I started by creating a pattern that I would then cut into 1/8" thick plywood. I tiled this simple geometric pattern over each of the four pieces that would make up the lamp's sides. Once that was done, I started laser cutting the pattern into the pieces of wood. This is where I ran into my first unanticipated issue  — the laser cutting process took much much longer than I expected it to. Each side of the lamp took about 2 hours and I had not scheduled enough time for it.

I tried multiple settings on the laser cutter as I wanted to build the lamp from 1/4" thickness plywood. In the end, I couldn't figure out a setting that would produce the results I liked, so I ended up using 1/8". Looking back, I am glad that I made this decision as the 1/4" plywood might have made the lamp a bit too heavy.