A First Jewelry Box...

Mike Stafford

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Coastal plain of North Carolina
Brett's beautiful little box reminded me of some boxes I used to make and sell quite frequently around Christmas time at the local art center bazaar. I suggested in my write up that they were perfect for a little girl's first jewelry box. It must have worked because I sold a bunch of them. The only decorations were the additions of an inlay, handles and dividers of a contrasting wood. Miter splines in the same contrasting wood reinforced the trays.

They sold like hot cakes. I hope they made a lot of little girls happy.

I apologize for the colorful backgrounds. Back in those days I had no idea how to properly photograph stuff. Still learnin'....

Inlaid Boxes 1A.jpg
Inlaid Boxes 1B.jpg
 
Nice boxes, can see why they were popular.... Guess I know nothing about photographing things... I don't see anything wrong with how you did it. Shows the boxes off real well, isn't that the purpose?
Paul, according to my professional photographer friends, a colorful background causes the wood color to not be reproduced accurately. As Sgt. Schultz once said, "I know nothing, nothing!"
 
Nice boxes, indeed, Mike.

Paul, according to my professional photographer friends, a colorful background causes the wood color to not be reproduced accurately.

I’m not a professional photographer but I certainly agree. Photographers (and lighting manufacturers, etc.) assign light a color temperature that indicates tint that can affect the white balance in a recorded image. Perhaps counterintuitively, a higher temp is cooler in color (blue to violet) and lower temps are warmer (yellow to red).

Our eyes adjust automatically on the fly and cameras do as well, to an extent. Professionals can adjust their camera’s white balance to their specific studio lighting. Consumer cameras often default to automatic white balancing which can be influenced by dominant colors, especially if the scene lacks significant white elements.

In the case of a strong blue background, for example, the camera may try to warm the image up which can make a maple box appear more amber than it really is. White, black, and neutral gray backgrounds are one way to minimize this problem.
 
I'm no photographer, and don't understand all the ins and outs of good photogrphy, I use a neutral gray for background on all my photos... just a square of gray cloth that I can hand over my monitor to create the background.... I probably use the wrong lighting as most of my photos are taken on my desk, under a florescent light and I still use a flash.... I also always use a tripod so the camera is steady and level.

I like the jewelry box... nicely done. I don't have much in the way of skills for flat work, but can admire those who do.
 
When I saw the title of this thread, I was thinking "There's no way Big Mike, the King of Boxes, is just now getting around to making his first jewelry box. :D Glad to see this was just a trip down memory lane. :thumb:
 
When I saw the title of this thread, I was thinking "There's no way Big Mike, the King of Boxes, is just now getting around to making his first jewelry box. :D Glad to see this was just a trip down memory lane. :thumb:
Long ago I am pretty sure I abdicated or maybe I was deposed.... There are many who are worthy of the title these days and I doubt I ever was much more than a pretender to the throne.
 
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