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Shaker Oval Boxes
…are an early American handcraft dating back to the 1700s. I’ve
been making them since 1994.
The Shakers were a communal religious sect
active in the 19th and 20th centuries. They manufactured furniture,
oval boxes and other goods for sale to the outside world. The Shakers
believed
that every task should be a conscious act of worship and understandably,
their workmanship is legendary.
I strive to live up to the Shaker ethic
by hand-making oval boxes with the finest workmanship and finish available.
Shaker oval boxes are steam-bent, hand-fitted, and fastened with copper
rivets and tiny wooden pegs. A well-made Shaker box uses no glue whatsoever,
but is incredibly strong and light, truly a marvel of efficient design.
My
own boxes are 100% historically accurate in design and construction,
but break with tradition by incorporating a variety of domestic and
imported hardwoods with lids featuring one-of-a-kind burls and highly-figured
exotic wood species. I think the simplicity of the Shaker oval form
is
the perfect counterpoint to these jewels of nature.
I also make traditional
Shaker baskets and nested sets of graduated boxes. I am happy to
take orders for jewelry boxes, swing-handle sewing boxes and custom work.
Jeffrey Pepin
Boxmaker
8619 Chippenham Road
Richmond, VA 23235-
(804) 330-3066
E-Mail: j.pepin@comcast.net
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