Customers' Scrap Book #5
For a young man's Collection
I made this drawer case for Debbie in Connecticut. It's for her son's collection of.... well, as near as I can tell, he collects a little of everything. Debbie sez, "He's 12 going on 20." I suspect he's a scholarly sort -perhaps a bit of a history buff like m'self.
Father & son are going to finish it and so it's leaving my barn as naked oak. Then mother and son are going to do the French Lining bit for his best stuff. Notice the window in the top? This is to display whatever strikes the lad's fancy at the time. (Currently it's displaying my collection of small battery powered drills.) The drawers are interchangeable so his fancy can change often. Notice as lo the brown dot on the side. This is the key hole to a gang lock. Little sisters and all.
A Fun Memorial
Something of a oxymoron -a "fun memorial," but let me explain. A nice lady helped her friend -a widow- gather up her husband's collection of little model cars. They then went into semi-custom shadow boxes. Each of the kids got one. They came out beautifully and I'm proud to have been a part of it.
Notice the little label? If you have read my HOW-TO's, you know that I'm a big fan of labels. The difference between a pile of junk and collection might be nothing more than a label.
A Slew of Shadow Boxes:
I don't know if it's serendipity, or the ebb and flow of the internet, but it seems I get a bunch of the same sort of work all at once. Shaker coffee tables in cherry last month, this week, it's shadow boxes. For instance, consider following picture. The gray boxes with cherry frames and custom shelves was a commission for a woman who is dividing up her husband's model car between her four children as a memento to the gentleman. The tall black box with a dark oak frame and upholstered insert is for a brass doorknob collection. Finally, the small one with the mahogany frame is for the sailor's hat a woman's father wore in the USN during WWII and the Korean war, as well as various organizational & social pins.
Swamp Darner
Here is a simple little application for one of my Riker-mounts & frames. Rita's husband found this dragonfly on the jersey shore. We don't get them this big here in Colorado. Dang impressive, I'd say. Rita tells me it was beautifully colored when they found it. Evidently they fade when they die.
(From Wikipedia -and BTW, have you made a donation to this worthy cause lately?)
A Son's Baseball Career
JB's son was a scholarship level baseball player. On graduation, mom & dad wanted to give their son a special gift and had me make them a cherry coffee-table in the shaker style. Notice that there is no bat? Son is a pitcher and bats and pitchers go together like oil & water -or cobras & those little mink like creatures that kill cobras. Makes perfect sense when you stop and think about it.
Great Great Gramma's Photo.
This is Rick's great great etc. Looks to me like it might go back as far as the middle of the 19th century. What's interesting though, is that Rick wanted it to be air-tight. I was able to find some gasket material and with a little fiddling & a little brass hasp on the side, I think I was able get'er done reasonably air-tight.
Let me take this opportunity to remind you I have rather a lot to say
about things that collectors might need to know about Using Desiccants,
Bio-Hazards, and Archival Materials on my Collector's HOW-TO page.
The NRA's Bullet Collection
I've come to find that the NRA has both a political arm and -for want of a better word- a practical arm. The political side of things is handled in DC -no surprise there. On the other hand, the practical side of things -things involving actual guns and bullets- is done in New Mexico at the NRA Whittington Center. and a dang impressive layout these folks have. Many various ranges for all manner of shooting. Contests and safety research and instruction are take very seriously here. They have a wonderful museum of firearms and a collection of 14,000+ bullets that needed a home. This is where yours-truly came in. I built them 6 drawer cases with 10 drawers each -each drawer full extension with a sliding acrylic panel to keep unauthorized fingers out. Proud to have been a part if it all.
Charlene's Dad's Collection of Arrow Heads
I seem to have a theme developing here. I think bullets (note the NRA above) and arrow heads might be what are called "projectiles". In any event, Charlene wanted a nice gift for her Dad who collects arrowheads. Someone arranged them very nicely in Riker Mounts and framed a set as well for the wall. Came out beautifully, I think.
A Gift for Hubbie's Knife Collection:
Ah, young love! Lisa wanted a special
gift for her husband who collects knives
and tomahawks. And they have their
first wee-one on the way, so pay particular
attention the key hanging out the lower
right side of the case. Yep -it has a gang
lock -locks all 8 drawers at once.
Otherwise, it's semi-custom case in oak
-24 x 24 on 16" Heppelwhite legs w/ an
apron & natural shellac finish.
Here is a pix of the case in Lisa and her husband's lovely home. (Love the arch!) (And note SuzieCat keeping watch!)
A Couple of Interesting Commissions:
A simple Federal coffee table in oak -topless!?!! My customers are planning to lay a big thick slab of tempered glass on top of the table to display and protect their collection. Kind of a mixture of an old respected furniture style and a contemporary touch with the clean glass slab.
His and hers cherry cases. He collects guns and knives, and she collects.... well, her chest is apparently for girly bits of frou-frou. Technically, the tall case is called a lingerie chest. They both are going into one of 'em closets what are bigger'en most folks entire bedrooms. Should look nice though.
A Creative Itch:
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Not sure what to say about this piece. Work with wood every day of the week, but I wouldn't know an oak tree if one fell on me. Even so, for some time now, I've had a hankering to make something out of wood that was still mostly a tree. This is what I came up with. I like it, but I'm not done yet. Stand by for more in this direction.
For her husband's birthday, Valerie had me make her a custom display case sized just so to fit on a smallish coffee table she already had. Then she did this lovely faux-finish sandstone in a South-West motif. (I do not for a moment pretend to be as good as Valerie on the subject, but I do have something to say on faux-finish -particularally for furniture.) Anyway -it came out beautifully and I'm proud to have been a (small) part of it all. Val's husband is delighted, but Val is not so sure. She thinks it may need a touch here and a tweak there. Such is the nature and prerogative of the artist.
Below we see some of Art's knives in place.
