Handcrafted Shaker Oval Boxes & Carriers, LeHay's Shaker Boxes

Free shipping on all U.S. orders — I only ship within the United States at this time.

Account

LeHay’s Shaker Boxes · Embden, Maine · Since 1993

Box making in the Shaker tradition

Oval boxes, carriers, and trays, in traditional milk paint and antiqued natural finishes.

New work is announced through my newsletter.

See the work

Milled on-site from local Maine logs.

Made start to finish by one set of hands since 1993.

Copper tacks made on original 19th-century machines.

Some pieces lined with original 19th-century newspapers.

The paper-lined pieces

News from another century

Some of my boxes are lined with original 19th-century newspapers — actual dated pages, carefully preserved and sealed into the piece. Lift the lid and you’re reading news from another century.

See the paper-lined pieces

The gallery

Browse by type

The store often sits empty between releases, so the galleries show past work — photographs, sizes, and prices for each type.

Oval boxes

Oval boxes

Sizes #0 through #7, plus button boxes

Carriers

Carriers

Sizes #0 through #6, plus swing-handle, divided, and sewing carriers

Paper-lined pieces

Paper-lined pieces

Lined with original 19th-century newspapers

Sewing and needlework

Sewing and needlework

Recessed lids for finished needlework, plus pin cushion bases

Graduated stacks

Graduated stacks

Painted and natural sets

How a box is made

How a box is made

Follow a box from tree to finished piece

Browse the gallery

How a box is made

Every box starts in the Maine woods

I purchase logs through local woodsmen, and a third-generation sawyer mills them right on my property. After that, every step is mine — the pine dries in my own kiln, and I plane and cut every board to size in the shop.

What’s on the bench — the schedule.

Follow the process

This was my first order and my goodness the craftsmanship you have done is absolutely beautiful. This certainly won’t be my only purchase. Thank you for the lovely work you do.

I am so excited to have a complete set of 11 Shaker boxes. They are beautiful! Love the quality. Great service and very fast shipping.

I received my red serving tray! Beautiful craftsmanship. I absolutely love it and will be back to purchase more pieces for sure. Thank you!

The maker

A small shop in Embden, Maine

My name is Robert LeHay. I learned to make Shaker boxes in 1993 at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village — the last active Shaker community in the country, here in my home state of Maine — and I’ve been making them ever since.

About the shop