I made this size #0 Shaker oval box by hand from repurposed maple wood, which I then oxidized using black tea, steel wool, and vinegar in order to bring a rich, dark, blue-brown tone to the maple wood. The dark, rich tone adds a contemporary feel to the classic Shaker box shape. Made from scratch and finished by hand in Toronto.
More about the box:
This tiniest of boxes fits perfectly in the palm and is just as eye-catching sitting on the edge of a shelf as it is on a bedroom dresser. At 3.75" long and approximately 2.5" wide + 1 1/4" tall (inside dimensions are just under 3.5" x 2" x 7/8"), this is the box for your earrings, your tie pins, your favourite mints, your fancy hair accessories--in other words, the perfect trinket box.
Made by hand using traditional Shaker woodbending techniques, the soft maple sides are fitted with an ambrosia maple lid for a contrasting, almost candy-like effect, and the box is finished with a non-toxic hardwax oil and buffed to a low, satiny shine. The oval shape, gothic swallowtail fingers, and hand-oiled finish of this traditional Shaker box make it a beautiful and unique way to store or display small keepsakes.
My environmental values:
All of my Shaker boxes are made from responsibly-sourced wood given a second life—I buy short boards of North American maple, walnut, and cherry from other wood studios that aren't able to use such small pieces. By the magic that is water, heat, and traditional woodbending, these are turned into reproduction Shaker boxes.
Process:
After milling and preparing the material, which is sourced responsibly from high-quality wood from local studios, I cut each swallowtail finger with a knife. The sides of the box and lid are soaked and bent around a form, following the Shakers' traditional methods, and the fingers tacked in place with fine copper nails. After a 24-hour drying period, the top and bottom are fitted and glued in place, with the support of tiny wooden pegs.
Please note that because of the way the lids are formed, the outsides of each box/lid can vary up to 1/4" in length, and up to 1/8" in width. The inside dimensions of each box are consistent at the size given above.
