These boxes, like all our work, are strongly influenced by the American Shakers. They never fashioned items with elaborate details or extra decorations, but only made things for their intended uses. Shaker designs are characterized by austerity and simplicity and we try to use those values in our pieces.

The latest wood & glass combo. This one on display at Art Source Gallery in Boise, ID, a box of cherry and walnut with a fused glass collage inset in the lid. "Fall Aspen Box" by Laura Johnson, of Wild IDeas Glass.

The latest in a running collaboration with a fused-glass artist. This is the first of a set of eleven boxes of various sizes & shapes that will be finished this September. The box is constructed from a beautiful oak burl that I sliced into panels to form the four sides of the box. The lid is made of walnut and the fused glasswork is approx. 5" x 8" and is inset in the lid. Beautiful design work used in the glass and the colors really make it pop.

Two of the latest boxes made in collaboration with Wild Ideas Glass. These are how the finished pieces go together, with a beautiful collage of fused glass framed in the lids. The glasswork uses several layers of glass and has a fantastic transparency and depth.

A box designed for a local glass artist. One of a set of boxes that will have a glass mural inset into the lid. The lid is cut as a frame with a recessed center to house the glass art work. This box was designed around a very nice knot in a section of oak with beautiful patterns radiating out from the center. The front and back sides were resawn from one piece of wood and if you look through the knot in the front, you can see all the way through the box and out the back.

Featured on Athena Magazine 06/04/09

This morning, thanks to Marjorie Cunningham of Marjorie's Cracked Plate Jewelry, our shop at 1000Markets was featured on Athena Magazine. Marjorie is the head of the Market Group Reclaimed to Fame at 1000Markets.

Shadowbox and Shelves

Latest commission is for a Shadow Box Display Case and 2 Display Shelves, all in matching dark oak. Here's photos of the set, finished on 05/27. I'm using some of my camera collection to show the scale of the shelves but the client will be using the 2 shelves & shadowbox to display a handmade chess set. This was a great project to work on and I used quarter-sawn oak with a dark arts & crafts finish. We're big fans of this style and love the look of everything about it.

Colonial Milk Paint

Before there was a large commercial paint industry, early American woodworkers used milk paint on their furniture.

When you see the beautiful matte antique colors on early American woodwork, chances are you are looking at a variation of milk paint. This historical paint has advantages over modern paints, it is very eco-friendly with no noxious vapors released during manufacture, application, or curing. This predates modern latex paints and was used in many early American pieces. It is completely non-toxic and is one of the longest-lasting paints known.

We mixed our own formula using commonly-found ingredients and added color using artist’s acrylic paints. Each batch of paint was hand-mixed, just enough for the project at hand, and discovered that the colors would vary a bit from one batch to the next, which is in keeping with our goal of making each item unique. The resulting colors have a soft warm nostalgic antique quality and we finished them with a thin coat of the same water-based satin polyurethane finish we use on all our woodwork, resulting in a reliable finish that is sound for the environment as well as durable in everyday use. Hoping to have a chance to work these colors into more items in the future.

Collaboration - Wood & Glass

Just finished a set of boxes for a local glass artist. The lids are designed to work as a frame and to house her glasswork, and are cut with mitered corners and a 3/16" deep recess in the center to inset the glass panel. You can see her beautiful artwork at: http://wildideasglass.com

The boxes are constructed of oak, walnut & maple, with pieces selected for interesting grain patterns & colors, and each will have a glass panel inset in the lid. Each box is handbuilt and assembled with staggered box joints, then finished with a clear satin water-based polyurethane.

As you can see from the three finished examples at the top, her glasswork is very beautiful and each is cut to fit precisely within the frame of the lid. Each collage is backed by an opaque layer of glass and is bonded to the wood.