Eugene Watson of Watswood

Eugene Watson makes beautiful meticulous jewelry boxes. "I began Watson Woodworks in 1990 in an old 1200 square foot loft just outside of Chinatown in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to woodworking, I designed electronic components for the black boxes in military airplanes. My interest in woodworking evolved from my childhood and was influenced by my father and grandfather. I chose to pursue woodworking over an electronics career because I am able to express my creativity with my hands and design innovative pieces in a relatively short period of time. I am now recognized nationally and internationally for my boxes. My boxes involve the use of very traditional tools such as bench chisels, planes, and files, to high tech modern machinery. All of my designs utilize my engineering skills in math, geometry, trigonometry, drawing, etc. I machine my own metal parts and utilize leather and shell in many of my designs. The woods I use are exotic and domestic figured hardwoods of the highest quality." Eugene Watson