Gift guide
Age, table space, patience. Answer those and the catalogue narrows to one or two sets.
People ask us for a recommendation in roughly the same way: a child’s age, a budget and
a sentence about what they are like. Here is the short version.
Under 9
AW-160 Switchback Steps ($159) — 96 blocks, forty-eight routes, one hour
per card. It is the only set in the catalogue that can be finished, judged and put away
inside an afternoon, which matters for a younger builder.
AW-360 Pigment & Peg ($359) — build it, then paint it, then keep it
on a shelf. The pigments are the same matte as the wood, so nobody’s painting looks wrong.
9 to 11
AW-110 Belfry Arches ($109) — the best first set. Five ribs, one
keystone, three to four hours, and a genuine surprise at the end when the arch takes load.
AW-280 Meridian Atlas ($279) — a 38 cm globe built from 216 panels, with
forty-two country tabs to place by hand. Slow, quiet, and it stays out afterwards.
12 and up
AW-530 Escapement No. 7 ($529) — seven to nine hours and the hardest
thing we make that is not furniture. It ticks, it holds a beat, and the pendulum can be
regulated.
AW-760 Bridgewright ($759) — four truss types at a 96 cm span, with a
loading cradle. Bought by schools, kept by families.
The one for a shelf
AW-900 The Cabinet ($899) — 1,240 pieces, five working drawers, a
three-disc lock, and an edition number inside the bottom drawer. Numbered, 250 a year.
Gift box
Any set can ship as a gift box for $24 more: cloth wrap, hand-written card, no invoice in
the parcel, and the parts tray tied with paper twine. Choose Gift box on the product
page. If you would like the card written in a particular way, add a note at checkout.
Not sure?
Email miaozijiaxing@outlook.com with the age, the budget and one sentence
about the person. You will get a straight answer, usually within a working day, and
occasionally an argument against the set you had chosen.