Making Heirloom Boxes. Peter Lloyd. Published by The Guild of Master Craftsmen £16.95
I met Peter Lloyd's boxes before I met the man. The impression they made on me was out of proportion to their size, as they are so much more than just boxes. There are other makers working with natural-edged timber, certainly, but somehow they lack the precision seen in the underlying mechanics of Peter's work. Then there are makers whose precision is considerable but whose sophisticated, clean-lined boxes invite admiration rather than affection.
When I eventually met the man it was clear that this union of the intuitive and the technical displayed in his work was neither accident nor contrivance; rather a natural result of the considerable thought he gives to both what he does and why he does it. I was keen to see him communicate his approach to a wider audience so bullied, cajoled and otherwise harassed him until he produced an article for the very first issue of Furniture & Cabinetmaking magazine - in the face of his own disbelief that anyone would be interested in what he had to say.
That Peter has finally written a book gives me great satisfaction, not least because it will help others to make more-than-just boxes - heirlooms, in fact.