apple Macbook is one of my favorite projects so far, because it has a deep connection to my hometown - Astoria, Oregon. Some people might know Astoria as the location for The Goonies, Free Willy, Kindergarten Cop, Short Circuit, and many other stellar cinematic productions. Or you may remember from history class that the Lewis and Clark Expedition finally reached the Pacific Ocean near what was to become Astoria.

What do you get when you cross a high power metal marking laser with the portability of a supersoaker?
DANGER….And the industry’s first 12/24 volt handheld fiber laser system by Laser Photonics.
This is a system designed to mark barcodes on missiles and such without having to drag the missile over to the laser. Now you can walk the streets laser marking everything in sight!

Checkout the new laser engraved Moleskine designs at Engrave Your Book by UK illustrator, Will Scobie.

The design on the right is called “The hands that took control”, and is typical of Scobie’s one-line illustration style. According to Will, “The majority of my work is based around creating images using one initial line. I incorporate this technique into my drawing, collage and digital work.” To see more of his work visit Reverie Create

Besides engraving custom images on Moleskine notebooks, Engrave Your Book is curating an artist series of engraved designs. If you think your art would look good on a notebook cover, submit up to three pieces; if we like your work, you’ll earn 15% every time your piece is engraved.

The weather here in Portland, Oregon has been unusually sunny for this time of year. Instead of going for a hike at the base of Mt. Hood, I decided to laser cut the mountain out of balsa wood (my mental rendition of it anyways).

I recently finished translating my sketches of flowers into a functional laser-cut acrylic chandelier. I decided that a hanging flower would work best as a chandelier, so I went with my mental image of a Bluebell flower. Turns out that my mental image was way off compared to the real Bluebells, but so much for reality…

I began by scanning in my sketches, tracing over them with a digital tablet, and refining the curves. I then chose to use 1/16″ clear acrylic, and created rings with slots to hold the 16 identical pieces that make up the outer wall of the flower. Before firing up the laser, I made a digital proof in illustrator by revolving the shape and viewing it as a wireframe.

Say hello to custom engrave moleskine notebooks. The worlds favorite notebook just got way cooler. Check out www.engraveyourbook.com to design your own.

The redesign is mostly live. The old flash-based site has been retired for a custom WordPress template site, which will be much easier to update. This means there will be more content, tutorials, inspiration, and thoughts from me. Besides laser engraved laptops and ipods, I will be featuring other laser projects: laser-cut earrings, chandeliers, custom engraved Moleskine notebooks, and other fine laser projects.