MinsterCheng Jewelry Box

For our fifth wedding anniversary, I made this jewelry box for my wife in padauk and bird's eye maple. Padauk, because it was the closest wood I knew that matches her favorite color (deep orange), and bird's eye maple because no reason whatsoever, other than it looks good with padauk.

Padauk also has a reputation for turning into a darker color through exposure to light, so I designed the box with padauk inside pieces so it will retain its original color.

It's also my first foray into inlay work, experimenting with templates, and then learning the hard way there's no way to mill a star that tiny with conventional powered tools. So those had to be cut and inlayed by hand. The shape is our family logo. This is what happens when you marry a graphic designer; you get a family logo for the wedding. Everybody knows your wedding should be well-branded.

Small jewelry boxes are more time intensive than furniture; the tolerances are less forgiving, and it's the same number of steps. So to say I missed my deadline by a little is under-reporting a bit.

It's part of her daily ritual now, reaching into this box, and picking out her jewelry for the day. Which makes it all worth it.