Lily Box

Inspiration

As a representative for iForge, I often find myself too busy to fully utilize the space, and don't get much time to work on personal projects. However, during the Christmas holidays last year, I had a few days free and decided to surprise my girlfriend with a handmade jewellery box for our 100-day anniversary.

I knew that 100 days is a significant milestone in Korean culture, and since my girlfriend used to enjoy Korean TV shows in the past, I wanted to create something special for her. I designed a simple friction-lid box to fit a necklace with her favourite flower, the lily.

How it was made

To start, I measured the dimensions of the velvet foam for the necklace and found a suitable piece of timber. I then cut strips into it with a bandsaw to make the sides, top, and bottom of the box. With the help of my friend David, I hand-sanded the pieces to size and shape.

I used a belt sander to sand 45-degree angles into each piece for the mitre corners of the top and bottom halves. After gluing them together, I engraved the shape of a lily onto the top of the box. I then made four thin pieces for the bottom to create a friction fit, making several adjustments to get the right fit. Finally, I sanded the box to a fine finish and applied four layers of polyurethane varnish to protect the wood and enhance its natural color.

Looking Back

Overall, the project took around 15 to 20 hours to complete, which I worked on during those three days of free time. The final product turned out beautifully, and my girlfriend loved it. It felt great to work on something handmade again!