Don Shoemaker Furniture

Don had an incredibly mischievous imagination for the design of his boxes. Besides the conventional tropical woods boxes, he worked on organic designs which he created from rare tropical wood pieces that he was always collecting and putting aside in his workshop for a special day and a special new project in mind, like this one, which looks like it just came out from a fairy tale.

This charming box has its place in my library, I use its delicate small drawers to hide precious little thinks…The box, which has two drawers was created from a granadilla tree knot. Take a close look at the finish of the drawers, every detail was taken care of, notice the small wood sticks that Don installed to prevent the drawer from falling out. The box has the Don S. Shoemaker decal studio label at the bottom.

Copyright © 2010 Karin Goyer. All rights Reserved

@donshoemaker.com

Thanks to the support of Dick Shoemaker I was able to get a vintage SEÑAL, S.A. catalog from him including Don´s most recognized design lines. I am presenting today the catalog page on Don´s famous “Descanso” set.

The “Descanso” set design dates back to the 60′s, it was produced in Zebra wood, cueramo or cocobolo, the leather upholstery was usually black, but you could also choose it in brown. The original “Descanso” included a three-seater, a loveseat and an armchair with a footstool. The pictures shown below correspond to my personal collection and show the wearing of at least 40 years. Please click on the pictures for further details on each piece. A matching coffee table and two side tables made the perfect combination however, I will describe these separately.

Please pay attention to the side leather armrest covers, the wadding has graciously loose fitted to the armrests through the years. Of course brand new copies are stiff and stand vertically! Pieces were always labeled and it is almost impossible to find a set that not even one of them carries the decal studio label.

Back in the 60´s Sergio Rodrigues with his “Poltrona Moleca” or “Sheriff Lounge-chair“, Jean Gillon and other Brazilian furniture designers created similar models. Beware of the provenance of these pieces whenever they are referred to as the “Brasil” model. Forgers have the idea that Don S. Shoemaker called them this way, the title in the catalog proves the original name of the model.

Copyright © 2010 Karin Goyer. All rights Reserved

@donshoemaker.com