Inspired by a wooden name puzzle I received as a child, I began designing my own puzzles for family and friends, and called them ‘Nuzzles^®.’ I’ve now made many Nuzzles^® for people around the world. Every Nuzzle is carefully cut from a single block of wood by hand on a scroll saw. Each name or word is custom-designed and the characters ‘nuzzle’ together using a unique connecting system. Finally, the Nuzzle is hand-sanded and stained for a lasting, rich and durable finish. I’m a Chicago-based designer and studied both graphic design and industrial design at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In addition to the Nuzzles^® project, I design and build furniture and toys, create print, web and multimedia design for a variety of clients, renovate our historical American Foursquare home, make my own cheese and bread, and run ultra-marathons.