Finishing- Despite it being a playful product I wanted to make it the highest quality I could, and durable, and therefore spent a long time finishing the bookshelf - sanding and varnishing.

Inside Surprises - I have long been interested in infinity mirrors and the cool illusion they create. For this trick I used a mirror and a one way reflective film with its most reflective side pointing down towards the mirror. This way when lights are turned on in between the two reflective surfaces, they bounces off of each other, making it look like the hole goes on for much longer than it does.

I also made features like the blue caterpillar (from Alice in Wonderland) out of oven bake clay so that it can be seen crawling from our world into his, beckoning us to follow into the rabbit hole

Latch - With a similar mechanism to a garden gate, the block attached to the back of the book slots into a rod on the back half of the bookshelf. This way when the book it tilted back it follows a trail and releases. If the front of the bookcase is pulled without first disconnecting this attachment, it will not budge.

Books - Cutting into the books I created space for the hidden shelves whilst keeping their spine as a facade. This way the bookcase still has an inconspicuous regular width.

Staining and moulding - I wanted the pine to have a dark oak look, giving it the appearance of an old bookcase collecting dusk - not one teeming with life inside. I mixed multiple wood stains together to get the tone I wanted. To make this look like an old fashioned bookcase I created molding on the edges using the table router and a molding bit.

Down The Rabbit Hole

Overview

Who doesn’t like secret cabinets and fake bookcases? If the right book is pulled, this bookcase can be unlatched to reveal a magical vanity mirror and shelves. Perfect for hidden jewelry, or secret documents…

Have you ever read a book so good that you felt like you were actually in the story? That’s what this Fake Bookcase - Vanity explores. By pulling back the Alice In Wonderland book amongst the other books, the latch unlocks and the door can then be pulled open to reveal a rabbit hole rising up from the glued pages, inviting you to climb into the world.

The illusion of infinity mirror seems to go on forever into the darkness, whilst functioning as a mirror next to the shelves storing your jewelry, makeup, or whatever secretive items you want. I created this object to bring joy to those who know the secret that a seemingly normal old bookcase is actually much more.