Willow tree friendship keepsake box

For Christmas I was lucky enough to receive an abundance of beautiful presents, but one in particular was completely unexpected and made me feels so special that I had to write a review about it!

My surprise gift was a simple trinket box, from the “willow tree” range of ornaments.

I knew of the range, but have never collected them myself, though I am able to appreciate them from afar via my friend and my sister in law, who both have extensive collections.

A little background information is needed in this instance I feel!

The artist behind the willow tree range is Susan Lordi, and the range states that she hand carves every model by hand within it, though a small disclaimer also states that she does in fact carve the original cast only, from which the models are set from, though the look is still beautiful.

These are specifically made to have no expressions on the models faces, indeed no faces either, but due to the way each head is held, the expressiveness of each piece should be personal and also subjective, as Roy Walker would say, “say what you see, if you see it, say it!”, so each piece could be deemed as a very personal thing, saying something different to each person.

Depending on what piece you give or receive it states it can be as meaningful to either giver or receiver, many of the pieces I have seen have been quite family orientated, with simple titles like “mother” or “child”, and is hoped will promote peace and feelings of well being, ok, that is a bit hippyish for me, though I did get one piece called “mother and child” soon after the birth of my niece for my best friend, and she actually cried saying how she knew I understood how much she had been through and was pleased that she finally felt like a mum, so maybe there is method in the statements madness!

Now onto the actual subject of this review, the trinket box!

The box itself is a small square box, around 3” width and depth, with a lid that is a simple lift off/place on design, simple with no clasps or hinges to spoil the flow of the box.

The box has a dimpled effect over it’s entirety, with a small raised star shape on each side of the box itself, with the lid holding the most detail.
Though there is this very detail effect over the box it really has a very tactile element to it, feeling incredibly smooth to the touch, even though it looks as if it should be textured.
Also though this has been set from pot, it has a very strange feeing to it, smooth, cold but almost silky in feel, like it has been covered in talc, it really is a strange sensation, though not unpleasant!

The lid has a picture of two “friends” sitting opposite each other and looking as though they could be deep in conversation with each other (well that is how I would interpret it anyway), and though both are visibly different they are of course very similar, I suppose that is how I could explain my friendship with the person who actually gave me this box.

The colour of the box is a very beautiful neutral beige colour, with only the hair, face and hands being a different colour, though it really doesn’t make this boring looking, in fact it is more likely to fit into the décor of my rooms, making it a nice addition to my ornament collection.

The inside of the box is a slate grey colour, and is mirrored on the inside of the lid too, with there being a simple inscription inside the bottom of the box, this being “forever true, forever friends”, which of course was incredibly touching to read, but locked away on the inside of the box is also a subtle message meant just for myself and the giver ( I am beginning to wonder if I am a hippy!).

Practicality is of course another element to this box, and I find that it is the ideal place to store my everyday jewellery, as it sits on my bookcase in my room, easy to drop a bracelet into, though not necklaces and loads of other bits as it will inevitably get tangled up, I have found my kids keep leaving me little gifts in there too, I found a handmade bracelet made by my daughter last week, very sweet!

I find this a really lovely gift to have received, and one that would make a fantastic present too, not only is it beautiful to look at but the sentimentality behind it makes it a really lovely gift to get/give.

For more information on this and the other great many ornaments/gifts available in the range and for more background information on the artist visit - www.willowtree.info

Price wise this is also a reasonably priced piece, being available from around the £9.99 range, this is available from www.amazon.co.uk and is widely available from jewellery shops too.

Thanks for reading x