Paper-lined pieces

Paper-Lined Shaker Boxes

Made in sizes #3 through #7, plus the Button Box — each priced individually, by its paper

Examples from past batches, every one lined by hand with an original antique page or a reproduction print drawn from an authentic period design. Because no two papers are alike, no two pieces are ever alike.

New paper-lined work appears in the regular releases, announced through the newsletter the day before.

  • Size #7 Shaker oval box with antique newspaper lining, antiqued natural — LeHay’s Shaker Boxes

    Shown in an antiqued natural finish

  • Size #6 Shaker oval box with antique newspaper lining, red milk paint — handcrafted by LeHay’s Shaker Boxes in Embden, Maine

    Shown in red milk paint

  • Size #7 Shaker oval box with antique newspaper lining, black milk paint — LeHay’s Shaker Boxes

    Shown in black milk paint

  • Size #5 Shaker oval box with antique newspaper lining, blue milk paint — handcrafted by LeHay’s Shaker Boxes in Embden, Maine

    Shown in blue milk paint

  • Size #3 Shaker oval box with antique newspaper lining, green milk paint — LeHay’s Shaker Boxes

    Shown in green milk paint

  • Size #3 Shaker oval box with antique newspaper lining, grey milk paint — handcrafted by LeHay’s Shaker Boxes in Embden, Maine

    Shown in grey milk paint

  • Size #5 Shaker oval box with antique newspaper lining, yellow milk paint — LeHay’s Shaker Boxes

    Shown in yellow milk paint

  • Size #5 Shaker oval box with antique newspaper lining, New Lebanon style — LeHay’s Shaker Boxes

    Shown in New Lebanon Finish

  • Size #7 Shaker oval box with antique newspaper lining, antiqued natural — LeHay’s Shaker Boxes

    Opened up, with the page in view

  • Size #3 Shaker oval box with antique newspaper lining, black milk paint — LeHay’s Shaker Boxes

    Lid and base, both lined

  • Size #6 Shaker oval box with antique newspaper lining, antiqued natural — LeHay’s Shaker Boxes

    A page from 1808

  • Antique 19th-century newspaper page used as lining in a Shaker oval box — LeHay’s Shaker Boxes

    A closer look at a lining

Handcrafted wooden oval shaker box from Maine with sewing supplies, resting on an antique newspaper.
The process

How a page becomes a lining

The interior is painted off-white first, which highlights the print and conceals small imperfections. The page is sealed to strengthen the fibers and fix the ink, coated on the back with adhesive, applied and smoothed by hand, then finished with a clear protective topcoat and a final sealant for long-term durability.

Antique newspaper was never designed to last — small tears or areas of brittleness are accepted and expected, part of each piece’s character. Once a page is sealed into a piece, those imperfections won’t get any worse, and the lining can withstand regular handling. The paper turns out surprisingly tough — when I’ve had to sand off a mistake, it puts up a real fight.

How a box is made

More about the papers, where they come from, and how a piece is priced is on the paper-lined pieces page. How purchasing works.

See all the paper-lined pieces

Hear about the next release

New work comes out in small batches a few times a year, announced through my newsletter and social media the day before.