DESIGNING BOXES
PHILIP WEBER

BY PHILIP OSGOOD

Philip Weber’s boxes beg to be picked up and handled. You feel compelled to open them, stroke the smooth, hard ebony, follow curves with your fingers, sense the juxtaposition of dark and figured woods, the soft suede interiors. To say that Philip Weber “makes boxes” barely describes what he does. Yes, he makes containers. They have tops or lids and you can put things in them. But his work quickly transcends utility. He starts with the idea of “box” and then designs creations so fresh and exciting they stand on their own as objects to admire and appreciate, or simply enjoy.

The designs are uniquely his, yet often contain familiar elements. You can discern traces of Art Deco and Art Nouveau. Some of the long, rectangular boxes are almost cryptlike. Weber names each new design when he completes it, sometimes hinting at a key aspect of it, or out of pure whimsy. The diminutive Linnet, after a species of finch, stands pert and birdlike on its folded ebony “wings,” while Royalty, with elegantly curved sides and mother-of-pearl inlay, waits like a reliquary to hold something of value.

          Linnet     3"x 1"x 2"                                       Black Tie     4 x 3.5 x 2.25 

The boxes are small—rarely longer than 14 inches—yet they intimate larger pieces, as if they were miniature furniture. Linnet easily fits—like a small bird—into the palm of your hand. But the “body” of the box, made of two pieces of Pacific yew between “wings” of ebony, resembles the doors of a small cabinet. Many of the boxes are intricately assembled. Royalty and Tandem, for example, are made up of a series of curved ebony ribs slightly flared to form a rounded body. Black Tie is composed of two curved-top intersecting boxes. Even when working with a more ordinary, rectangular shape, Weber builds in a subtle complexity of curves, legs and inlays.

      Royalty     4" x 3.5"x 3.5"                             Tandem     4"x 4"x 4" 

The principal material for Weber is ebony, its deep luster serving as a quiet backdrop for the display of lighter woods. Over the years, he has gathered an inventory that includes spalted maple, leopard wood, Pacific yew, snakewood and amboyna burl. (In addition to wood inlay, he often accents his pieces with a judicious use of silver, steel or brass.) Because he works small, Weber can comb through boards searching for just the right patterns of figured grain or medullary rays and their displays of waves, whorls, striations and dots. He intentionally shows off these natural features but does little to manipulate or accentuate the surface color and texture of the wood, seldom applying more than a clear sealer. The understated finish may seem surprising, given the dramatic quality of some pieces, like the darkly spotted Leopard Box, or the more delicate landscape ink drawing effect of the spalted maple used, for example, in the top of Thoroughbred.

                  Leopard     3.5"x 3"x 2.25"                           Seventh     8.75 x 3.25 x 2

Weber found his vocation in woodworking some 25 years ago, while in his mid-20s. He started by taking basic courses in furniture making and credits James Krenov as an early influence. For the most part, however, he is self-taught, mastering a range of techniques over the years. The satisfaction of finding a medium he truly loves has been tempered by the struggle to survive; the early years as a craftsman were lean. Weber’s big break came in 1983, with his acceptance to the American Craft Council Craft Fair in Rhinebeck, New York. Though he arrived deeper in debt than when he started, his van having broken down as he traveled from his former home in North Carolina, Weber says, “The Rhinebeck show was a big success for me, a real turning point in my career. I did very well there and it gave me the confidence to continue working in craft.”

Now a resident of Freeport, Maine, Weber still relies on the major retail craft shows to sell his work, and he has won awards at the Council’s show in Baltimore and at the Philadelphia and Smithsonian craft shows, among others. (The time and care that he expends making each piece, working alone, precludes selling to a wholesale market.) “The craft shows are what allow me to survive as an artisan,” he says. “Through the support I receive there, I can afford to make fewer compromises in my work and choice of materials and reach people who appreciate it.” He takes commissions on the 20 or so designs he displays, occasionally tailoring size or the choice of wood to accommodate the purchaser.

As a craftsman of fine boxes, Weber rides a razor’s edge: he works with materials that allow for the fabrication of production pieces, yet he designs and builds what are appropriately regarded as individual art objects. The question of uniqueness versus limited production is one that intrigues him and is not easily resolved. He says, “Sometimes people are concerned or want assurance that they are getting a truly unique piece. I try to emphasize that what is truly unique are the designs. I am creating objects that have never been seen before.”

The impetus behind his design process is the need to rethink the connotation of box. Weber spends a good part of the year developing new ideas, allowing for the percolation of influences that range from Japanese art to the textures of brick work encountered on a trip to Venice. The challenge is, he says, “How do I fit a particular idea to the making of a box?”

Starting from an initial shape or a connection, Weber mocks up wood patterns, playing with basic elements of size and form. He then looks for an architecture of assemblage, ways to fit the top, bottom and side pieces into a cohesive whole. He plays with possibilities for hinge and lid, deciding whether to minimize or accentuate their presence in the design. Before a new prototype leaves the studio, Weber constructs a ”kit” of patterns and jigs for recreating that box, like a road map to guide him back to a favored destination. His explorations for the box form invariably produce elegant results.

Philip Osgood, a writer on the arts, lives in Brooksville, Maine.