This is a recent project of mine that I copied over from the other site. Just got word from the gallery that someone bought it as a Mothers Day gift today.
Teabox - pyrography and reclaimed oak
Using one of my wife’s photos, I created a pyrography piece which I embellished with water colors. Once I decided it would become a tea box , I resawed the maple board nd planed it to a suitable thickness for the top. Took an old piece of reclaimed oak 2x4, resawed and planed for the sides. Dados to accept the top and bottom( oak ply) and mitered corners reinforced with walnut splines. Then the lid was cut off. Wood from a maple log, milled then resawn made the inside case lining. Repurposed slats from an old wood blind for the dividers. Epoxy on the top to fill the knot hole and create a smooth finish over the rough pyrography surface. Craft paper lining. Paste wax finish
Splintergroup, working with reclaimed wood I thought I could get an aged look for the box would work with the Lillie’s. I’m finding that the old wood isn’t as predictable as working with new (plenty of remakes after cutting into damaged areas), but lends itself to surprising results when it works. Thanks for your comments.
Thanks Potz. It did sell for the asking price which probably is an indication. In the Gallery, my one offs, like this, with artsy touches tend to sell and the utilitarian wood products, like the small 5-1/2 x 7” cheese slicers sell pretty steady as well. This tea box was in the gallery for about a month.
I've found a similar sales profile. Utility stuff that is relatively inexpensive (<$40) sells better pre-holiday (cheap gifts?) but the "good" stuff like your box sells fairly quickly, even though the price is much higher. I Actually recover a few % of my labor hours in the expensive stuff versus working for free labor with the cheaper stuff.
