Custom Boxes
When I have the time I enjoy making custom boxes . These have ranged from a small slide top funereal urn for a cat, to a suitcase-sized storage and display case for a collection of valuable glass marbles. Custom boxes can be simple, when one simply needs a finely crafted box built from some nice wood of a particular size, to the elaborately decorative. Here are a few examples of custom pieces I have done over the past couple years.
This is a pen box I made for thre California State University system to present a special gift to Governour Swarzenegger.
This is a very special ring box we made for the founder of a major internet dating web-site, to propose to his fiancee. It features inlaid holly fine-lined hearts, and satinwood marquetry monogram, and a little box-within-a-box to present the ring when the box is opened. He met his fiancee in a bar. The engraving on the bottom means "true love" in Portugese. Who says it can't happen in a bar?
This box was made for a woman whose nephew was about to graduate from the Naval Academy. She did the scrimshaw and sent it to me, and I made a box and inlaid in into the top. The result is an heirloom that will be treasured for generations, an Ensign Box. The box served as a focal point of the graduation celebration.

This is a box made for a large "marble "collection. I mean really large marbles -some are about the size of a baseball. The box is 16" X 21", solid leopardwood with thick veneered top and custom inlay banding. The shot below gives some idea of the customized interior. I asked the client about five times for better photos, but no go.

These are custom made cherry boxes made with delicate dovetails cut the same way as my jewelry box drawers. The long box is 13" long, and was made for a large baseball card collection. The smaller box was one of several built to house a pen and stand combination. I can make boxes like these for as little as $80 in many different custom sizes, usually needing about a week of lead time. They can be as shallow as about 1 3/4" and as deep as about 4", with little restriction on length and width. They're elegant and very solidly constructed, without overpowering whatever it is inside the box you're looking to present in a special way. I can make them in other woods as well.