02/13/2026
Part two of my three-part series on Shaker furniture features this lovely pair of walnut nightstands that are currently on their way home to San Francisco. I think my furthest delivery on record was an 8 hour drive to Virginia, so I am proud to be blowing that one out of the water by giving these nightstands a coast-to-coast roadtrip. Oh what sights they will see (if UPS provides them a seat by the window, as requested).
As I mentioned in my last post, I have been creating a lot of Shaker-inspired work recently, and I have come to realize that a lot of people know very little about the Shakers — or that they weren’t just a family of gifted furniture designers. Branching off from the Quakers in the 1740’s, the Shakers were a religious community who valued simplicity, utility, humility, and communal living. They got their name from their energetic style of worship, described literally as everyone shaking in prayer. At their peak in the mid 19th century, there were roughly 6,000 members across 19 communities that spanned New England all the way to Kentucky. Much like their lifestyle, their furniture wasn’t designed to be trendy or flashy. It was built to serve a purpose — honestly and beautifully — with no extra ornament, no wasted effort, and no shortcuts.
While my addition of subtle curves and the occasional midcentury flair would likely be deemed heretical to the Shakers, their philosophy of keeping things purposeful and minimizing any sorts of gimmicks (e.g. nuclear colored epoxy river tables) is something I prize in designing new furniture that I hope will last as long as some of the timeless Shaker works you might see in an antique store.
So there you go, a little more knowledge on the Shakers. Tune in next time for part three, where I cover the fate and legacy of the Shakers (*dramatic television cliffhanger music*).
PS- sorry for the cheesy music choice. I just couldn’t resist.
