Before this time, such work had been abandoned because of its cost on both money and time. Although he creates trays and other smaller items, he specializes in larger pieces such as folding screen and especially boxes and chests. He is the only artisan in the town that takes individual orders. For smaller pieces he uses a soft local wood called copal, but the larger pieces are made by local carpenters of lináloe (Bursera linanoe), pine and ayacahuite. He also makes a kind of sewing chest, using a kind of large dried gourd. The lacquer process begins with sanding the piece well, then adding a coat of varnish made from chia seed and mineral oils, making his own chia seed oil using traditional methods. Then the piece is burnished completely with a smooth stone. Colors are made with minerals, anilines and other materials obtained locally. After the lacquering and decorating is complete, the drying process can take up to a month. Colors are added one by one and allowed to dry before the next is added. He does not use stencils nor repeats designs exactly, creating his works spontaneously, using brushes made from bird feathers or cat hair because they allow for fine lines. When gold or silver leaf is used, it is applied in fine sheets and then burnished and can be used as the background and painted over. The decoration commonly contains images of flowers, plants and animals.