In Japan, small trays are used for everything from serving sushi, to staging miniature flower arrangements, to putting your credit card on at the shop’s till. A small tray can have many uses but it always enhances the presentation. Putting a piece of cheese and a small knife on a fine tray is a simple way to turn the mundane into magic.

The Longboard serving trays are a family of three small trays made in two-tone beechwood. The colour-split is always off-centre and the trays are slightly different in size. One or all of the trays can always be placed on the table in any fashion or direction and still make the table setting look appealing because asymmetry is part of the design.

One natural and one heat-treated piece of beech is glued together. Using the same wood avoids strain on the joint that can result when using woods of different properties. Heat-treatment is a method of enhancing wood’s moist durability, and a desired side effect is the darkening of the natural colour without the use of any staining chemicals. Beechwood is traditionally used with food since it leaves no taste and has inherent anti-bacterial properties.