Sometimes the grandest of efforts have somewhat deflated outcomes. Take, for example, my grandly conceived, labor intensive, engineering miracle of a holiday ornament project this year. I decided I wanted to make something interactive, something that had a kinetic three-dimensional quality, something that could involve letterpress.

Thus, after twenty or thirty hours of slicing and hemming and swearing and starting over, I had what I thought was slightly genius: do-it-yourself holiday orreries! A kit for everyone! Packaged up and tied with a bow! Flat pack! As efficient as Ikea.

But what I didn’t count on was just how careful one had to be to put these together. And how distracted groups of people can be. And how not everyone wants to spend forty minutes on Christmas day flexing fine motor skills. And tiny brads embedding themselves in rugs.

My goal was to create something entirely self-designed that didn’t use adhesives and could be packaged and mailed, if need be (it wasn’t needed, of course).

Wrapped up and Ribboned; Text is 18pt Caslon Old Style

The Contents of the kit: two large strips for the outer rings, three inner orbits, a comet, a star, four brads, a hanging frame for a solar body and a hook

The concept was a framed orrery that had three interior orbits. Those orbits can all rotate independently so they can each have a different plane of orbit.

The Outer Ring; Text again is 18pt Caslon

I spent an inordinate amount of time designing the joints that connect the two outer circles.

Detail of outer rings

Detail of Connections/Joints

I used 10pt Univers and Garamond Bold to create inner “orbit lines” with hyphens and other theoretical planets with “0″s.

Detail of 2 of the 3 inner Rings, showing letterpressed Dashes and Planets

Almost put together now.

Completed orrery, with central body (around which things rotate!)

All Done!

I had the recipients create the image on their own central bodies. Ours is a Pencil, which is fitting.