This was the first box I ever made - probably in 1985. Actually, the second, after a guitar case I made for myself a few years earlier. It was made for a girlfriend who had her 21st birthday on Christmas day and a special present was certainly called for. I happened to know that various other members of her family were commissioning expensive pieces of jewellery and so on, so something to keep it all in seemed in order. Having always loved boxes, and having very little money at the time, I decided to make one. Time, I thought, was what I had to give.

And time was certainly what it took! I was at it so long that I swore I would never make another box again. Ever. How wrong can you be?!

I did finish it on time, just, and it was very well received - but, I've not seen it in the flesh for ages and if I did see it again I wonder what I would think of it. One thing that occurs to me looking at it now is that the sides of the main box are very chunky - imagine how thick they are at the base - and what it must have weighed! Don't get me wrong, I was very pleased with it at the time and am still pleased that the first box I ever made was as appreciated as it was.

The format of the interior was relatively complex, particularly for a first box - it was made from Cuban mahogany reclaimed from the top of an old family table that had seen better days. The back of the main tray had 2 separate lidded containers incorporated into it and there was another self-contained box next to it, shown here to the right. This had another tray inside, I think, and there may even have been another tray beneath the whole lot.

There was a drawer which was opened by lifting a finial at the back of the main box and it was fitted with brass drawer handles. These were fitted in place through diamond shaped mother-of-pearl motifs. There was also one for the escutcheon and two more on the lid, making seven in all. This, is a motif I have used regularly in various forms ever since - I'm very fond of the elegance and simplicity of this style of decoration.

The lines I used to decorate this were ready made, traditional ones, long before I ever thought of making my own.