About the boxes

Up until December 2012 I used to accept commissions. I decided then that I would concentrate on my own designs and ideas. Alongside the range of jewellery boxes, desk boxes and ring boxes that I have developed over the last twenty three years I plan to experiment a little, to take chances and give a little more of a free rein to my imagination.

Wooden hinges

All my boxes have wooden hinges, some are large "strap" hinges, some are more subtle "back" hinges and sometimes I hand make wooden dowel and use these for pivots. I use almost exclusively English hardwoods and choose those woods that have that something extra or special about them. Ripple sycamore for example or burr elm or ancient yew. Some woods tend to suggest the style of box, burr oak I think tends to suit the large strap hinges whereas ripple sycamore tends to lend itself to an altogether more restrained design.

Back hinge jewellery box in beech

Strap hinge chest in Lacewood

Personalise

All of my boxes (except the "ring boxes" and the "little boxes") are individually numbered and signed on the base and come with a certificate with information about the wood in general, how to care for the box and if possible, information about the particular tree the box was made from.

These certificates can be personalised with a few words either formally or informally

Boxes can also be personalised by engraving either directly onto the wood itself or onto a wooden panel which is then set into the wood.

Personalised jewellery box engraving

Engraved panel on a jewellery box

Prices

The price of a box can vary enormously. I make a range of boxes which are priced at around £80, a leather lined desk box starts from around £265, a fully fitted and lined jewellery box may be nearer £800 and a chess box complete with board and triple weighted ebony and boxwood pieces is £4,000. Price tends to reflect the time taken to make a box and its complexity rather than the materials, although in some cases such as Victory oak for example the material can have a significant effect on price.

Designed for the dales in Wych Elm

Special Commissions

I no longer accept commissions for individual boxes but I would be happy to discuss making a small set of boxes. For example I recently made eight boxes to contain freedom of the city scrolls for St. Helen’s council. I also recently made a set of ten boxes to contain a special edition of the book 'Woodcock and Pin-feather Painting' by Colin Woolf and Joanne Woolf.