Don Shoemaker Rosewood Tray
View Similar Items
Don Shoemaker Rosewood Tray
About the Item
- Creator:Senal (Manufacturer),Don S. Shoemaker (Artist)
- Dimensions:Height: 1.25 in (3.18 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)Depth: 12.5 in (31.75 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960-1969
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU164524570123
Don S. Shoemaker
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 the cocobolo, a Mexican rosewood, and he decided to delve into furniture design. In the late 1950s, he started a small factory, producing hand-carved 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.
- Don Shoemaker Decorative Tray for SeñalBy Senal, Don S. ShoemakerLocated in Los Angeles, CAServing tray by Don Shoemaker for Senal of Mexico. The tray has a dark rosewood frame with integrated handles at either end, and the tray surface is inlaid with precious wood veneer ...Category
Vintage 1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsRosewood
- Don Shoemaker for Señal Diamond Geometric Marquetry TrayBy Senal, Don S. ShoemakerLocated in Los Angeles, CAServing tray by Don Shoemaker for Senal of Mexico. The tray has a dark rosewood frame with integrated handles at either end, and the tray surfa...Category
Vintage 1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsRosewood
- Don Shoemaker Geometric Marquetry Decorative Tray for SeñalBy Senal, Don S. ShoemakerLocated in Los Angeles, CAA rosewood serving tray by Don Shoemaker for his company Señal in the 1960s. The surface of the tray has a repeating geometric marquetry pattern in a gradient of local Mexican hardwo...Category
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsRosewood
- Don Shoemaker Geometric Marquetry Decorative Tray for SeñalBy Senal, Don S. ShoemakerLocated in Los Angeles, CAA rosewood serving tray by Don Shoemaker for his company Señal in the 1960s. The surface of the tray has a repeating geometric marquetry pattern in a gradient of local Mexican hardwo...Category
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsRosewood
- Don Shoemaker Geometric Marquetry Decorative Tray for SeñalBy Senal, Don S. ShoemakerLocated in Los Angeles, CAA rosewood serving tray by Don Shoemaker for his company Señal in the 1960s. The surface of the tray has a repeating geometric linear marquetry pattern in a gradient of local Mexican...Category
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsRosewood
- Don Shoemaker for Señal Geometric Marquetry Tray with StandBy Senal, Don S. ShoemakerLocated in Los Angeles, CAServing tray and stand by Don Shoemaker for Senal of Mexico. The tray has a dark rosewood frame with integrated handles at either end, and the tray surface is inlaid with precious wo...Category
Vintage 1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsRosewood
- 1970s Don Shoemaker Service Tray Exotic Wood Stripe for Señal MexicoBy Don S. Shoemaker, SenalLocated in Chula Vista, CAService tray By Designer Don Shoemaker produced by Senal in Mexico, 1970s Marvelous midcentury service tray Medley of exotic woods Cut out Handle design for easy carry Measures: ...Category
Vintage 1970s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsRosewood, Cocobolo
- Don Shoemaker Exotic Wood TrayBy Don S. ShoemakerLocated in Kalamazoo, MIEye-catching 1960s geometric design of tropical hardwoods designed by Don S. Shoemaker and made in Mexico by his company Senal, S.A. Practical and beautiful, this mid-century modern ...Category
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Serving Pieces
MaterialsHardwood
- Don Shoemaker Serving TrayBy Don S. Shoemaker, SenalLocated in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo LeonBorn in Nebraska, Don S. Shoemaker studied painting at The Fine Arts Institution of Chicago. In the late 1940s, he moved to Mexico with his family and settled in Santa Maria de Guido...Category
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Serving Pieces
MaterialsWood
- Don Shoemaker Large Serving Tray /Cutting Board Made with Different WoodsBy Don S. ShoemakerLocated in Mexico City, MXThis is a Mexican wood tray, cutting board or serving platter made in 1960s in Michoacan, Mexico by Don Shoemaker. It is in excelllent condition and...Category
Vintage 1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Butcher Blocks
MaterialsHardwood
- Expertly Restored - Don S. Shoemaker Rosewood Oval Tray for Señal FurnitureBy Senal, Don S. ShoemakerLocated in Los Angeles, CATransforming 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
Vintage 1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Serving Pieces
MaterialsWood
- Don S. Shoemaker Multi-Wood Decorative Tray for Señal FurnitureBy Senal, Don S. ShoemakerLocated in Los Angeles, CATransforming 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
Vintage 1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Serving Pieces
MaterialsWood, Mahogany, Rosewood
