What to do with a Shaker box: Part 5

A few years ago Suzanne and I went on a long weekend vacation to Maine, where, of course, we chose as one of our activities a visit to an Amish furniture store. Right as we entered the store, just to our left was a table hosting a curious object that struck me as a bit of a woodworking oddity. It was an open-topped, bent-wood, divided carrier made of walnut. The wood was impossibly thin and apparently held together by little more than tiny copper nails, which I assumed at the time to just be there for show, since obviously they couldn’t be doing the work of holding this delicate thing together.

Shortly after that I learned of a local class being offered on making Shaker oval boxes, at which point I connected the dots and realized what I’d seen was just such an animal - specifically, a number 8 divided carrier with a handle. I’ve since learned that this is one of the many variations of this elegant, centuries-old design - good as a table centerpiece, a carrier of spices, or a place to easily access and store all the bits and bobs of the project you’re working on.