My design for a coin display. The display case is handmade of solid black walnut with framing glass front & back.  The interior dimensions are 4" x 4" x 1 3/8". The front frame attaches with 4 pairs of n50 neodymium magnets for a secure fit that's easy to detach.

The coin mount is custom sized to your coin and uses clear acrylic for the support and matching black walnut for the base. Most US dollars and Spanish 8Reale coins are 38mm in diameter (1 1/2")and most of the mounts I make are sized to hold these, although a mount can be made for half-dollars, quarters, even nickels.

The base uses 2 pairs of n50 neodymium magnets to center the mount in the case and hold it stable while moving.

The silver dollar in the example shown is 38.05mm in diameter and 2.5mm in thickness, although with photos and accurate measurements, I can custom cut a mount to fit most coins.













If you're interested, please email me at: jmcraftworks@gmail.com and I'd be glad to help you with a custom mount sized to fit your coin.

Early project this year - 2018. A dozen small ring boxes sold to a jewelry shop in Vermont

These are variations on my basic ring box design.  Using contrasting woods and inset pairs of magnets to secure the two halves together.  The smaller ones hold a single ring, while the larger ones can hold 2, 3, or 4 rings.  The insert is a strip of black foam that grips the rings securely but allows enough flexiblity to hold different widths of ring bands. 

If you're unsure of the size of your ring, you can confirm at the Wikipedia Ring Sizing Chart:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_size

You can see more custom wooden ring boxes at my Etsy site at:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/JMCraftworks

 

Latest Batch of 20 Little Ring Boxes

20 Boxes - Back row 7 multi-ring boxes, middle + front row single-ring boxes

I've been tardy in posting here, but orders have come in fast & furious and I haven't had time to do much else.  This listing is for the latest batch of little ring boxes and they're on the way to a jewelry shop in Vermont.  Using a variety of hardwoods, and pieced together to deliberately create a little contrast. Still mostly using reclaimed woods, gathered from several recycling shops here in town as well as from the city taking out dead trees in our neighborhood.  Since my pieces are so small, a section of tree trunk lasts a long time.

JM Craftworks Etsy Shop

8 Small Shadowboxes for Charms

One of the more interesting projects I've taken on recently was for a series of  8 tiny shadowboxes, each to display a special charm.  I used a variety of fine hardwoods, birds-eye maple, oak, cherry, walnut, and each had a small brass eyelet to hang a charm inside. The boxes had glass for glazing both on the front & back and the front frame was held in place with inset magnets, hidden when closed.

Seven new Ring Boxes with Recycled Hardwoods

This group of small boxes were made using scraps of recycled woods from the Habitat for Humanity Restore shop. I'm using a design that allows me to inset a panel in the top. I like using contrasting woods side-by-side and for six of the seven I used very rustic acacia wood for the top. You can find these and lots more at my Etsy shop.

In my listings, I usually include coins in the photos for scale to help a potential client visualize how small these are. Also there's a link to a ring sizing chart on Wikipedia.

Handmade Wooden Ring Boxes

End of 2016, start of 2017, I've been putting batches of little ring boxes on my Etsy site. These are all different sizes, shapes, and combinations of hardwoods, mostly stuff I've recycled from different sources. We have a Habitat for Humanity Resale Shop here in town, as well as a Second Chance Building Materials Center, Reuse Market and a Reuseum. From time to time, I've managed to find nice hardwoods at all these places and for the tiny things I make, it goes a long way.

These little boxes are held together with tiny hidden magnets, making them easy to pop open and snap shut. And each comes with a folded insert that will securely grip rings so if you want to keep them hidden for a surprise presentation, they won't rattle.

3 Custom Shadowboxes for Terra Cotta Medallions

At the end of the year 2016 I had a commission for 3 custom shadowboxes. These were for 3 terra cotta Jean Batiste Nini Medallions of Benjamin Franklin. These were completed for the collector and delivered. Here are two photos. The one of the case with the UV acrylic door in place still has the paper coating on the acrylic. This stays in place during shipping for protection. After it's removed, the acrylic glazing helps protect the collectible inside. The second photo is of all three cases, two are square, one is taller for an oval piece. Inside are angled mounts for the medallions and I used cardboard mock-ups to help with spacing and placement of the labels.

This was a slight variation of my standard shadowbox and used all solid black walnut hardwood, designed for free-standing placement on a shelf.

Another Variation on the Coin Display

Instead of glazing on front and back, this client wanted a solid walnut background and the case was designed to hang on the wall. A recessed french cleat was added in the back and with the cleat, it could be easily hung on a wall for display. This was for a single coin from Artifacts and the size was 4" square x 2" deep. The front frame attaches with hidden magnets and opens the case so the coin can be positioned in the mount. And the removable frame houses the glazing, a thin sheet of framing glass. The coin in the photos is mine and used because it was close to the size of the client's coin, a silver 4 Reales and I used it as a stand-in to design the coin mount.

Latest Keepsake Boxes to add to Etsy

A batch of larger keepsake boxes to be added to the Etsy shop. Combinations of various hardwoods, most of which were sourced from recycling centers here in town. Whenever I come across an especially interesting scrap with knots or dramatic grain patterns, I like to slice it into sections that can show off the unusual character. Mostly, I work with domestic woods and generally avoid exotic endangered woods. These containers are good for jewelry boxes, valets, or keepsakes and vary in size and shape.

Summer Projects, Part Three

Occasionally, I'll produce a coin display case for a shop in the Cayman Islands, Artifacts. They carry a range of collectibles such as Coins, Maps, and Antiques. This coin display case uses magnets to attach a frame in front, has a removable coin mount inside that can display both sides of a coin with very little detail obscured by the mount, and has glazing on both sides of the case, making it easy to view the entire coin. Each mount is custom made for the individual coin and has enough tension in the slot to hold the coin securely. If this is something you'd like to have made, please contact me at my Etsy shop and let's talk.

Summer Projects, Part Two

Another project for Raintree was this pair of custom Bracelet Boxes of Walnut and Cherry. 

Summer Projects, Part One

One of the projects that kept me busy this summer 2016 was this batch of custom boxes for a jewelry shop in Vermont.

Raintree, located at 165 Main St, Vergennes, VT 05491 is carrying my ring & keepsake boxes. This photo is of one group of boxes, part of a larger order in anticipation of the upcoming end-of-year shopping season.

Shadowboxes at an Exhibition

Taliswomen Warm, by Michele Bonner

Pictured is one of the creations of Michele Bonner for the upcoming exhibit at the Rocky Neck Art Colony in Gloucester, Massachusetts. I provided several small shadowboxes used to display her figurines and they'll be on display as part of the show, "Time Matters: Three Explorations", that will run from 06/02 - 07/04, 2016.

Michele Bonner's website

Rocky Neck Art Colony

Group of Ring Boxes, May 2016

Ring Boxes Ring Boxes

The latest batch on Etsy includes recycled knotty walnut, curly maple, spalted maple, and Brazilian cherry. In addition, one of the small maple boxes was treated with a light transparent wash of blue dye. Just enough to give it some color but not enough to hide the grain and the natural shimmer of the curly and birds-eye maple. After rubbing out the dye, the entire box was treated with a thin protective coat of clear satin polyurethane. All of these include inserts to secure rings in place. I try to use as much recycled wood as possible in anything I make and as often as not, these are woods that can be contrasted against one another to form a pleasing design. The next logical step is to incorporate areas of color in my work and I've been trying to develop a palette of colors that will work with my boxes. Paint covers the surface too completely as well as most stains. It seems that dyes can be applied as a thin wash, changing the color of the wood, but still allowing the natural grain patterns and character to show through.

Batch of Fifteen Ring Boxes - April, 2016

Handmade Hardwood Ring Boxes

New batch of 15 little ring boxes, using a variety of hardwoods. The ten in the back are of black walnut, the five in front use a mix of black walnut, cherry, spalted maple, birds-eye maple and mahogany. All come with black inserts to grip and hold rings in place, and use matched sets of tiny neodymium magnets to hold the two halves together. Easy to pop out of a pocket and pop open for a surprise presentation. The coin in front is a US quarter, about 1" in diameter, for scale.

JM Craftworks Etsy shop

Assortment of Ring Boxes - February, 2016

Another posting of a batch of little ring boxes. These are various sizes and use a variety of fine hardwoods. I browse the local recycling centers and sometimes find scraps of paneling, flooring, cabinets, etc. and I salvage this wood to give it a second life. I've found walnut, maple, cherry, mahogany, teak, and other fine woods that were to be scrapped. They only needed to be planed and cut & assembled to put back into use.

Custom Ring Box - Brazilian Cherry and Black Walnut

Triple Ring Box

A custom box for rings. Built from scratch for a collector to house 3 large rings and made using reclaimed Brazilian Cherry and Black Walnut hardwoods. The bottom half has a folded strip of black foam to grip the rings and hold them securely in place. I use this in all my ring boxes as it's attractive, it's soft but grips really well and it's removable.

JM Craftworks Etsy shop

Featured on VK Designs Blog

VK Designs is a fantastic jewelry shop in Portland, Oregon, and I've been lucky to offer some of my ring boxes with their work. The latest commission was for 20 small ring boxes stained jet black, both single & double ring sizes. They were gracious enough to post information about the boxes and here's a link to their blog. If you're in the Portland area, be sure to contact them for an appointment to view their work. It's all handmade using recycled materials and free-trade gemstones.

Ring Boxes - Stained Black

Latest commission

Walnut Ring Boxes stained black

for 20 ring boxes, all stained jet black. Ten are single ring boxes and ten are double ring boxes, all using black walnut and all with black inserts to grip rings.

JM Craftworks Etsy shop

Small Jewelry Box

Long Thin Jewelry Box

A small handmade hardwood box just big enough to hold one or two special items. Based on the tiny ring boxes I've been selling, these are slightly larger versions that can be used to keep a few items close at hand.