Vanishing Castles

An unprepossessing bit of wood is, with a flick of the wrist, transformed into a fairy-tale castle. The people who like them seem to like them a lot, although they can’t always explain why. It’s magic – sort of!

Interestingly enough, although children do like the Vanishing Castles adults seem to like them much more! Adults, perhaps, appreciate the sophisticated simplicity of the castle more than children.

The castles, like the Bloomin’ Clever Boxes are cut on a bandsaw and consist of a series of intricate truncated cones. Each castle is unique because the shape and topography of the block will influence where and how the cones are cut. For this reason even the least expensive castle is a unique object.

Ray (complete with lockdown beard and belly) demonstrating, in Slow Motion, how a Vanishing Castle appears and disappears. Please note that the castles come with an illustrated ‘how to do it’ sheet and, of course, the now infamous, and very silly story, about the Miserable King and his Vanishing Castle.

A piece of wood or a magical fairy-tale castle?

Each Vanishing Castle is individually priced, depending on the size and quality of the wood and of course, the complexity of the cuts. Prices range from £5 to £60. The majority of the castles are in the £10 to £25 price bracket.

The castles come with simple instructions, since there is a definite technique for opening and closing them. A children’s story, about a miserable King, is included with every sale. The castles are not suitable for children under 5 years of age because of small moving parts, but young children can still enjoy them when they are used by an adult narrating the story.