459 Covid coasters

Date: 2020/2021 
Designed by: James Bradnock
Credit: James Bradnock / Fleur Bradnock

‘From the middle of last year I have made the coasters in a “limited edition” for family and friends. Each is made of English oak with various inlaid veneers, finished with a varnish coat as they are intended to be used.

The oak for the some 70 coasters I have made so far comes from the case of a piano that I broke up for a friend. As it dated from the early 1930s, my guess is that the oak is English, and I further guess, about 200 years old. The inlaid veneers are from all over the world, but seem to be largely rainforest hardwoods. I inherited them from my antique-restoring father-in-law about twenty years ago. 

I am 81 years old, a retired English teacher, and two of my hand-skill hobbies have been glass engraving and wood-working, especially making stringed instruments. I have completed two violins, a viola and a cello, and play the last. But I am genuinely an amateur in these skills and am largely self-taught.’