Dispatching The First Two-Tone Memorial Urns

From The Workshop – April 2026

The first production run of our Two-Tone Memorial Urn series recently left the workshop for Melbourne following several months of refinement here in Maida Vale.

These initial pieces were built in small numbers as we developed the balance between contrasting hardwoods, internal sleeve construction and the quieter contemporary form that now defines the collection.

The Materials

This early series combined Western Australian Jarrah with Victorian Ash internal sleeves, creating the contrast that has since become one of the defining characteristics of the design.

Each urn was individually machined, joined and hand-finished in our Perth Hills workshop using traditional hardwax oils and Carnauba polish to preserve the natural warmth and tactile feel of the timber.

We continue to avoid heavy industrial lacquer finishes wherever possible, preferring a softer satin surface that allows the timber grain and figure to remain natural in the hand and in the home.

Small Batch Workshop Production

From the beginning, the intention behind the Two-Tone design was not mass production, but smaller workshop-built batches where material selection and timber pairing could remain part of the process.

Each vessel in this first series was individually numbered and accompanied by a signed workshop provenance card documenting its construction in Maida Vale.

That simple idea remains important to us today — knowing where a piece was built, who built it, and the materials it was made from.

Preparing For Transit

Shipping solid timber memorials interstate requires careful preparation, particularly with heavier hardwood species like Jarrah. Every urn in this series was suspended within a custom protective packing system before leaving the workshop for Melbourne.

Even now, every interstate delivery continues to leave the workshop the same way — individually wrapped, protected and packed by hand before dispatch.

The Two-Tone Memorial Urn has continued to evolve since this first small production run, but these early pieces remain an important part of the story behind the collection.

— Jim & Wendy
A Cut Above Woodworking