When I first laid eyes on the circus clown trunk, I stopped in my tracks. The red-nosed clown staring upside down across the front felt like more than decoration. It felt like a piece of a lost world — a carnival gone by. The funny thing is, even though this trunk looks distressed, it works in a modern home. Minimal interiors actually make the colours pop. The scratches and paint chips add contrast you can’t buy in a shop. I remember when the circus came to town once a year.

Posters glued to walls promised elephants, fire breathers, best storage trunk acrobats — and always clowns. Looking at the trunk feels like it was there backstage, stuffed with costumes and props, waiting for the show to begin. Chests aren’t just containers. They’re time capsules. Before cheap vintage trunk (My Source) mass storage appeared, trunks were the way people travelled. Built solid, heavy duty, vintage trunk sometimes decorated with brass corners or painted lettering.