Kumiko Jewelry Box

As a former jewelry box maker, I yearned for the opportunity to create a newer design of jewelry box. Over the years, after switching to furniture design and making, I would ideate some new jewelry box designs that were very different from my previous box designs. Of course, you can only change so much, as it is a box after all. So I changed the dimensions to a sleeker, lower profile design with a very contemporary aesthetic. I also wanted to introduce new elements into the design. In recent years, I have become recognized as a Kumiko maker. I teach and create Kumiko designs to incorporate into my furniture pieces. Why not incorporate Kumiko into a jewelry box design and make the Kumiko functional as opposed to being purely decorative.

I began to ideate and sketch new designs and after many design iterations, concluded that I could apply Kumiko concepts to subdivide the jewelry box compartments, both sliding and fixed. Another interesting backstory to this most recent jewelry box build is that I use some recycled wood from a fireplace mantel we removed after upgrading the fireplace. Another challenge was to apply suede as a compartment bottom liner. I had not applied material directly to wood in the past. I am very happy with how this jewelry box turned out and enjoy how the complementary oak and maple work together! 

I also created a video on the build with images and hand tool sequences. Part Overview, other parts go into detail.