End-Grain Chessboard

Every square on this chessboard is an end-grain block: the wood is turned on end, so the top of each square shows its growth rings rather than the long grain. Light and dark blocks are cut, fitted and glued by hand in our workshop in Sóller, and the rings give each square its own small pattern, so the board reads as a clean chequer from across the room and as a mosaic up close. Down the sides, the same blocks show as crisp stripes of light and dark.

End grain is the most demanding way to make a board. Every block has to be cut true and fitted tightly to its neighbours, then the whole surface flattened and finished by hand. Because each block comes from a different part of the timber, tone and ring pattern vary from square to square and from board to board. We see that as character rather than flaw, the mark of a piece made by people rather than machines.

Slim enough to slip onto a shelf between games, it is made for unhurried evenings and long conversations over the board. It is a thoughtful gift for a keen player, or a lasting piece for your own home. To care for it, wipe it with a dry cloth and give it a little oil now and then.