Don Shoemaker Furniture

Beware of this new attribution as just found by many of my readers (sorry for the delay of response to all of you, but I am currently far from Paris) at a Vintage Furniture Fair in Mexico City:

Copyright © 2010 – 2012 Karin Goyer. All Rights Reserved.

@donshoemaker.com

Beware of these attributions:

Copyright © 2011 Karin Goyer. All Rights Reserved.

@donshoemaker.com

George spent a lot of time experimenting with different concepts to further enhance his father´s furniture lines and produce new designs. He was an imaginative designer by his own right and he developed several prototypes, some of them would make it to production, others were discarded.

This was back in the 90′s and my husband and I spent many hours together with George discussing the amazingly rapid technology changes that we were facing and how these could influence furniture design trends. George had been enthusiastic for some time about the idea to design a VHS storage case. However, when his raw model was almost finished he radically changed his mind after he realized: “VHS technology is not going to last forever….the key of success to my house signature is and will continue to be based on timeless designs“. So, he quickly discarded this sample and stored it away. A few weeks later when we met again he described to us with a great sense of humor the outcome of the “VHS affair”.

Surprisingly this particular discarded prototype has recently been seen in a gallery pretending to be a Don S. Shoemaker “bookcase” from the 60’s. The pictures below clearly show that the shelves are missing and there are some rather strange dents to accommodate the “books”…

The tropical woods surface of this furniture piece is not even finished…

The upper half of a Don S. Shoemaker label is taped to the back of the “bookcase”…

Copyright © 2011 Karin Goyer. All Rights Reserved.

@donshoemaker.com

This time we are going to play the opposite game of the 7 differences. We are going to play the amazing similarities.

The rules are very simple:

• Pay attention to the desk pictures and find as many mistakes made by the forger on the stripes which are identical on the pictures
• Tip #1 : one mistake is when the wood stripe of the drawer is of a different color and wood than the frame wood and color
• Another tip: the streak in wood is like a fingerprint, look for stripes of the same vein

Do not think these pictures come from the same place…..

• One “After Don Shoemaker” desk picture comes from an auction announced for this December 14^th
• One picture comes from an attributed Don S. Shoemaker desk in a gallery
• Two pictures come from a fake brand new 2009 production “Don Shoemaker desk” offered for sale in EBAY Mexico (MercadoLibre) some time ago. (read my post)

To give you a hint: 2 of the mistakes are on the drawers

So please let me know: how many mistakes did you find?

And your verdict based on the amazing similarities is:

• guilty as charged – it is exactly the same desk
• or it is an amazing coincidence that 3 desks have the same marks

By the way, this desk was also portrayed in an article published in “Interior Design” magazine

Copyright © 2010 Karin Goyer. All rights Reserved

@donshoemaker.com

When attributing a piece of furniture to Don S. Shoemaker becomes grotesque:

-Who is to blame?

• The consignor (particular? dealer?) that attributes a piece to some important designer, obviously with the hope of a good (profit? scamp?)
• The forger who maybe does not even know that someone is passing the piece as a “vintage” one.
• A designer of a lesser mind whose work in cueramo, cocobolo, granadilla, etc. has been bought with the purpose to deceive and now is in an auction catalog under Don S. Shoemaker´s name.
• The auction house that clearly showed their ignorance or maybe it was greed? Or maybe they were acting in good faith? Finally it looks like a pretty grotesque scamp.

• I saved this attributed dining room set including a rectangular table with 8 matching chairs (found at an auction) for a moment in which I think I am starting to solve the riddle involving attributions…
• The table´s surface is made of laminated granadilla tropical wood and has a very strange stained look. The chair upholstery comes in an odd dark gray cloth (Don always used black or brown leather upholstery, never cloth!), the underside cloth finish looks brand new (see detailed picture). The design is less than appealing: pay attention to the uneven armrest surface and the shape of the legs.
• The forger tried to make an effort by using quality tropical woods, but this dining room model never existed during Don S. Shoemaker production days.

• Always remember: if a furniture piece is produced in rosewood, granadilla or cocobolo, make yourself a favor: do not think it is attributable to Don S. Shoemaker only for this reason!!!

Copyright © 2010 Karin Goyer. All rights Reserved

@donshoemaker.com

I recently discovered this odd piece of furniture attributed to Don S. Shoemaker at an auction:

• Described as a “Parsons” side table by Don S. Shoemaker….This forged “model” has been around for some time, I have already seen several versions at weekend flea markets in Mexico City. The original Don S. Shoemaker “Parsons” line has nothing in common with this unbecoming thing! Pitifully, the forger sacrificed various original Don S. Shoemaker service trays for the parquetry on the table top. Pay attention to the irregular cube sequence patched together and compare to an original service tray as Don used the “cube design” mainly on his boxes and trays. Also check the forged label that has been taped to the bottom of the table.

Copyright © 2010 Karin Goyer. All rights Reserved

@donshoemaker.com

I received pictures from one of my readers on this Don S. Shoemaker attributed round table in an auction:

• I had to take the time to pay a visit to this auction house to verify (my apologies to my reader) that this primitive and ugly round table was listed as a Don S. Shoemaker original. I was flabbergasted! I am trying really hard to find just one possible argument on how this rustic round table with such an uncouth finish could have been attributed to Don S. Shoemaker and accepted as such. I was absolutely horrified when I took a look at the table´s  underside. The table top consists on many cueramo planks which underneath are joined by screwed pine planks, this is the evidence that the forger or the owner and the specialist or curator of the auction house (if any), do not know something about Don S. Shoemaker designs. We all know that he excelled in developing systems for link and joint and that he tried to avoid no matter what the use of screws and nails in his work.

I just read the catalog that I bought while I was leaving the auction house and I found these pearls of humor that I want to share with you:

• I will quote the introduction for the “Don Shoemaker pieces” in the catalog for this auction: “He did not use nuts, screws or nails, each one of his pieces were produced on the base of joints, links, etc.” So they did not read what they wrote? Or maybe they do not know that those shiny things on the underside of the table top are called screws…
• Description of the Lot: Round dining table, ca. 1970. Are they talking about the year in which the forger was born?
• Would you believe them that the table is made in cocobolo wood?

Copyright © 2010 Karin Goyer. All rights Reserved

@donshoemaker.com

Is this a joke or what? I received this picture on a deckchair listed for auction which you can tell immediately it is not part of the Don S. Shoemaker catalog.

• An attributed Don S. Shoemaker “deckchair”. This particular chair is made in a tropical wood called “katalox”, sometimes also known as “Mexican Ebony”, a wood very estimated in the Yucatan Peninsula by the producers of outdoor furniture and flooring of that area. Very unfamiliar to a Don S. Shoemaker piece of furniture. Sometimes I do ask myself, how is it possible that these kind of furniture pieces make it to a serious auction house and they accept to list them as originals.

• Is it the magical thought of believe that it could be a “Don S. Shoemaker”?
• Are they too lazy to research?
• They have a blind trust on the seller?
• They do not have specialists?
• Or they do not care?
• I wonder what happens when you try to sell a brand new Chinese 2009 “WASSILY CHAIR” for an authentic Marcel Breuer WASSILY CLUB CHAIR “B3″ Standard Möbel or Thonet Möbel 1928?

But I still have not found the answer….

Copyright © 2010 Karin Goyer. All rights Reserved

@donshoemaker.com

To be able to better understand the differences between an original Don S. Shoemaker piece of furniture and a fake, I have taken some close up pictures on the most relevant discrepancies. Please visit each picture for a detailed explanation on the discrepancy. Beware of the loose elephant herd recently produced!

Remember the MANTRA: if the piece seems odd,  if the leather is new, the wood looks new and smells like new, and carries no label or stamp or is taped, then it is a forgery or a brand new copy !

Copyright © 2010 Karin Goyer. All rights Reserved

@donshoemaker.com

Today I will address another Don S. Shoemaker attribution seen for auction and also in some galleries:

• This product of a lesser mind living room set imitates the legendary “Elephant Lounge Set”, created by Don S. Shoemaker in a limited edition of 5 back in the early 60´s. The original set (as I had already described in the Special Design Lines category) comprises 2 lounge chairs and an outstanding coffee table. However, this brand  new “want to be” elephant model, forgery, includes a settee, a love-seat, a lounge chair and a coffee table.

The differences to the original Don S. Shoemaker “Elephant Lounge Set” are very obvious:

• No elephant eyes are present (as the typical Don S. Shoemaker swinging mechanism is absent)
• The “box seat style” with leather cushion similar to the Sling Swinger Chair was adapted, instead of the nailed leather seat with the typical decoration for each nail, the so called “leather flowers “
• A funny 3 position mechanism was adapted, the coordination of 2 or 3 of your guests is required to go one step back or forth
• Blue prints and a manual have to be delivered to your guests for this dangerous maneuvering
• No curved back-rail (signature of the house) present. After 10 minutes with your back in contact with the straight rail you want to cry!
• The table´s legs stand on 90°
• And most important: the love-seat and the settee were never part of Don S. Shoemaker´s designs
  

Of course I will withhold information about some other details in order to prevent production of better imitations!

Copyright © 2010 Karin Goyer. All rights Reserved

@donshoemaker.com