A lot of people are working with reclaimed materials these days. Why? Well, I do it because old wood and hardware have beautiful characteristics and are actually more satisfying to work with than new stuff. And they’re free. And it makes me happy to put new life into something and rescue it from becoming landfill. And one more thing; our throw-away culture is lazy and unsustainable and needs to change.

This key and mail holder started with a beautifully aged piece of tongue-in-groove flooring that I salvaged from an 1865 carriage house. The board had become curled, so it was no longer good for carpentry, but it can still be used! I cut away the top part of the back to make a slot to hold mail, bent some old “cut nails” into hooks and set them into holes the groove. Since the curl of the wood kept it from sitting flat against a wall I added a couple dowel plugs to make it stable when attached to the wall.

The design on the front is a Japanese dragonfly crest, painted with lettering enamel, and I carved ring around the edge, just because.

It’s available for purchase at my Reinsign shop on Etsy:

www.etsy.com/listing/276956572/dragonfly-crest-mail-and-key-holder