While the Burr Walnut Egg Chest was a treatise on time-honoured tenets around materials, form and function, the Sassafras Egg Chest took it a step further. It’s a simple demonstration of how a different timber can completely transform a piece —even one as distinctive as the Egg Chest.

In its Tasmanian Blackheart Sassafras form, the chest is defined by deep black veins streaking through the pale timber. It’s as if the wood itself is shifting, which combines with the off-centre positioning of the piece on its aged brass base to convey an illusion of movement.

“This chest is the result of my chronic case of ‘what if ?’ The linearity of the Sassafras stood out to me and I started to think about what would happen if I mimicked the form of the Egg Chest but angled the lines of the veneer. It was a risk, but I love the outcome.”