The Process

Design

Our maps are professionally designed using the latest GIS data. Geographic features such as roads, rivers, political boundaries and neighborhoods are included.  The official projection of an area is generally used unless otherwise specified. Custom elements such as a title, compass, place markers etc. are added as desired.

Map Types

Topographic and Bathymetric: Six Layers of ⅛” Birch wood are stacked to highlight the Topography (Land Elevation) or Bathymetry (Water Depths) of a region. All layers are mounted onto a backing and framed.

Single Layer: One layer of ⅛” Birch representing the geography of an area is engraved with desired region details. The map is mounted on a backing layer of ¼” solid wood and framed.

Floating Maps: Floating Wood Maps are unique maps that hover off the wall. They are frame-less and customized to any geographic region. Mounted off the wall, they “float” creating distinct shadows.

Cutting and Engraving

The finalized design is sent to the Laser Cutter, which engraves the geographic details to a precision of 0.003 inches. Various strengths of engraving are used to differentiate various features. The geographic areas are then laser cut from the layers of wood for assembly.

Assembly

All our maps are hand assembled. Topographic maps are assembled layer by layer, and Single-Layered maps are assembled from a layer of wood on another layer of backing. Both of these maps are framed with in-house custom frames made from solid finished and stained wood. Floating maps are attached to wall mounts for mounting directly onto the wall, and come with a template if needed for alignment of unconnected pieces.