Our Craft

The Viperys Craft: How Every Wooden City Map Is Made

Every Viperys wooden city map is handmade in our Polish studio — no factories, no mass production, no cutting corners. From the moment your order arrives to the moment FedEx knocks on your door, your map passes through Seb and Monika's hands. Here's exactly what happens.

Step 1: You Personalize (Day 0)

You tell us five things at checkout:

     
  • City — any city, any country, any address in the world
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  • Size — seven options from 20×20 cm to 45×90 cm
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  • Frame color — six hand-waxed pine tones
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  • Pin location & symbol — the exact coordinate + your chosen icon (heart, home, ring, star, anchor, or custom)
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  • Engraved dedication — up to 300 characters on the back of the frame, free

Step 2: We Design Your Map (Day 1)

Monika sits down with real map data (OpenStreetMap, geospatial layers) and hand-designs your city — every street, every park, every waterway, every green area. Not a stock template. Your map is composed specifically for your city.

Within 24 hours of your order, we send you a digital proof by email. You review it. If something isn't quite right — a street missing, the pin slightly off, the layout not to your taste — we make revisions. You get two free rounds. Nothing is cut until you approve the proof.

Step 3: Laser Cutting (Day 2-3)

Once you approve the proof, we take premium poplar plywood and laser-cut it into multiple precise layers:

     
  • The base layer with the water pool cut out
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  • The street network layer
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  • The buildings & islands layer
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  • The parks, forests and green spaces layer

Every laser pass is calibrated for depth and precision — the difference between a flat 2D map and a real three-dimensional piece you can feel with your fingers.

Step 4: Engraving Parks, Green Spaces & Your Dedication (Day 3)

This is the detail most makers skip. We engrave the parks, forests, green areas and details of each street directly into the wood — so your city looks alive instead of an empty grid of streets. Central Park, Retiro, Vondelpark, Hyde Park — every green heart of every city, engraved onto your map.

At the same time, we engrave your personal dedication on the back of the pine frame. Vows. A date. A quote. A hidden message only the two of you will know is there.

Step 5: Real 3-Tone Epoxy Resin Water (Day 3-4)

For rivers, lakes, coastlines and harbors, we pour real epoxy resin in three shades of blue — from deep navy in the middle to lighter turquoise near the coast. Not flat blue paint. Not sticker inserts. Real resin, hand-poured, that creates true visual depth and even shimmers in sunlight.

The resin then cures for 48 hours to a glass-smooth finish. This is why we can't rush production — physics has its own timing.

Step 6: Hand-Waxed Solid Pine Frame (Day 4)

The frame is made from solid Scandinavian pine — a wood we chose because it holds finish beautifully and has warm natural grain. We hand-wax each frame in one of six tones:

     
  • Natural — raw pine, minimalist
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  • Rustic Pine — warm honey
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  • Tudor Oak — rich amber
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  • Dark Oak — deep walnut
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  • Palisander — almost black
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  • Black — pure matte finish

Every frame is 4 cm wide, 2 cm thick, and comes with built-in wall mounts for easy hanging.

Step 7: Assembly, Quality Check & Packaging (Day 5)

Seb assembles the finished layers, inserts them into the frame, and does a final quality check under studio light — checking every laser cut, every resin line, every corner. We photograph your finished map before it goes into protective packaging with corner cushions and rigid outer box.

Step 8: FedEx Express Worldwide (Days 6-10)

Your map ships free via FedEx Express — fully insured, tracked from Poland to your door. Typical delivery: 2-5 business days worldwide. You get a tracking number by email the moment we hand the package over.

Why This Process Matters

You can find cheaper wooden maps online — mass-produced from painted plywood, with printed water and printed street lines. What you can't find at those prices is:

     
  • Real hand-poured epoxy resin water in three shades
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  • Engraved parks and green spaces (not empty street outlines)
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  • Solid Scandinavian pine frame in six hand-waxed tones
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  • Hidden engraved dedication on the back — free
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  • Two free rounds of digital proof revisions before cutting
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  • A real person emailing you back within 24 hours if you have a question
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  • Lifetime craftsmanship guarantee

Every Viperys map is 8-10 days of care — from your order to your wall.

Ready to Turn Your Place into Something Lasting?

Browse our collections to find the perfect map for your story.

Free FedEx Express worldwide. Lifetime craftsmanship guarantee. 8,000+ maps in homes across 40+ countries.