Who is Erik and why
does he make boxes?
My love of working with wood began during an apprenticeship with a European master cabinetmaker influenced by the Dutch design movement de Stijl.
I was born in den Haag, Holland, and grew up in a multilingual household in about 18 locations in Quebec and Ontario, Canada.
For more than 30 years, I have been the owner/operator of Metrik Studio in Guelph, Ontario where my slogan is “Fine furniture seeking home for lasting relationship.” You can see my Metrik work here. (Commissions happily accepted.)
But mostly now, I’m a box man. In semi-retirement, I’ve funnelled my skills into a concise shop where I’m obsessively devoted to making beautiful one-of-a-kind boxes.
My own family had just such a treasure box. The contents were largely from the Netherlands prior to 1950. I fondly remember the occasional rainy afternoon when the box would be opened. Full of memories and stories, it was a way of passing along notable life experiences from grandparent and parent to child. It gave me context for their histories and my upbringing.
Legacy Boxes is my way of encouraging others to keep that magical tradition alive.
— Erik van Miltenburg
10 Things to Know
about Legacy Boxes
Each box is individual, [no two are alike, although they can be ordered in pairs for stacking]. The selection changes as different fine wood planks become available.
The box bodies are solid wood, always crafted from a single plank, with the grain wrapping around three or all four corners in a continuous flow.
Box construction is done with hidden joinery and will last for lifetimes. Other than on decorated boxes, I use only Livos oils for finishing. The quality, ease of rejuvenation, and environmental safety is unsurpassed.
There are three sizes: letter ID, legal ID, tabloid ID (tabloid is double letter size for two letter sheets side by side). Heights vary as indicated.
The separate lids are generally constructed from 9-mm Baltic birch and custom veneered in woods that accent the box solids.
The boxes within each size range stack securely on each other (except where noted). Why not get three or four? Beauty multiplied.
Uses? There are so many. Jewellery chest. Document repository. Wedding keepsake chest. Stationery holder. Letter storage. Passport and travel doc storage. Special items vault. Lingerie hiding place. The best gift box ever given.
Added elements are possible. For stationery lovers, the boxes can be complimented with matching letter openers. Handles can be added. Or brass library-style label holders. A fully customized box can be made upon request. (Someone recently requested a steam punk box. Very cool. I’ve since integrated steam punk into my lineup.)
Legacy boxes are handmade antidotes to our mass-produced culture — smooth, polished, meticulously crafted, richly grained hardwoods crafted precisely into heirlooms you can gift into the future. A thing of value for what you value.
Trend arising: I feel a swelling of demand recently for handcrafted boxes devoted to holding the ashes of departed persons and pets. A wooden box can be displayed beautifully and looks nothing like a standard ceramic urn. Let me know if you are interested. (Some sample urns are pictured below.)
