Kumiko Jewelry Box

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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. 




Norman Pirollo

12 Comments

Very creative! Love the sliding trays inside…

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

Excellent design work, followed by making a great box.

Ron

That's a cool idea!  

--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

Norman, 
That's a very unique and beautiful jewelry box, nice work.
The thing that I find most interesting is the Kumiko joints where as many as 5 separate pieces come together. Doing that is an exacting process, maybe someday to can explain how it's done.
Great work.
Never seen anyone make a
Kumiko jewelry box. Neat idea. How long did it take to make?
Good design alternatives from the usual arrangements. The Kumiko dividers are a treat!
The only downside I see to that pattern is it develops tight corners where small jewelry might get stuck. Maybe if it was all larger items it would be fine. Or maybe a different pattern would reduce that potential. Or maybe it’s just not an issue!! It definitely makes me want to make one.  

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

While beautiful and technically challenging, the tight corners in the drawers make half the space un-useable, and on the whole prohibits all but the slenderest of fingers.

No Bees. No Honey. Bees Lives Matter

great box norman, well done.

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

Thx for the feedback. There is a lot of fitting and precision trimming of components for a tight fit. I use the modified Guide Blocks in the video along with an extra wide chisel at 1.5 in. Chisel needs to be sharp and it is one slice at a time after rough cutting components on a bench hook with a 45d or 30d slot.  The jewelry box took a few days to make since I wanted to video parts of it along with a few techniques I needed to master. Applying suede without making a mess and getting a precise fit is one technique I am far more at ease with now than a week ago... Also, it is definitely oriented towards fewer jewelry pieces and not to get stuffed with many pieces. Hard to say but feedback is what I am looking for. Tried it with some jewelry already and it is fine as long as it's not stuffed.

 "The thing that I find most interesting is the Kumiko joints where as many as 5 separate pieces come together. Doing that is an exacting process, maybe someday to can explain how it's done. 
 Never seen anyone make a Kumiko jewelry box. Neat idea. How long did it take to make? 

Norman Pirollo

That's a nice design. Well done!

Steven- Random Orbital Nailer

I like the concept of functional decoration. The suede complements the Kumiko strips very well!