My Favourite Box

I stole this idea from Art Propelled who posted recently 'A Peek Into Favourite Boxes' which reminded me of a box I have. I wanted to expand on from Robyns post with a peek into 'My Favourite Box'.

My box is actually more of a life box. I thought it was relevant for this blog as I made the box myself. The items in the box are special to me as is the box itself and the reason for its existence;

~Enjoy~

I made this box myself back when I was making furniture for a living. It started life in 2000 and is made from plywood (Drawer side) scraps and veneered in brown oak and boxwood stringing. The cross inlaid on the top is Burr Maple.

The sides bow outward and the lid is cut on a slant, similar to a writing slope.

It sat partially completed on a shelf in my shed and didn't get finished until 2003 when I decided/discovered I needed a box to hold tools and glues to repair my sons toys and do small craft projects. let me tell you once your children discover your toy repairing skills the work piles up very quickly.

Toys today are so badly made and are, I feel, built to break; well the toy makers didn't bank on my patience in fixing those toys my sons were fond of.

Many a loved toy was bought back to full working order in this toy hospital, much to the joy of the boys, though you know when complacency about toy fixing services sets in, when your 4 year old hands you a toy with a tight timescale to get it back in action because its needed to save the corner of the bedroom from the bad guys!

As you can see on opening there is a small work area hinged so it can lift to get at the items/tools beneath.

I lined the inside with an old replica newspaper I had from the 60's with the lead story about the assassination of JFK.

Glued to the inside of the top is a metal plate from my first Landrover, a SWB Series 1 ~ 1957, it is a set of instructions for the gearboxes and has the serial number of the old girl stamped on it.

As it opens it reveals the compartments beneath and again on the lid a ticket from many years ago of a concert I went to with an old friend and a piece of bone I shaped and painted for reasons lost to me now.

Once this box became too small and a larger tool bag was required the box became my 'Life Box' or store for stuff I couldn't throw away.

Its not that full as I have phases of sorting through my belongings and adding to the box. I am also quite ruthless about what I keep; additionally I'm not that bloody old to have a full life box.

There is a small removable tray which hides more space beneath.

Some of the contents

Old coins, shilling pieces to be accurate, which then became the new 5p after decimalisation. Now we have a new 5p which is tiny. The trouble with new money designs is that the old coins that have been in circulation for years disappear, you no longer are carrying a small piece of social history in your pocket. Well we have no old coins in circulation in the UK and Europe have gone Euro so none their either, shame.

My gran gave me an old coin which was an old shilling it was as I recall a 1926 shilling, from that point if I came across an old shilling in my change I kept it and put it into this old wooden matchbox.

x

The match box itself is an old wooden one which I found in an old chest of drawers I restored as a cabinet maker. it was lying in the bottom underneath the bottom drawer. An old piece of Gloucester history, the Moorlands Match factory is still there with all the old signs but unfortunately the factory is long closed and now houses a variety of small businesses..

I collected many lighters when I was a smoker. I quit 4 years ago and I sold them all off. this one I kept as a memento of those days as a smoker and as it was my favourite.

As a father when the boys were young I collected locks of hair and now they reside in the box.

I used to paint stones, these are collected from various holidays mainly in Wales with the family.

I hope you enjoyed this wandering away from Woodwose carving? Normal posting will resume with wood spirits very soon.

Regards Dave