'SPRING' BOX Private Commission

I used tiny beads to portray dew on the flower heads and bunches of beads and sequins for the blossom in the trees.

The box is glass fronted and backed, so the sunlight can shine through naturally.

Some of the birds are suspended by wire so they seem to be flying.

Close up of bird's nest.

The bird's nest has jewels sitting inside it and beaded blossom surrounding it.

The flowers were made out of different coloured ribbons, as were the leaves and blossom. The trees were made out of poetry book pages as were the insides of the box. Each poem related to spring.

The birds sit on the trees, the ground and fly through the air.

This 'SPRING BOX' was commissioned as a Christmas present for a person who travels extensively, a lot of the year. Their main regret when travelling, was that they missed the seasons, especially the English springtime. Therefore the idea was to let the person see 'spring' whenever they returned home, even if it was the wrong time of year or even take it with them.

The box measures 24cm x 19cm x 10cm.

'KING ARTHUR TRINKET' BOX Private Commission (4)

'Arthur' box just finished in workshop.

The tray compartments were painted in a mixture of distressed gold, green and red.

Limpets and scallops decorate the outside. I also used metal leaves to decorate the some of the corners and the top to make it have a more textured feel.

'KING ARTHUR TRINKET' BOX Private Commission (3)

Closed box shows the metal leaf used.

The person who commissioned this box wanted a token of their love to be inside it! So I made a heart of gemstones and fixed it in permanently.

Lift-out tray reveals a hidden compartment beneath it.

'KING ARTHUR TRINKET' BOX Private Commission (2)

I fixed the prettiest shells I found on the beach into the different sections and then varnished them. They are protected enough to have cufflinks etc stored on top of them.

A close-up of 'Arthur'. Each part of his clothing was made of different pages, some parts more layered than other to portray texture, especially for his armour and hair.

A close-up of 'Arthur and Camelot' behind glass.

'KING ARTHUR TRINKET' BOX Private Commission (1)

This GENTLEMAN'S TRINKET BOX was commissioned as a birthday present. The man for whom it was commissioned loves the sea and is very interested in the Legend of King Arthur. When I bought the box originally there were holes in the wood where the locks and inlay were supposed to be. These I replaced with shells I collected from an amazing beach in Wales (King Arthur country). I used pages from second hand books about Arthurian Legends and Tennyson's poem, 'Morte d'Arthur', to make the picture of Arthur and Camelot in the lid of the box, which I then set behind glass. My picture was inspired by a painting of Arthur by Charles Ernest Butler. The box measures 28cm x 19cm x 11cm.