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.

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.

This piece was built as a commission. The requirements were fairly simple: the piece had to hold a small collection of CDs, and be able to store (and charge) an iPod. The idea was to keep the design both simple and modular (just in the off-chance that iPods change size in the future), and let the wood speak for itself.

Dimensions: 24″L x 12″D x 8″ H
Materials: Walnut, Pear
Finish: Liberon Oil (Walnut), Shellac (Pear), Wax

Click here to see more pictures of the box, as well as construction photos.

This is a small box I made for someone very special to me. My friend Alan Cable designed and made the ring at his workshop here in Houston. By all means check out his website here. Anyway, I built the box to commemorate a truly excellent day (and more importantly, she said yes.)

Dimensions: 3″ x 2″ x 2″
Materials: Macassar Ebony, African Ebony, Sterling Silver
Finish: Carnauba Wax

This is a small box I built from a 2×6 floor joist (pictured below the box) salvaged by Historic Houston, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting local historic architecture. The pine does a number on the machines, but it takes a polish well.

Dimensions: 9 1/4″ x 3″ x 2 1/4″
Materials: Reclaimed Quatersawn Longleaf Pine, Texas Ebony, Velvet Liner
Finish: Shellac, Carnauba Wax