An Old Cockney Remembers His Trunk

The funny thing is, even though this trunk looks distressed, it works in a modern home. Neutral rooms actually make the colours pop. The scratches and antique chest paint chips add contrast you can’t buy in a shop. When I first saw the circus clown trunk, I froze for a moment. The red-nosed clown staring upside down across the front felt like more than decoration. It felt like a memory of a lost world — a carnival gone by. Trunks aren’t just wooden boxes. They’re keepers of journeys. Before plastic tubs filled every house, trunks were get the best deals on storage trunks way people travelled.

Built solid, heavy duty, sometimes decorated with brass corners or painted lettering. I still think about when the circus came to town once a year. Posters glued to walls promised elephants, fire breathers, acrobats — and always clowns. Looking at the trunk feels like it was there backstage, stuffed with costumes and wooden storage trunk props, waiting for the show to begin.