Back then, it wasn't difficult to find and afford the kinds of exceptionally beautiful prints we required for these handmade boxes, complete with antique hinges and catches that we found for them. The boxes alone had character, but once we had decoupaged them with our particular style, we were soon selling them to Tiffany, Cartier, Henri Bendel and Bergdorf Goodman in New York City, as well as The Nantucket Looms. While my grandfather died at the age of 98, he left me a wonderful legacy of boxes that I still make for the Nantucket Looms, but mostly sell in my shop, Leslie Linsley Nantucket on Old South Wharf. There are still a handful of diehards like myself who love the craft as a creative expression. While you may not have access to a storehouse of handmade boxes, you'll find wonderful manufactured boxes, my reproduced prints and all the material for doing decoupage at The Craft Place on Old South Wharf.
Decoupage is a wonderful way to decorate furniture of any style or period.
My only advice is never, ever use magazines for cutting designs. The printing will smear under the varnish, the quality of the paper and the designs isn't worthy of the craft. Further, it's a great craft for young people who might enjoy painting a box or making a Nantucket quarterboard, gluing on some real Nantucket shells for decoration and then adding a few paper cutouts of shells. Her latest book is Crafts For Dummies. She opened a new shop on Old South Wharf this season called The Craft Place.