VALUED at $59,400, Collaboration One is not a tool cabinet made for just any old backyard shed.
But, for a time, the cabinet and its contents are just made for Sturt's design centre in Mittagong.
Described as "the ultimate wood-lover's fantasy", the handcrafted cabinet houses 74 handcrafted tools.
Its tools were crafted by Terry Gordon and Colen Clenton, and its cabinet by Phoebe Everill.
The cabinet is made of Tasmanian sassafras with black heart inlay and wenge and ebony detail.
The tools - planes, gauges and squares - are made from brass and matching ebony from the same tree.
Fine furniture maker Phoebe Everill believes the piece is unique to Australia "and extraordinary not only because it celebrates the art of making but .... says 'our precision and workmanship in this country is that good'."
Terry Gordon, of tool makers HNT Gordon, said the attention to detail in a handmade tool ensured a lifetime of function". "As a consequence, it is usually an object of beauty as well," Mr Gordon said.
Collaboration One took hundreds of hours of work, including individually moulding and fitting the tools' brasswork.
"Sadly, we're living in a world where handmade things are limited," Mr Gordon said.
"Objects such as this are highly valued not only because they're functional but because they make us appreciate just how amazing Mother Nature is. "
The trio believe the $59,400 work will be acquired by a museum, an avid collector, or a passionate woodworker.
Collaboration One is on display until March 2016 at Sturt Australian Contemporary Design Craft and Centre.
Sturt is on Range Rd in Mittagong and open daily 10am to 5pm, except public holidays. Call 4860 2083.
