“I’d rather have a bad day at the track than a good day off it, somewhere else.” - John Nerud
Churchill Downs reached out to Tokens & Icons with a unique undertaking - crafting 250 charcuterie boards from authentic 1903-1923 paddock wood as part of a holiday gift set for Churchill Downs' partners. After going through various iterations, we finally settled on an oblong, oval board - inspired by the race track shape familiar to fans of the Kentucky Derby. Watch the video to see how this project came to life.
"A cutting board? I can do that in my garage!" Actually, there is much effort needed to bring something back from 1903 with new purpose. It may seem simple, but when working with 100+ year old wood that was milled and shaped to be part of a past structure, the challenges become evident. The wood must be broken down, in this case, the 5 ply nailed-together structural members have to be carefully pried apart and prepped before work can even begin. Add to that, the skinning of the material followed by planing, cutting, sanding, finishing & laser engraving... its all worth it to bring the past to the present, with purpose.