I know what you are thinking… How hard can it be to dismantle a wine box? The truth is it’s not hard at all. That is, if you don’t care about what happens to the pieces. For me however, I do care and perfection in a beautifully made table starts with perfectly sourced wine box panels.

First of all, every box is different. Wineries use different timber, nails, staples, glue, joins etc… I take my time to see how the box is constructed, before I even begin dismantling. Using steel tools incorrectly can easily damage the wooden panels therefore patience and care must be taken.

Stickers, packing tape and export labels are all removed first. Using carpenters pliers, I gently ease out nails and staples. A small hammer is used for delicate work and a larger one for some serious banging. Only the blank and therefore unused panels will see any attention from a hammer. All the panels are carefully removed in a very specific order to minimise chance of damage. Remaining nails and staples are removed from each individual piece.

The printed panels which will eventually go towards a table are all inspected thoroughly. Things like adhesive residue and glue are removed and the panel is carefully sanded to remove stains and discolouring left from years of being touched by hands. The panel is then cropped with a mitre saw to ensure immaculate clean edges, corners and lines.

The panel is now ready to join the other 400+ panels all waiting to be resurrected into a beautiful table.