Don Shoemaker Side Table with Parquetry Top
View Similar Items
Don Shoemaker Side Table with Parquetry Top
About the Item
- Creator:Don S. Shoemaker (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 16.752 in (42.56 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)Depth: 20 in (50.8 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Rosewood,Parquetry
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960-1969
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Tucson, AZ
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU225135710533
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.
- 1970s Custom-Made Exotic Wood Side Table Style of Don Shoemaker MexicoBy Don S. ShoemakerLocated in Chula Vista, CA1970s Custom-made Exotic Wood Side Table Style of Don Shoemaker Mexico Single hand-crafted side table in exotic wood 17.25 x 16.5 d x 16.25 Original preowned vintage condition Se...Category
Vintage 1970s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood
- Don Shoemaker Senal S.A. Cocobolo Rosewood Parquetry Table, Mid CenturyBy Don S. Shoemaker, SenalLocated in Vienna, ATRare parquetry rosewood table in wonderful condition, Don Shoemaker 1960 We also have a rare sofa available from Don Shoemaker. A sculptural masterpiece by Don Shoemaker. We have this table in our collection at the moment together with a matching sofa...Category
Vintage 1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Don Shoemaker Mid-Century Modern Coffee Table with Leather TopBy Don S. ShoemakerLocated in Mexico City, CDMXWe 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
Vintage 1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCocobolo
- Rectangular Table Don ShoemakerBy Don S. ShoemakerLocated in San Cristobal de Las Casas, ChiapasExtraordinary 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
Vintage 1960s Mexican Modern Center Tables
MaterialsCocobolo
- Swedish Midcentury Coffee or Side Table in Rosewood with Parquetry TopBy String Design ABLocated in Atlanta, GASwedish midcentury coffee table in rosewood with parquetry top made at String Seffle in Southern Sweden in the 1960's. Removable legs ...Category
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Chippendale Serving Table with a Parquetry TopLocated in Bradford-on-Avon, WiltshireA fine George III Chippendale period mahogany side table with superb parquetry top, the frieze carved with blind fret, good original color and condition.Category
Antique Late 18th Century English Chippendale Serving Tables
MaterialsMahogany
