The Story

An interesting custom:

Corks from bottles of champagne used in important celebrations have often been kept as a keepsake or souvenir. Sometimes a slit is made into a cork and a coin is pressed in, the cork dries capturing the cork symbolising an ever lasting love that cant be broken. Unfortunately, more often than not, the cork is then left in a bowl or a draw with no reference to what or why it is there or what was the occasion.

My wife and I have been using a version of Memento for the past twenty-three years, it charts our children’s and grand children’s births, anniversaries, special visits, jobs, houses etc and is currently over three meters long using two Mementos. It truly is a family timeline.

About myself:

My name is David Stovell and I am a greenwood worker and product designer based in North Essex in the UK. After years of exploring sustainable design processes and materials I discovered working in greenwood*. Although I still work with a range of materials and techniques, working with this beautiful sustainable material has become my passion. I also have a range of other products at www.stovelldesign.co.uk

*Green woodworking is an old tradition of working with wood almost as soon as has been cut down. We know the wood will move as it dries and loses moisture and the skill is making allowances for this shrinkage and movement.