Inside the kaleidoscopes made by Henry Bergeson is a secret that tumbles and collides within the mixed-up world of color and light.
Bergeson, of Conifer, builds kaleidoscopes at his studio using a multitude of skills, from metal- and woodworking to computer design and jewelry making.
“I call myself a hack of all trades,” said Bergeson, who takes something as practical as wood, mirrors and colors and turns them into elegant wood-case kaleidoscopes.
Finding out how the simple mechanism of a kaleidoscope works can be as disconcerting as discovering that Santa Claus isn’t real.
Bergeson said the illusion of multiple layers of bright colors is actually created by two or three mirrors set at specific angles in the shape of a pie wedge. The mosaic effect is really a circle of reflections upon reflections.
Bergeson’s studio and workshop are both brightly lit with natural light, and the workshop hosts a forest of sliced burls, thick sawdust and wood stacks. He selects the raw wood for the scopes’ wooden cases and shapes them with computer-driven manufacturing machines. He said the wood grain relieves him of the duty of decorating the outside of the scopes. Polished to a glossy sheen, each is unique.
“We sand the hell out of them,” Bergeson said.
The scopes are fitted with glycerin-filled cylinders called “object cases” that hold an eclectic collection of trinkets, which provide the subtle or vibrant source for the kaleidoscope’s psychedelic mosaics.
“It’s like cooking. You have to see how things go together,” Bergeson said. “It’s all fairly subjective, so I never know if it’s the right combination or not.”
Bergeson’s recipe for the hues is more about color and texture than just a random toss of objects. Items inside the kaleidoscope run the gamut from Chinese symbols to junk jewelry.
Bergeson estimates he’s made 50,000 pieces in the last 24 years. The scopes allow Bergeson to come full circle with his skills as a mechanical engineer. Creating kaleidoscopes also lets him hold the finished product in his hand, something he missed when working as an engineer.
Bergeson made his first kaleidoscope in 1986, and his boss told him he probably could make more money producing kaleidoscopes than working as an engineer. Bergeson wonders if that compliment was a subtle message, because a short time later, Bergeson found himself unemployed.
“I had no idea about the whole thing of kaleidoscopes and that there were people making them,” Bergeson said.
Sir David Brewster made the first kaleidoscope in the early 1800s. The popular toy experienced a resurgence and sophisticated upgrade sometime in the 1970s.
Bergeson called the kaleidoscope “the television of the time period.”
Now a one-man operation, Bergeson once had enough demand to employ several people, but the ailing economy has left consumers with less disposable income for fanciful purchases.
Bergeson offers eight different models that range in price from $140 to $5,000. The scopes carry names such as King’s Ransom, Moontide and the Corda Lee, named after Corda Lee “Corky” Weeks, a friend and kaleidoscope maker who helped Bergeson get his business off the ground.
The elite scope in his shop is the Honey Jar, which was showcased at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. Bergeson said he plans to make only 25 of this design, with production starting soon.
Bergeson also hopes to get more of his kaleidoscopes out to art shows and into gift shops soon.
“It’s time to get it in high gear and start making some more of these,” he said.
Bergeson’s scopes are sold online and can be custom ordered. For more information, visit www.henrybergeson.com.
This story ran in the September 22, 2010 edition of the High Timber Times. Sidenote: I was told this story was printed as it was written, with only minor AP-style edits.
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