This box came about as a commission to build something out of what little was left of an old family piano after it had been irreparably damaged. Unfortunately, the body of the piano couldn’t be salvaged; however, the ebony and ivory keys were still in great shape. The idea was to try and capture the spirit of the piano, if not the look.

The box itself is made with shop-sawn rosewood and narra veneer, with black-key ebony edgebanding and white-key ivory inlay. There are three stacking, dovetailed trays inside.

Dimensions: 12″ x 7″ x 5″
Materials: Honduran Rosewood, Narra, Recycled Ebony and Ivory Piano Keys
Finish: Oil/Varnish (outside), Shellac Polish (inside)

Check out more pictures of the box here.

The plan was to build a white picket fence that would more or less match the house’s existing trim, but wouldn’t interfere with either the landscaping, or more importantly, the giant oak tree in the front yard.

The fence itself is about 3′ tall (more or less, depending on where you stand – sidewalk repair doesn’t seem to be a priority here in our fair city) and 60′ long. There is a double gate in the front, and a smaller single gate on the side. The large posts on the corners and at the gates are pressure-treated 6x6s, and the smaller posts are stock 4x4s. All of the pickets and rails were milled from rough, 8/4 western red cedar. The gates swing on 4″ x 4″ ball-bearing brass hinges, and the fence sections are bolted to the post-tabs with bronze carriage bolts.

The posts are set 2 feet into the ground. Once the posts were set, we took careful measurements, and built and painted each section of the fence off-site, back at the shop. We left the individual pickets over-long so that we could adjust the distance between the the ground and the bottom of each picket once we were back on-site.

This piece came about after re-watching one of my favorite movies, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. There is a line at some point where Steve Zissou mentions to his wife Eleanor that they need to write a thank-you note to Eleanor’s parents “on the good correspondence stock.”

It seemed to me that good correspondence stock should have an appropriate place to live, so I built this box. The sides are dovetailed by hand, and the lid is frame-and-panel. There are two asymmetrical drawers built in to the front of the box – a smaller one for pens, and a larger one for stamps. The interior of the box houses two removable trays, one slightly larger than the other. The smaller tray holds standard 4 1/4″ x 6 3/8″ cards (such as Crane’s or Smythson’s), and the larger tray holds the corresponding envelopes. Each tray has a small brass tab you can use to pull the stationary out of the tray.

The box is made out of Kwila. The trays and drawer sides are made out of Afzelia. All brass hardware (besides the hinges) is shop-made. The bottoms of the drawers are made from Port Orford Cedar, giving the box a nice small when you pull out the drawers. The exterior is finished with Liberon Oil, and the interior is polished with shellac and wax. All in, there are nearly 400 hours in this box.

Dimensions: 11 1/2″ x 8″ x 4″
Materials: Kwila, Afzelia, Brass, Port Orford Cedar
Finish: Liberon Oil, Shellac, Wax

Currently on display at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Please contact the Asher Gallery (713.529.4848) for details.

In January of 2009 I was approached by Christ Church PCA in Katy, Texas, with a request to build a suite of furniture for their new sanctuary. I was honored to receive the commission, and the work was a joy.

All three pieces – the pulpit, the long communion table, and the smaller baptismal fount – are constructed from air-dried cherry and finished with Liberon Oil. The basin in the baptismal fount was made by Houston-based potter Steve Campbell.

You can see some construction pictures here.

In January of 2009 I was approached by Christ Church PCA in Katy, Texas, with a request to build a suite of furniture for their new sanctuary. I was honored to receive the commission, and the work was a joy.

All three pieces – the pulpit, the long communion table, and the smaller baptismal fount – are constructed from air-dried cherry and finished with Liberon Oil. The basin in the baptismal fount was made by Houston-based potter Steve Campbell.

You can see some construction pictures here.

In January of 2009 I was approached by Christ Church PCA in Katy, Texas, with a request to build a suite of furniture for their new sanctuary. I was honored to receive the commission, and the work was a joy.

All three pieces – the pulpit, the long communion table, and the smaller baptismal fount – are constructed from air-dried cherry and finished with Liberon Oil. The basin in the baptismal fount was made by Houston-based potter Steve Campbell.

You can see some construction pictures here.

This bench was built from two planks of reclaimed, “sinker” cypress I found in the way, way back of a lumber mill in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. As far as I can tell, the tree they came from was well over three hundred years old, and must have sat at the bottom of a river for at least another hundred years. The wood itself was a joy to work, and actually shimmers when the light hits it just right.

Dimensions: 44″L x 17″H x 20″W
Materials: Sinker Cypress
Finish: Unfinished

This piece is currently for sale, an is on view at Peel Gallery. Please contact the gallery for details.

This is a cabinet I built for a very particular someone.

Dimensions: 35 1/2″L x 9″H x 6″ D
Materials: Maple, Zelcova, Brass
Finish: Wax (cabinet), Shellac (drawer)