Brian Ng'aru made Joe a custom cypress cutlery tray that brought order, warmth, and a personal touch to his kitchen. What's your wish? →
View material & custom-made details
The Custom Cypress Cutlery Tray was made by Brian Ng'aru as a fitted wooden drawer organizer for everyday kitchen cutlery, based on a clear set of required dimensions and a natural cypress look. It is a useful example for anyone planning a custom cutlery tray because the finished piece shows how fixed measurements, divider thickness, and finish choices can be balanced in a practical made-to-measure design.
- Request: A custom cutlery tray in cypress wood was requested with key dimensions kept fixed, no handles, and a height of 60 mm so it could sit neatly inside a drawer.
- Final result: The completed tray was remade in cypress with a consistent 1 cm thickness used across the outer walls and dividers, giving the organizer a cleaner and more uniform layout than the earlier version.
- Design details: The layout included multiple compartments for sorting cutlery, with the lower 250 mm by 50 mm section split into two and the surrounding spaces adjusted to make the overall arrangement work within the required footprint.
- Fit and use: This project is a good reference for anyone who needs a bespoke drawer insert for cutlery or kitchen tools, especially when drawer space is fixed and standard tray sizes do not fit well.
- Process: Progress photos were shared during the build, the finish was discussed in practical terms, and the tray was completed with varnish for lower maintenance and a protected surface; the final customer feedback was very positive.
Every unique piece tells a story. What’s yours?
This design was custom-made exclusively for Joe. Let it inspire you: customize this design to fit your vision or start with a completely new idea. You chat directly with our artisans, and we handle the secure process.
A request by Joe from Near Driffield East Yorkshire,, United Kingdom
Hello
I have attached a crude drawing of the type of cutlery tray that I am looking for. The drawing is not to scale, and I have not taken into account the width / dimensions of the dividers. My drawing shows the measurements in either red or black, the red dimensions are critical and must not change, the measurements in black are the ones where you have some flexibility.
The timber / colour that I would like is cyprus wood like the tray made for somebody else.
If there are any suggestions or improvements that you would like to suggest I would welcome your comments.
Wait to hear from you.
Joe
The Journey of Creating Custom Cypress Cutlery Tray
Negotiation & Planning
Hello Joe,
Thanks for reaching out with your request for a bespoke cutlery tray. Your detailed notes about the dimensions are really helpful. It's great to know which measurements we need to prioritize.
We'll make sure to use cyprus wood, just as you've requested, for that consistent look you admired. Do you have any particular finish in mind for the wood, or would you prefer to leave it natural, I would suggest applying clear varnish to protect the wood?
Looking forward to getting this just right for you!
Clear varnish sounds good.
awesome, the blueprint you provided is well defined and i will be able to work with it would you require the tray to have handles or none to be added.
And then what would be the height of the tray in the drawing it is not included?
Hi. Herman,
The tray does not need handles and needs to be 60mm.high.
Thanks
Joe
Hello joe, so the height in cm will be 6cm correct?
awesome the tray will not have handles and i will incorporate the dimensions provided, thank you
Crafting Process
How to make a Custom Cypress Cutlery Tray – work in progress
hello joe, the creation of your product has started, now the tray in the design had a lower compartment of 50mm width and 250mm length divided into two, with that in place the remaining space would fit two compartments for reasonable space allocation in place of the initial 4 compartments would that be okay?
Hi Herman,
You need to submit a rough drawing so I can better understand what you are suggesting.
Thanks,
Joe
hello joe the actual image with the demo dividers, is submitted. It's called "new image". In the section with 5 (250mm dividers) the thickness of all the dividers will be half the thickness of the main wood thickness to maintain uniformity in that section and also create space for the tray compartments. ref (image: difference.png)
Hi. Herman,
Thanks for getting back to me and sending the new picture, ( new -image.jpg) you have 5 sections the bottom section is still to be split in 2. I understand what you are doing about the wood thickness so please proceed.
Joe
Hello Joe, awesome will do proceed
Hi. Herman,
Are you looking for any further response from me at this time?
hello Joe, i finalized on your project i provided a pic with the tray having 1st coating of the varnish , i have done the final coating i forgot to take pics before sending but you will see the final product soon, and thank you for letting me realize your project
Hello Joe,
This is Vicky, the local operations manager. I’ve received your cutlery tray from Herman and thoroughly reviewed it to include you in the shipping decisions. However, after assessing the final piece, we feel it doesn’t fully meet our quality standards at Urban Change Lab. To ensure you get the best product, we’d like to refine it further for a better finish.
We’ve decided to assign the remake to a different artisan to bring in a fresh approach and ensure you receive a piece that truly meets your expectations. This is not a reflection on Herman’s effort but rather our commitment to delivering the best value for your money. We will proceed with the improvements and keep you updated on the progress.
Thank you for your patience and trust in our process. Let us know if you have any specific preferences you’d like us to consider.
Best regards,
Vicky Achieng.
Hello Vicky,
Thank you for your quality assessment the only comments I have is that Herman has made the dividers in the cutlery tray in 2 different thickness and I would prefer it they were all in the same thickness the thinner type, I think (?) they are at 1/4 inch as opposed to 1/2 inch thick.. I hope this makes sense.
Joe
Hello joe, i will be remaking your order. I apologise for any inconveniences this might have caused. I will make the tray out of cypress as requested, i would propose a waxed finishing rather than varnish for food safety. I have seen the sketch and will maintain the measurements in red and adjust the measurements in black accordingly. I will make the base 1cm thick and maintain a 1cm wood thickness through out the boarders and dividers for an elegant look.
Thank you for getting in touch Brian, send me some pictures when the times right.
joe
I will purchase the wood tomorrow and prepare it then send updates. Thank you for the prompt response.
Hi. Brian,
I am not sure what response you want from me at this time.
Joe
Hello Joe. Your order is in the finishing stage. I have uploaded some pictures of the progress. Would you like me to wax of varnish the tray?
Hi. Brian,
Very impressed with what you have done, which do you think would look best wax or varnish?
Am glad you like it so far. Wax has a mat finish while varnish has a more glossy finishing. Varnish will give it more protection and will not require maintenance in a long time but will make the wood yellowish with time, wax has a more natural look enhancing the wood grains but needs to be rewaxed atleast every 8 months by rubbing the tray with wax. So, for durability varnish is better and aesthetics wax is better
Hi. Brian,
Thanks for getting back to me with your comments regarding the wax V varnish finishes. I think I would prefer the lower maintenance option which would be the varnish.
Joe
Hi joe
Your tray is ready for delivery. I have completed sanding and finishing with varnish. I have uploaded pictures of tge outcome and i can present it to the local manager for quality control once you confirm that its ready for delivery. For the 150 by 50mm divisions, i figured that you wanted the division half way. Since the length is 250mm, it was not possible to divide into two 150mm divisions. Thank you for this great opportunity. Cheers.
thank you very much Brian, looks good please present it to your local quality control manager.
Joe
Hello Joe,
This is Vicky, the local operations manager. I’ve received your tray from Brian, and it looks fantastic—a great improvement from the previous version! He carefully followed your measurement specifications and applied varnish as requested.
I’ve shared photos showcasing the measurements and different angles of the tray. Please have a look and let me know if you're happy with it so we can proceed with shipping.
Best regards,
Vicky Achieng
Hello Vicky,
Thank you for checking the tray and providing detailed pictures, I agree with you it looks fabulous. I look forward to receiving the tray, so please proceed with the shipping process.
The Finished Unique Piece – Individually Handmade
Material: Cyprus wood
Reference: ON016435E-76752
Cost structure of this project
| Price | |
|---|---|
| Cost of material |
47.12
|
| Cost of labour |
47.12
|
| Cost of packaging |
5.5
|
| Local Transport to photoshoot and parcel drop-off |
5.5
|
| Subtotal – payout to artisan |
105.24
|
| Customer acquisition costs (advertising etc.) |
10.52
|
| Handling fee Urban Change Lab |
10.52
|
| Total (excluding shipping & taxes) |
126.28
|
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- Fair: Direct local value creation in Kenya
Note on shipping & taxes
The cost breakdown above shows how the value of this individual project is composed.
Shipping costs and any applicable taxes (e.g. VAT) depend on the delivery country and the specific setup and are therefore not shown as fixed amounts here.
All additional costs are communicated transparently before placing a binding order.
If you have any questions, you will find our contact details further down this page.
