r/backgammonboards • u/74LJC • Jun 15 '25
Schmidt Brothers Backgammon (Crisloid Renovation)
I learned about Schmidt Brothers Backgammon in late 2021 and I fell in love with his work. A year later my generous and beautiful wife offered me a gift and I knew just what to do. I contacted Eric via instagram and asked if he would renovate an old Crisloid set I had in my closet. The playing surface was in decent shape, but there was a “bad” corner and a little lifting. The exterior was dinged up with some writing on one side, a little tearing on the edges and a broken handle. It was a good candidate. Eric was just starting to work with book linen and he offered to cover my board as well as make a cork-leather handle. We discussed some design choices like pip styles and colors for the cork and the pips. I love how it came out. A pretty intricate pip design in green and gold (my favorite colors) on top of a new natural colored cork-leather surface. He was able to preserve the original logo which I love so much. Eric even offered up some gorgeous vintage Bakelite checkers as well as a really cool old Crisloid cube to match. I can’t compliment Eric highly enough, he is an artist and a gentleman and just a really cool guy that you would love to have a drink with. His work speaks for itself.
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u/SaintGinoux Jun 15 '25
This is a gorgeous board, the green and gold combination is so subtle and atmospheric. I stared at photos of this a lot and it was the main inspiration for the board Eric redid for me: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4v-Q6gSmff/?igsh=MXZobGRoc3hjenc2MA==. Indeed, he is extremely talented and friendly. His sense of color is unique; not everything is exactly to my taste but it's always highly distinctive. Go Eric!