Skip to main content

Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

American, 1919-1990

If it weren’t for his honeymoon, American furniture designer Don S. Shoemaker might not have played any role in Mexican modernism of the mid-20th century.

Born in Nebraska in 1919, Shoemaker studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago during the 1930s. In the 1940s he got married, and he and his wife, Barbara, ventured to Mexico for their honeymoon. Enamored with the country, Shoemaker decided that Mexico should become the newlyweds' permanent home. They settled in a town called Santa Maria de Guido in Michoacán, where Shoemaker spent his days painting and growing rare plants.

Through horticulture, Shoemaker became inspired by Mexico’s tropical woods, such as cocobolo, a Mexican rosewood, and he decided to delve into furniture design. In the late 1950s, he started a small factory, producing hand-carved desks, armchairs, dining room tables, decorative boxes and bowls, and serveware. The popularity of Shoemaker’s furnishings grew throughout Mexico, and his small factory became the Señal S.A. company, employing more than 100 skilled artisans and carpenters.

Shoemaker’s handcrafted designs were essentially a mid-century modern interpretation of traditional Mexican household furnishings, and like Clara Porset — an unsung Cuban-born activist, writer and designer who drew on Mexican craft traditions in her concepts for furniture — he found inspiration from his adopted country. These influences can be seen in iconic Shoemaker originals like the Sling collection of seating, the Suspension stool and several of his table designs.

Shoemaker's furniture was exhibited in showrooms in several major Mexican cities and across the U.S., including Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles. (And mid-century modernist ideas that traveled between Mexico and California didn’t make one-way trips — they bounced back and forth.)

After Shoemaker died in 1990, his son George took over Señal S.A. The company closed after George’s death in the early 2000s.

Shoemaker’s Mexican modern furnishings continue to be coveted by avid furniture collectors around the world. From 2016 to 2017, the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City dedicated a retrospective exhibition to honoring his work.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Don S. Shoemaker desks, seating, decorative objects and serveware.

2
to
2
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
Height
to
Width
to
Depth
to
2
2
2
2
2
65
62
60
58
55
Creator: Don S. Shoemaker
Don Shoemaker Mid-Century Modern Coffee Table with Leather Top
By Don S. Shoemaker
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
We offer this fantastic coffee table made in pieces of solid cocobolo wood with leather top designed by Don Shoemaker for Señal S.A., circa 1960 About Don Shoemaker: Coming from an affluent family, Don was originally from Nebraska. During the 1930s he studied at the fine Arts Institute of Chicago thinking to become a painter. Visiting Mexico for his honeymoon he fell in love with the country and he finally decided to move to Mexico in the late 1940s. He lived for a while and painted in San Miguel Allende, Guanajuato, but finally he settled down in a little uphill town called Santa María de Guido, overseeing the city of Morelia, in the state of Michoacan, Mexico.   Don began the manufacture of his furniture in tropical precious woods and other wood products. What started as a little factory in the late 1950s called SEÑAL, S.A., grew to the point where Don employed more than a hundred skilled craftsmen. Soon Shoemaker became an important milestone of the economic and cultural life of his adopted home. SEÑAL, S.A. brought great wealth and economical boost to the village and Don was well known for his good heart and charity projects.   Don S. Shoemaker delivered furniture pieces in to his showrooms in Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and large cities in Mexico. His designs were very much appreciated by wealthy Mexican families...
Category

1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Cocobolo

Rectangular Table Don Shoemaker
By Don S. Shoemaker
Located in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas
Extraordinary table by Don Shoemaker made of cocobolo wood, a variety of Mexican rosewood. The surface of the round table is inlaid with marquetry in ...
Category

1960s Mexican Modern Vintage Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Cocobolo

Related Items
Reclaimed Black Oak Rectangular Coffee Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This solid wood coffee table is handcrafted of wood that retains its natural character, bearing the occasional knot, nick or crack where no two tables are exactly the same.
Category

2010s Mexican Post-Modern Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Oak

Rectangle Rattan Cane Shelf Glass Top Mid-Century Modern Coffee Table Mint!
By McGuire, Ficks Reed
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Rectangle Rattan cane shelf glass top Mid-Century Modern coffee table mint!.  
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Bamboo, Rattan, Glass

Brutal Black Oak Rectangular Coffee Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This imperfect oak coffe table is hand carved out of solid oak, inspired in the dramatic textures of 1970´s Brutalism.
Category

2010s Mexican Bauhaus Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Oak

Mid-Century Modern Brutalist Wood Framed Stone Topped Coffee Table with Shelf
By Martin Visser
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mid-century Brutalist stone topped coffee or side table with wenge frame, lower shelf and asymmetrical legs. Earth toned slate tiles inset into a wenge...
Category

Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Stone

Danish Mid-Century Modern Oval Coffee Table with Smoked Glass Top
By Haslev Mobelsnedkeri
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Solid teak Danish modern oval coffee table.
Category

20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Teak

English Rectangular Side Table, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This antique English side table was crafted in the mid-19th century in the style of Queen Anne furniture. Although fairly basic, the table i...
Category

Mid-19th Century English Queen Anne Antique Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Maple

Booleanos Rectangular Coffee Table in Black Wood Veneer Table by Joel Escalona
By Joel Escalona
Located in Estado de Mexico CP, Estado de Mexico
Booleanos collection reflects the concept of involuntary interactions and unexpected intersections.  This geometric coffee table designed by Joel Escalona is a visual game that capt...
Category

2010s Mexican Modern Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Plywood

Don Shoemaker Sculpted Rosewood & Leather Coffee Table for Señal Furniture
By Senal, Don S. Shoemaker
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Transforming a piece of Mid-Century Modern furniture is like bringing history back to life, and we take this journey with passion and precision. With over 17 years of artisanal exper...
Category

1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Leather, Rosewood, Cocobolo

Oval Glass Top Sculptural Base Mid-Century Modern Coffee Table
By Isamu Noguchi, Adrian Pearsall
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Mid-Century Modern oval glass sculptural base Noguchi Pearsall Kagan decor match coffee table.
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Glass, Chestnut

Cocobolo Rosewood Dining Table by Don S. Shoemaker for Señal S.A. of Mexico
By Senal, Don S. Shoemaker
Located in Chattanooga, TN
Wanna be a bond villain in real life? Well here's your chance. Certain pieces just command respect and deserve appreciation for their flawless design. "WTF?" is typically the first thing uttered when people see this on our showroom floor. A literal jaw-droppper, regardless of whether installing as a dining table, desk or conference table. Lovingly restored by our in-house cabinet shop, this cocobolo wood table by Don S. Shoemaker is a rare find. Geometry and brutalism intertwine to form an architectural masterpiece of function and form. Staved slats of offset cocobolo form a brilliant patchwork that covers every visible inch of both the top and bottom sections. The grain and color tones vary in each slat to create a stunning visual contrast throughout. The pedestal and top separate easily without any screws or bolts. The table top has a grid-work of rails underneath that sink into corresponding notches on the base. The base is brilliantly assembled with a hollow interior to keep the weight to a minimum. This massive construction is surprisingly totable, without compromising rigidity or stability. Although we're uncertain on the production quantity, the total number is probably quite minuscule. Tagged with its original label and numbered #6 in several locations. About the designer: Furniture designer Don Shoemaker was born in Nebraska to an affluent family. During the 1930s, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. In the late 1940s, he married and subsequently, on his honeymoon, fell in love with Mexico. He loved the country so much that later in the 1940s, he moved to Mexico with his wife. Shoemaker lived and painted in a town called Santa Maria de Guido, overseeing the City of Morelia in Michoacán. Don and his wife Barbara lived in harmony with nature, growing many rare plants in their greenhouse. Don became inspired by the tropical woods of Mexico and began to manufacture furniture from these precious timbers. What began as a small factory in the late 1950s became known as Señal S.A and grew to where Don employed more than a hundred skilled artisans. Soon he became an important figure in the economic and cultural life of his adopted town. Señal S.A brought new wealth and an economic boost to the town, and Dom was known for his warm and charitable heart. The furniture designed for Señal S.A by Don were modern interpretations of traditional Mexican furnishings. Many of his iconic designs were inspired by traditional Mexican woodwork. The pieces made from Cocobolo, a Mexican rosewood, and other precious woods were highly sought after. The furniture was exported to showrooms in Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, and large Mexican cities. His designs were liked very much by wealthy Mexican families...
Category

1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Rosewood, Cocobolo

Rectangular Leather Coffee Table, Scala by Stephane Parmentier for Giobagnara
By Stephane Parmentier
Located in Warsaw, PL
Contemporary leather rectangular coffee table - Scala by Stephane Parmentier for Giobagnara. The object presented in the i...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Leather, Wood

Mid-Century Modern Live Edge Lucite Base Racetrack Oval Top Coffee Table
By Karl Springer, Neal Small
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Mid-Century Modern oval glass top coffee table on thick Lucite base.
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Glass, Lucite

Previously Available Items
Don Shoemaker Coffee Table Made in Tropical Wood
By Don S. Shoemaker
Located in Mexico City, MX
Don S. Shoemaker for Señal Furniture, coffee table, in cocobolo, Mexico, 1960s. He is one of the most important representatives of modern design in Mexico. After participating in ...
Category

1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Don S. Shoemaker Center Tables

Materials

Granadillo, Cocobolo

Don Shoemaker Coffee Table Made in Tropical Wood
Don Shoemaker Coffee Table Made in Tropical Wood
H 15.56 in W 44.89 in D 21.26 in

Don S. Shoemaker center tables for sale on 1stDibs.

Don S. Shoemaker center tables are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Don S. Shoemaker center tables, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original center tables by Don S. Shoemaker were created in the modern style in north america during the 1960s. Prices for Don S. Shoemaker center tables can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $4,500 and can go as high as $9,900, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $7,200.

Recently Viewed

View All