What is it?

Carved jarrah wood vase, made in Albany, Western Australia, by South Coast Wood Works.

Why does it matter?

It was going to be a present, but I liked it too much – the texture, the smooth shape, the colour of the wood, the irregular pattern that mimicked the lines of skin, an echo of the trees I love so much sitting on my urban desk on the other side of the world. A dead thing to remember the living.