ENDURING DESIGN: THE SHAKER INFLUENCE ON DESIGN
The material culture of the Shakers continues to resonate in present day. This lasting
influence is a testament to the Shaker aesthetic, in which beauty is the result of
unadorned design and functionality guides form. The use of vivid colors lends richness to
the spare lines and creates visual balance. Though the Shakers did not invent or originate
most of the objects they created, they reinterpreted everyday forms and materials
according to their religious guidelines. Everything that one made or crafted was to be
made as perfectly as one’s abilities could make it.
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