The Shakers came to America in the 18th Century and over the years became highly skilled woodworkers, developing their own sense of design. Their furniture and interiors were simple and austere believing that everything be made with a minimum of extra detail or decoration, and only made for their intended use.
The Moravians, who can trace their roots back to the 15th century, re-emerged in the 18th century in Bavaria. These colonial Germans were members of the Moravian church and they came to America for the same reason others also did around the same time: to escape religious persecution in Europe.
Books about the Shakers are always littered with photographs of rooms prominently displaying one or two pieces of furniture standing on the signature wide-boarded wood floors of the time. But, looking beyond the ‘staring’ piece there are always other furnishings being kept out of the way hanging on those characteristic shaker pegs.
In this article I am going to take you through the steps of making a Shaker candle stand based on one first made in New Lebanon, NY Shaker Village in the first quarter of the 19th Century and is currently in the collection at the American Museum in Bath UK.
Every home we’ve lived in has always had a clock hanging in the kitchen and one in the living room, ticking away the hours. Whether an eight-day carriage clock or a wall hanging shaker clock, each has had the same familiar, reassuring tick and that unmistakable Westminster Chimes ringing in the hours.
Make a small Heirloom jewellery box from cherry with a single drawer, drop in tray, hinged lid and secret compartment.
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