Gallery: A Gorgeous 12-Sided Wooden Calendar for the Geometry Nerd in Your Life
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The DodeCal is a dodecahedron-shaped, Scandinavian-looking calendar made out of sycamore wood. Making it wasn't easy.
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A regular dodecahedron has twelve equal pentagonal faces. This lends it a nice, uniform shape. But a calendar month, which follows a rectangular layout, would fit awkwardly on a five-sided face. So Ric Bell, DodeCal's creator opted to engrave his calendar on a rhombic-dodecahedron, which comprises 12 four-sided, diamond-shaped faces.
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To perfect the fit and finish, Bell recruited two experts to help: a bespoke furniture maker who holds a degree in math and a second-generation toy maker. Their combined craftsmanship (plus plenty of trial and error) led to a geometric solution that could be replicated with the help of a CNC-milling machine.
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A machine sander removes any unwanted edges, but each block is finished by hand with fine grit sand paper and two coats of wood oil.
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Lasers etch the gently italicized letters and digits onto each side, making the DodeCal an exceptionally attractive at-a-glance calendar.
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The branding all revolves around the dodecahedron's diamond-shaped sides. DodeCal costs $96 (£79), and comes in a limited run of 100, for the year 2017.
