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Alexandra Llewellyn

  • Board game maker
  • London, United Kingdom
  • Master Artisan
Alexandra Llewellyn Board game maker
Contact
English
Hours:
By appointment only
Phone:
+44 2071831058
© All rights reserved

When boardgames become heirlooms

  • • Alexandra specialises in designing bespoke backgammon sets
  • • She has been commissioned by royal families and celebrities
  • • The first set she made was a gift for a friend painted with Bahamian flowers

When she first began to make backgammon boards ten years ago, Alexandra Llewelleyn would never have dreamed where her passion for beautiful games would take her, from Afghanistan and Azerbaijan to Miami and the Caribbean. Originally she trained as a fine artist, before working in product development for a charity, which gave her the confidence to launch her own studio in 2010. “I had planned to launch a whole lifestyle range, but backgammon and other games quickly took over.” Today, she works with over 20 specialist workshops around the UK, with at least ten involved in each bespoke commission. Clients range from private individuals to hospitality brands such as the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with each board, set and table designed by Alexandra herself. “Games are such a lovely niche to occupy,” she says.

Read the full interview

Works

  • © Alexandra Llewellyn Design
  • © Alexandra Llewellyn Design
  • © Alexandra Llewellyn Design
  • © Alexandra Llewellyn Design
  • © Alexandra Llewellyn Design
Photo: © Alexandra Llewellyn Design
Tulip

A wooden box, handmade from London Oak, opens to reveal a backgammon board adorned with tulips. The backgammon set is sealed with hand-applied lacquer and the compartments are lined in calf leather. The shakers are made from black calf leather with inside lips to ensure fair and random rolls of the precision laser-cut dice. The doubling die is made of embossed weighted leather. There are two choices for the accompanying playing pieces: weighted and wrapped leather in red and cream, or gold and silver weighted aluminium with leather bases.

Length 60 cm
Width 77 cm
Height 5 cm

Photo: © Alexandra Llewellyn Design
Marilyn Monroe backgammon board

This handmade backgammon board features never-before-seen photographs of the iconic screen legend Marilyn Monroe taken by celebrated photographer Milton H. Greene. The photographs are printed onto a black poplar board inlaid with brass triangles. The series of portraits was taken in September 1953 and feature the actress in a negligee, draped in fur, with a sparkling diamond bracelet on her wrist. There are two choices for the accompanying playing pieces: weighted and wrapped leather in red and cream, or gold and silver weighted aluminium with leather bases.

Length 60 cm
Width 77 cm
Height 5 cm

Photo: © Alexandra Llewellyn Design
Palm travel set

The design of this handmade travel-size backgammon board was inspired by hazy summer days that Alexandra spent playing backgammon under Moroccan date palms. The leather surface is inlaid with burgundy leather triangles and decorated with handpainted palm trees and tropical birds. The playing pieces are made from Alexandra's favourite stones – rose quartz and green agate – and are stored in a leather box along with precision dice and doubling dice. When open, this box becomes the dice shaker and a tray for bearing off. The set comes in a black, branded slip case.

Length 31 cm
Width 32 cm
Height 3 cm

Photo: © Alexandra Llewellyn Design
Palm Table

Alexandra has reimagined some of the oldest recorded board games with this innovative, one-of-a-kind design. With a graceful flip, a backgammon board is transformed into a chessboard or card table. The round handmade table can be ordered in a variety of woods and with a custom design (pictured in Macassar ebony with inlaid brass triangles and palms).

Length 80 cm
Width 80 cm
Height 76 cm

Photo: © Alexandra Llewellyn Design
Skull poker set

This limited-edition handmade poker set, with 500 chips and hidden compartments, is inlaid with intricate marquetry. Each set has the edition number engraved on the skull’s hand-cut gold tooth. Alexandra hand-drew the design and then recreated it in marquetry, using over 1,000 pieces of individually cut wood. The wood is a mixture of sycamore, walnut, oak, masur birch and 4,000-year-old bog oak.

Length 35 cm
Width 35 cm
Height 16 cm

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