Sunday, December 19, 2010

Vintage Raaco Tool Craft Box Made in Denmark

I made a great find at a thrift store recently - a beautiful green coloured metal box for storing hardware and small tools! Raaco is a Danish company that makes tool boxes and storage units. The particular vintage piece that I found was in great shape, with its metal nameplate still attached.


One of the most whimsical things about this find were the little treasures stowed within its four rows of drawers. I enjoyed opening up each one and discovering the assortment of magnets, chess pieces, keys, and other small pieces of hardware. I imagine that a woodworker or handyman owned this old kit. One mystery I have not been able to solve is why he had so many magnets... it appears that his craft required him to hold thin items together temporarily. There were a couple of nice vintage keys in there too.


I think this box has many functions - it would be great for stowing crafts, packets of seeds, or small tools. It's sturdy and well built, and has eyelets in the back for hanging in a shop or display shelf. I find myself curious about the person who carefully sorted these little items.


I originally planned on using this nice box for gardening knick-knacks like packets of seeds, ties to hold branches to stakes, and say, scissors in the large bottom tray. I ended up deciding that it was too nice to be sitting in my muddy garden and that it was a bit too heavy for toting around.  Someone is now using it for holding sewing supplies, and I'm really glad that it'll be well used and well loved again!


3 comments:

  1. love that piece! so cute and i have such a thing for little drawers :)

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  2. I could just kick myself. I saw one like that all dirty and in a garage. I should have snapped it up. Lesson learned!

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  3. Oh Amanda, I almost walked away from this one too, so I understand how you must have felt. In the end it was the green colour that reeled me in. You never know, one could be sitting neglected at a thrift store shelf near you.

    For this particular piece, packing tape was wrapped around it to keep the drawers in place. Good thing I was able to get it all off without damaging the paint.

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