The Dovetails standard
What leaves our shop carries our name.
We build in small numbers, answer our own email, and put our hands on every piece before it leaves. These are the standards we hold ourselves to, no matter what we are making.
- Built hereDesigned and made in our workshop. Not outsourced, white-labeled, or bought finished.
- Materials named plainlyWe tell you what a piece is made from, where it matters, and why we chose it.
- Designed for real roomsIt has to work once someone lives with it, not just look good in a photograph.
- Clear expectationsWe tell you what is in stock, what is made to order, and when it should leave the shop.
- We make it rightIf something arrives damaged or is not as it should be, we take care of it.
For this piece
- Live edge burl, top and bottom
- Both pieces from one slab
- Quarter-inch mirror glass
- Narrow black frame, 3 in deep
- Hangs on a French cleat
- Built one at a time
The burl
Why we let the burl lead the design.
Burl doesn't grow the way an ordinary board does. The grain twists. It circles back. Little eyes appear. Color changes over a few inches. And just when you think you understand what the piece is doing, it changes direction again.
That's why we buy burl when we find it rather than when we need it.
In fact, this piece sat in the studio for more than a month before it told us what it wanted to be.
We moved it around. Looked at it from different directions. Considered a few ideas. None of them felt quite right.
So we waited.
Eventually, we stopped looking at the burl as something that needed to become a table, a box or some other thing we already knew how to make. We started paying attention to the edges.
That changed everything.
Instead of cutting those live edges away, we made them part of the design. One piece above the glass. Another below it. The mirror became the quiet space between them.
That's when Morning Has Broken began.
This one is Mappa burl. The next one may not be. Its grain will move differently. Its edges will take us somewhere else.
We can make another Morning Has Broken. We just can't know exactly what it will look like until the next piece of burl shows up.
That's why we buy burl when we find it rather than when we need it.
In fact, this piece sat in the studio for more than a month before it told us what it wanted to be.
We moved it around. Looked at it from different directions. Considered a few ideas. None of them felt quite right.
So we waited.
Eventually, we stopped looking at the burl as something that needed to become a table, a box or some other thing we already knew how to make. We started paying attention to the edges.
That changed everything.
Instead of cutting those live edges away, we made them part of the design. One piece above the glass. Another below it. The mirror became the quiet space between them.
That's when Morning Has Broken began.
This one is Mappa burl. The next one may not be. Its grain will move differently. Its edges will take us somewhere else.
We can make another Morning Has Broken. We just can't know exactly what it will look like until the next piece of burl shows up.
THE FRAME
Why a burl wood mirror needs a quieter frame.
Mappa burl doesn't need much help getting your attention.
There are eyes in the grain. Color moves through it. The live edges wander above and below the glass. There is already a lot happening before we add anything else.
So we made the frame do less.
It's narrow, black and three inches deep. Against the warm burl, it becomes a simple dark line around a piece of wood that doesn't have many simple lines of its own.
We treated the glass the same way. There is plenty of it. Enough that Morning Has Broken still feels like a mirror rather than a piece of burl with a little reflection squeezed into the middle.
The burl can twist, wander and change direction as much as it likes. The wood gets to be wild. Everything around it gets quieter.
There are eyes in the grain. Color moves through it. The live edges wander above and below the glass. There is already a lot happening before we add anything else.
So we made the frame do less.
It's narrow, black and three inches deep. Against the warm burl, it becomes a simple dark line around a piece of wood that doesn't have many simple lines of its own.
We treated the glass the same way. There is plenty of it. Enough that Morning Has Broken still feels like a mirror rather than a piece of burl with a little reflection squeezed into the middle.
The burl can twist, wander and change direction as much as it likes. The wood gets to be wild. Everything around it gets quieter.
Shop note
One of Richard's other passions is photography, and his favorite time to shoot is golden hour.
It's that short stretch just after sunrise or before sunset when the light comes in low and warm. Reds get a little redder. Golds come forward. Even familiar things look different for a few minutes.
When we started working with this piece of burl, those were the colors Richard kept seeing in it. Warm golds, amber, deep reds and darker shadows running through the figure.
Then the live edges started to take shape around the mirror. The lower one rising. The upper one falling away. Somewhere between the color and those irregular lines, it began to feel like a landscape at first light.
The name came pretty easily after that.
Morning Has Broken.
It's that short stretch just after sunrise or before sunset when the light comes in low and warm. Reds get a little redder. Golds come forward. Even familiar things look different for a few minutes.
When we started working with this piece of burl, those were the colors Richard kept seeing in it. Warm golds, amber, deep reds and darker shadows running through the figure.
Then the live edges started to take shape around the mirror. The lower one rising. The upper one falling away. Somewhere between the color and those irregular lines, it began to feel like a landscape at first light.
The name came pretty easily after that.
Morning Has Broken.
CARE: Dust the wood with a soft dry cloth. Clean the glass with a cloth rather than spraying directly onto it, so nothing runs down into the seam where the glass meets the burl. Keep it out of direct sustained sunlight, which will lighten any wood over time.
Specifications
Every measurement has a reason.
| Width | 24" |
|---|---|
| Height | 36" |
| Depth | 3" |
| Weight | TK |
| Species | Mappa burl |
| Glass | 1/4 in mirror glass |
| Frame | Narrow black, 3 in deep |
| Wood | Live edge burl, top and bottom |
| Construction | Both pieces from one slab |
| Finish | Toner and lacquer |
| Hanging | French cleat, built in |
| Built | One at a time when a piece deserves it |
In the box
- The mirror, with the cleat half attached
- Wall cleat and mounting hardware
- Hanging instructions
Frequently asked questions
Before it goes on your wall.
Will mine look like the photographs?
The photographs on this page show the Morning Has Broken we have right now. If that is the one you buy, yes. We do try to keep the images updated with what is in stock!
When it sells, the next one follows the same design and the same idea, but the wood will be different. The live edges will run differently, the figure will be different, and sometimes the species will be different too. If you want to see exactly what is on the bench, send us a message and we will send pictures before you decide.
When it sells, the next one follows the same design and the same idea, but the wood will be different. The live edges will run differently, the figure will be different, and sometimes the species will be different too. If you want to see exactly what is on the bench, send us a message and we will send pictures before you decide.
What is burl wood?
It is an unusual growth in a tree. Instead of running in one direction, the grain twists and circles back on itself, and clusters of small dark eyes appear where dormant buds never opened. It cannot be planned, ordered, or repeated.
Is every Morning Has Broken different?
Yes. The design is the same each time. The wood is not.
We decide the proportions, the frame, and how much glass to leave exposed. The burl decides the two live edges and everything that happens across the face of it. Same idea, different piece of wood.
We decide the proportions, the frame, and how much glass to leave exposed. The burl decides the two live edges and everything that happens across the face of it. Same idea, different piece of wood.
How do you hang it?
On a French cleat. One half is already fitted to the back of the mirror, the other half screws to the wall, and the cleat on the mirror drops onto it.
Is it real mirror glass?
Yes. Quarter-inch mirror glass, not acrylic.
Can I order one in a different burl?
Sometimes. We build these when a slab comes through that deserves it, so what we can offer depends on what we have on hand. Tell us what you are after and we will tell you honestly whether we can do it and when.
One thing we cannot do is duplicate a previous mirror. The live edge is whatever the tree did, and no two slabs give the same line.
One thing we cannot do is duplicate a previous mirror. The live edge is whatever the tree did, and no two slabs give the same line.
Burl Wood Mirror – Morning Has Broken
$1,450.00