Design Preview – Jewelry Box

Vision

For my main project, I will be trying something outside of my comfort zone. I will be attempted a traditional Galician aesthetic. Now I am aware that is seemingly random. However, this is because I plan on making a jewelry box in the shape of a Galician Horreo for my girlfriend who is Galician.

Galicia is a region in the northwest of Spain where they speak there own language, and live in a really humid, wet climate, closer to say Scotland than Andalusia.

Figure 1: Galicia on a map

Figure 2: Galician Horreo

I will take this overall shape and try to convert it into a jewelry box. You might be wondering what is it? Well it is a grain storage device used by Galician farmers. They have slits around them for airflow but don’t let any water in thus letting the grain dry. Most have crosses on them since Spain is very Catholic and a lot were built around churches. The Horreo is on stilts, or pegollos, because the stilts are used as “mice stompers” to keep out rodents.

The specifications I have developed for its function are that it can hold earrings on the outside and store earrings on the inside as well. I would also like for it to stand perfectly, and for the pieces to fit together nicely. The specifications I have for the aesthetic are that the jewelry box looks like a Galician Horreo, by having the pegollos on the bottom, slits throughout the main body, and a Spanish tiled roof. Furthermore, I would like it to be painted to match the traditional Galician styling with a red roof, brown windows, and a concrete look for the rest of it. I believe that if all of this is completed then I will have successfully made a jewelry box in the aesthetic of a Galician Horreo.

Alternative Aesthetics

Alternatively, I could construct the jewelry box in different aesthetics.

Figure 3: Floral aesthetic jewelry box

Figure 4: Gaudi inspired jewelry box

The floral inspired jewelry box tries to imitate a potted plant or flower. It would have a drawer in the pot of the flower and have different petals where you could place rings on, or hang earrings from different holes. This is nothing like a traditional Galician aesthetic but it does follow the aesthetic of a flower which could easily be in a bedroom, and therefore fit in quite nicely.

The Gaudi inspired jewelry box follows the curvy, natural lines that many of Gaudis works are known for. I’m not sure how possible this jewelry box would be for me however, as the woodworking is incredibly difficult. This box could be 3D printed, but Im not sure how good it would look.

I am not sure which aesthetic I like more. I enjoy the idea of a Galician Horreo as it has sentimental value, however, I do like the idea of having a drawer in a potted plant, or the beautiful lines of a Gaudi inspired jewelry box. But after some consideration, I am going to continue with the traditional Galician aesthetic and design the jewelry box in the shape of a Horreo. This is because I fear that the Gaudi inspired jewelry box would be to far outside of my ability as a wood worker, and I would fail to complete the aesthetic and the function. Furthermore, I just like the Horreo jewelry box more than the floral aesthetic for sentimental and awesomeness reasons. This is why I am going to be creating the traditional Galician jewelry box in the shape of an Horreo.

Drawings

Figure 5 & 6: Brainstorming and initial sketches of my Horreo design

As you can see in figure 5 & 6, I did a lot of brainstorming to start my project. I was wondering if it would be better to make the Horreo as a case to a pencil sharpener, or possibly add a wireless phone charger to the base, or make it somehow an attachment to a flower bouquet. However, after all of my brainstorming and sketches I settled on making it as I originally planed, a earring/jewelry box holder.

This might be a reach, but I would love the top to be connected to a fishing line, where you can pull the top string and it drags the top of the Horreo into the sky which has earrings dangling from it. This would allow my girlfriend to easily display her earrings and have them fit nicely into a box. I am still figuring out the logistics of doing that, but I think it would be a nice idea.

Figure 7 & 8: CAD models of the Horreo jewelry box

These are my first attempts at creating the jewelry box in SolidWorks. As you can see the top is unfinished as well as the base, however, I think I am creating a generally Horreo looking jewelry box. I also have a lot of mating issues with the roof tiles, so I will probably need to redo that, but as of right now, I am happy with the overall look.

Timeline

Figure 9: Timeline

With the completion of this project being April 16, 2025, I would like the following to be done. I want my CAD model completed by spring break, or March 25. This will give me plenty of time to fix my model and to make sure it is perfect for my print and also to learn more skills. Then I will not have access to a 3D printer or computer with SolidWorks during spring break so I will do nothing. Then I will come back and print my Horreo over the next 7 days, with days extra days included in case something goes wrong. After that, I have 3 days to paint, and a leftover week incase something goes wrong. I believe this will be achievable and the best timeline to complete this project. I do not need to shop, as I already have 3D printing resin and paint.

Fabrication Process

I am going to make my jewelry box using my brothers 3D printer, which is a resin printer. Resin printers print at much higher quality than normal 3D printers, and ideally the human eye cannot see the layer differences, especially when paint is applied. I believe that this will make the Horreo look beautiful and although I would prefer it to be made out of wood, I do not think that is in my ability. The steps to complete this are to create the CAD model, send it to the 3D printer, cure it after its printed, and then paint the final design, and glue it all together. Since I gave myself a week of printing, I believe that I have enough cushion in case something goes wrong with the prints.

Conclusion

In summation, I will be creating a traditional Galician Horreo jewelry box. I will be making a CAD model of it and printing it using a resin printer. Then I will paint the model and put it all together. I think my model will fit the overall aesthetic, but I would love to hear any feedback on the design!

Citations

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galicia_%28Spain%29

[2]https://www.polyglottando.com/?p=979

[6] Pictures of Horreos found on google street view in the town of Combarro, Pontevedra Spain.

[9] made using https://time.graphics/editor