Shane Rodarte Furniture Maker
Formerly known as ShaKa Studios Custom Furniture.
Shane Rodarte is a self-taught furniture maker and artist who has been crafting Early American-inspired furniture since 1987.
After learning woodworking fundamentals in his father’s Saginaw, Michigan cabinet shop, he moved to Bryan, Texas, and launched his career by selling his first reproduction roll-top desk.
In 1998, Rodarte became one of the first American craftsmen to sell custom furniture on the internet.
Shane semi-retired in 2017, and we moved to Muskegon, Michigan along the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline.
Our Furniture
Using only the highest quality lumber, Shane replicates the traditional craftsmanship of Colonial and Early American furniture makers. Our primitive multi-step painted finish is distressed and crackled to mimic centuries of wear. The pristine simplicity of our American Colonial and Shaker-style furniture is timeless.
If you’d like to see how Shane creates your furniture, be sure to visit our video center.
Our Philosophy
After making furniture for big companies, always building for someone else, Shane longed to once again enjoy his work. Experiment with color and lines. Renew the creative spirit that inspired him to build a roll top desk from scratch at the age of 19. We like to travel throughout Texas visiting old towns and museums. Shane found new inspiration from America’s pioneers, especially the pristine simplicity of the Shakers.
Our Clients
We like to think we treat our clients like friends. Sometimes, customers do a better job of selling our furniture than we do. Read what Hugh and Renae Duncan wrote after receiving their cannonball bed:
…a vintage and modern feel at the same time…
Hugh and Renae Duncan, Michigan
We love our bed! Thank you for all the many hours you took in crafting it. We get to sleep on a work of art each night!
–>The finish is gorgeous – smooth to the touch.
–>The lines are simple and smart. It has a vintage and modern feel at the same time.
–>It is the focal point of the room without being pretentious.
–>It assembled very easily – followed common sense.
I keep looking down the hall into our bedroom and marveling at the beautiful bed.
It is scary to send money electronically over the internet to someone you have never met ordering furniture that you have never seen… We are very delighted with our bed. Thanks again,
Our Carbon Footprint
Our furniture is created one piece at a time on a bench by an artisan with over 24 years of furniture-making expertise. Your furniture is built to last for generations. Most of what you find in furniture stores ends up in your local landfill within 5 to 10 years.
We purchase our lumber from FSC certified suppliers and we only use domestically grown lumber. FSC certification ensures that the lumber we use is both legally harvested and sustainable. Your new handmade furniture will be made from eco-consciously harvested solid wood.
We use low VOC water-based, durable finishes to further reduce our carbon footprint.
60% or more of the material we use to pack your handmade furniture for shipment will be recycled.
Our Family
We were married in April of 1998. In June of that year, we discovered we were going to be parents. We wanted to raise our daughter and work side by side. Our daughter graduated from college with degrees in History and Geology in May of 2021.
When we met, Kandas was employed in Houston, as a buyer for a mid-sized chain of sporting goods stores. Shane was a contractor, designing and manufacturing for a well-known furniture store. Tired of being surrounded by concrete, spending hours each day commuting, we longed for a simpler life.
We downsized ourselves right out of corporate America and straight into the heart of Texas. Montgomery County, the birthplace of the Texas flag. We purchased a small cottage just outside Sam Houston National Park, surrounded by Lake Conroe, and the tall pines for which this region of Texas is named. Our beautiful baby, Dorothy, joined our family soon after.
In 2017 we moved to Michigan for semi-retirement.
Our Friend
On December 8, 2001, long-time Wood Designs employee, Tony Rutledge, was killed by a drunk driver. Tony was an amazing young man who touched many lives. He was always willing to lend a hand, help a stranger. He worked very hard and was an asset to our company. He made a life-long impact on our company and our lives.
Our Causes
We believe in supporting our community, we lend our time, and give our resources, to the following local non-profit organizations: Muskegon YMCA, Boys and Girls Club of the Muskegon Lakeshore
We hope that you enjoy our website. Many thanks from our family to yours…
Shane & Kandas Rodarte