Brainstorm #4

Ready for another brainstorm? This one's kind of tricky.

It belongs to Joan  who's an artist.  Joan lives just up the hill from ChinaTown in San Francisco in a kind of a deco chinese edwardian building and she tries to keep some fun references to the neighborhood inside the apartment. 

The box is about 21 by 24 inches and the slats inside don't go all the way through to the back board. Joan's own idea is to somehow hang little gouaches from it.

First we'd like to give Joan an idea of how to hang the gouaches. We suggest cutting a flap of the same art paper that is used for the gouaches themselves which is then attached to the back of the gouache. The flap is folded to go over the compartment. If she wanted to Joan could add he flap at the top of her art paper by cutting the paper in that shape to begin with.

Our second idea is also an artsy one. We're thinking card stock could be bent and stuck into the compartments creating a pattern, as in this case Joan's initial. This one's my favorite.

My mind is already set on the holidays so I was thinking it would look nice with a string of clear tiny fairylights stuck under the dividers and hung on a wall. Actually, the thing on it's own would look stunning on a wall as part of an art wall with different size frames and Joans own art.

I love Martin's idea of having a piece of glass cut to size and adding a base (or legs if you prefer) and using it as an occasional table.

Without the base but still with the glass and added handles on the sides it could be turned into a tray.

And to elaborate on the tray idea and in the I've-had-too-much-wine category we offer a large toast rack.

Any more ideas for Joan? The very first thing that came to my mind when I got Joan's e-mail was to store cards of some sort. I'm thinking business cards, ATC's, other trading cards or even displaying playing vintage cards or (small...) holiday cards.

Any ideas what it's really for? Because of it's sort of oriental color I'm thinking mah-jong tile organizer? Is there even such a thing?