THE GNOME PROJECT
About the Gnome Project
It began with a simple idea: make something by hand for my wife and daughter—something that would make them smile. That first gnome sparked joy and a realization: these figures could carry their own kind of magic far beyond home.
How it used to work
Around the holidays I made small figurines and gave them away, encouraging people to place them in public. One year it was epoxy cancer ribbons; for a couple of years it was little “Love Monkeys.” Part letting go, part leaving a gift for someone who might need a naked, heart-holding little monkey greeting them from the branches of a tree.
Then came the gnomes you see now. It started out as a technical exercise and soon turned into placing them in the area: one at the coast, one on the bike trails, one at the library. Curious what happened next, I added a QR code to count scans. By late 2023 one gnome had been scanned close to 550 times. That led to the system I use today.
How it works now
Each gnome starts as an original sculpture— designed from scratch in "digital clay," similar in process of refining details and working with your hands but on a screen. The digital model is then printed and used to build the molds for casting.
Gnomes are cast in concrete and placed anonymously out in the wide world. Each carries a small QR code that links back to this site.
When someone discovers a gnome, they might scan it, read the story, move it along. The next person might take it farther. Over time, each gnome builds a travel story—written by strangers.
The journeys so far
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Scale: As of April 2026, over 100 gnomes have been placed over three years. Around 60 carry QR codes, each with its own page and story.
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Most moved: Synaptus_5 with 5 confirmed moves, last seen in Manzanita, Oregon.
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Farthest traveled: Kimo_3—nearly 3,000 miles to Calumet, Michigan.
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Other paths: Kimo_1 reached St. Petersburg, Florida; Kimo_2 made it to Honolulu, Hawaii; Kimo_5 to Nashville, Tennessee; Zephyr_2 to Grants Pass, Oregon; Victor_2 has 4 moves around Bainbridge Island.
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Quiet ones: 22 gnomes haven’t moved since placement—maybe fixtures now, or simply well hidden. Not every story is about motion; some are about quiet.
These aren’t GPS-tracked. They rely on people—to notice, to scan, to nudge the story forward.
The Minis
The original six gnomes are being redesigned from the ground up — stronger structure, better stance, clearer expression. Zephyr V2 is the first. Twenty cold-cast bronze minis were made, all found homes, and the mold is now retired. Full-size concrete Zephyr V2 production is underway and placements will follow in 2026.
Victor V2 is next in development. When it's ready, a new mini edition will open.
The minis are a metronome, not a gate — interest sets the tempo.
In a nutshell
At its heart, the idea is simple: place a small gift for someone you’ll likely never meet. Reach out without names attached. Leave something hidden that might bring a stranger a smile. Let it go and walk away.
The 2025 goal was 60 gnomes placed — that was reached by the end of the year. 2026 placements are tied to the V2 redesign work now underway.
If you cross paths with a gnome, do what feels right: leave it be, move it along, or just smile and keep going. The story works either way.
Who Makes these
The gnomes come out of a small studio on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington State — the same shop where larger sculptural work gets made, metal gets cut and welded, and concrete gets mixed and poured.
The Gnome Project started as a personal experiment and grew into something with its own momentum. The studio work around it has grown too — larger sculptures, architectural concrete, commissioned pieces. Some of that work lives here under Creatures. Some of it ends up on job sites.
The gnomes remain the part that gets released into the wild.
The People Who Move Them
The gnomes don't travel on their own. Every logged move is someone who noticed, stopped, picked it up, understood the mission and decided to pass it along. Some carry them across town. Some across the country. Some just smile and leave them where they found them.
