Flame Grain Cherry Boxes

This pair of boxes are made with cherry wood that came from the crotch of the tree where the grain runs in every different direction to shore up the weak area caused by the branching of the trunk. If the tree did not do this it would easily split when stressed by snow and ice or heavy rain.

The result is a most beautiful pattern in the wood grain. It seems to shimmer as it is moved and this is due to the fact that the pattern is an optical effect caused by the angle of refraction of light from the surface. Whatever the reason, the effect is most charming.