TheBoxBrothers

The Box Brothers are a dynamic duo made up of Pete & Shorty.
They both hail from Eganstown, Victoria and happen to be neighbours as well.
Pete is an accountant by trade as well as the owner/operator of Morningswood Farm along with his wife Claire.
Shorty is a part time baker, part time mad scientist and part time neighbourhood pest mixing metaphors in his own space and time.
Box Brothers arose due to Shorty's insistence for a more environmentally friendly punnet, of which could be crafted better than biodegradable “PLA” - these punnets are commonly mistaken for plastic and are currently in use by Morningswood Farm.
Our discussions and scheming began. We soon landed on timber as the perfect material, it's biodegradable, looks great and could be locally sourced.

First we had to think of a design...
The idea of weaving the punnets came to Shorty when he was eating his breakfast, the medium at hand dictated our first prototype... the 'Wheaties Punnet'.
It was a simple build and materials were easy to source, however it lacked in longevity.
A sturdier medium was required. We tried balsa wood (too brittle), then strips of hardwood (too time consuming), finally came the veneer... just right!
We acquired a box full of veneer and tested its suitability - hands down it was brilliant.
Ordering boxes of veneer from who knows where didn't really fit our mould so we had to seek out a local supplier. This led to us Timberwood Panels, a family owned veneer manufacturer in Melbourne. They agreed to meet with us and on our first visit were greeted by a friendly team with great interest in our product - due to its creation from their waste.
This allowed us the pleasure of sifting through a couple of their bins destined for landfill. As excited as two kids in a lolly shop, Shorty and Pete stacked the ute with everything they could and headed back to Eganstown. Shorty then began perfecting a process and building machines to help achieve the perfect box. And where is the best place to find parts for machines? The local tip shop of course!

We have seen all manner of things come back from the tip and be given new life from simple scrap metal jigs to meat slicers (touted Frankenstein), treadmill conveyors and a treadmill hydraulic press. Anything that was not scrounged and built was found along the way, such as an old guillotine (or two). With each new machine streamlining and speeding up the process even more.
Collecting the veneer has become a bi-weekly event and through this, Box Brothers was officially born. Aiming to provide an eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastic packaging at the same time as reducing landfill waste through material sourcing, our mission was clear.

As the plan was coming together in Shorty’s shed the Timberwood team have been implementing a number of initiatives to reduce waste and increase recycling factory wide. They were excited to not only improve their waste stream but also support us along the way. As we understood more and more about what 'waste' Shorty’s machines could process, the Timberwood team are able to build collection points for usable scrap for making boxes into their processes. We have since attended staff meetings explaining how a change in the factory can assist in reducing waste and at the same time provide a quality product for making boxes.

A standard 'Timberwood punnet' has been created as homage to ‘Timberwood Panels’- they've been so generous with their time and resources. This box is a demonstration of our commitment to waste reduction, recycling and artisan production. It is a simple product that is comparable in cost to other biodegradable products currently on the market. We have plans for limited edition versions of the Timberwood made with beautiful hardwoods, as well as boxes of varying shapes and sizes. We are also looking to partner with related charities in the next few months.
We are excited about this opportunity to further reduce landfill waste while making an aesthetically beautiful product.