Pen chests for a calligrapher

This pair of matching pen chests were commissioned by a calligrapher to contain her fountain pen collection. Each chest houses ten slimline drawers, lined with fluted inserts to display the pens. (220 in total.) The drawer fronts are mitred back at 45° to meet a matching angle on the cabinet front, so that when the drawers are closed the chests form perfect cubes.
When it came to timber choice the brief given was "something with beautiful grain". After consulting with the client we concluded that with her based in London, using London Plane timber from Fallen and Felled (who repurpose cut down street trees) would be the ideal choice in terms of both appearance and sustainability. Quarter sawing the London Plane perpendicular to the grain shows off the stunning lacewood patterning that the timber is known for.