Heirlooms Inc.

HOW ARE OUR BOXES/CARRIERS USED? 

If you're like me it's refreshing to pick something up that is beautiful, well-made, not terribly expensive and still has a useful purpose.  It makes it even better when you turn it over and there is the glaring absense of a sticker that says, "Made in China"!  It gives me an "American" sort of feeling.

Just as in their original time, the list of uses for Shaker Boxes and Carriers is limited by one's own imaginationl. 

In Shaker times the boxes were made strictly for utilitarian purposes and were used for storage of foodstuffs in the pantry, nuts and bolts in the shop, items for the seamstress and virtually any small item that needed to be stored.

We can now purchase plastic storage boxes made in China and sold at our local home-store for $3.99 each.  Therefore, we don't spend a lot of effort looking for storage containers.  And, we tend to decorate our homes with smaller accessory items much more than people of early America.  Therefore,  the use of today's Shaker Box has changed a bit as has it's appearance.  Today's buyer often wants a more contemporaty look than the original Shaker Boxes.  It is for this reason that I use more decorative woods than those used by the Shakers.  However, except for the difference in some of the woods used, my boxes are built in the same style, using the same methods, as those used by the Shakers over 200 years ago.

Following are some of the uses we've found - coming mostly from our customers.

 It's difficult to find a gift that is finely handmade, unique, beautiful, relatively inexpensive and has the possibility of lasting a lifetime and being passed down from one generation to the next..

Therefore, our products make excellent

GIFTS  for:

Weddings

Anniversaries

Birthdays

Christmas

Retirement

Graduation

and other 'special' occasions.

Other uses include:

Gathering of mail, bills, etc. on the kitchen bar.

Display of fruits, flowers, etc. in one's home.

Potpourri in the bedroom or bathroom.

Collections of documents and photographs.

Sewing materials.

Displays of floral arrangements

The list is endless.

One customer had lost a loved one and was going to use the box for what she called a "Memory Box".  In it she was going to place  little items of various kinds that had belonged to her loved one and the box was, in essence, a memorial to that individual.  To me, it was quite a complement.  Another customer displays a beautiful arrangement of wild-flowers on her dining room table.  Shaker boxes have been, and continue to be, occasionally used as cremation urns - for pets and people.

We would love to hear how you intend to use your box/carrier.

Still have questions? Please contact us anytime! We look forward to hearing from you.

                                                                                                          Don Mabry

  Booth at Round Top, Texas - Oct. '09

A Top Traditional American Craftsman, as judged by Early American Life Magazine for six consecutive years (2005 - 2010)