This is a small jewelry box made out of mahogany. The style and shape is one I've been using and refining for a couple of years now. This year in preparation for an arts festival I began making a bunch of jewelry boxes with this shape. I felt like I needed to get it out of my system in some way.
The piece of mahogany I had was nice and thick, close to a full inch, so I was able to accentuate the curves on the top and sides.
I also wanted to be a little different with the handle for the top. I began carving the small pieces of cocobolo not knowing how they would turn out. I wanted something that would catch the eye and contrast with the smooth curves of the rest of the piece.
The rest of my family (my critics and quality control department) were kind of negative on the handle. My oldest daughter pronounced it "weird" and told my wife to take a look. She dubbed the handle the "Fred Flintstone Look". Well it was too late to turn back - the handle was firmly glued in place and I awaited to see how the public would view my creativity.
Someone liked it anyway and the box sold at the opening night of the festival. I feel avenged to some degree.
I really loved the grain on this piece and the Mahogany was a delight to work, especially compared to some of the other wild woods I gravitate to. The finish is a French Polished Super Blonde shellac. I expect that the wood will darken to a rich reddish brown in time.
To my regret, I neglected to take a photograph of the top of the box, but I picked an area of the wood with this oval pattern (that you can see on the bottom of the box top) and the grain on the top was very striking.
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