To be clear, shagreen and parchment were used as furniture finishes, primarily stretched in panels, like a prized veneer. I worked for this weirdo furniture designer and he mentioned shagreen like it was a common material, constantly. We all had to keep asking WTF he was talking about. It was very popular for the elites. I have 40 years of experience and only ever had this brief glimpse into that niche market. He did stuff with all kinds of animal skins. They regularly referred to goat skin as parchment IIRC. His clientele were living in the wealthiest compounds of Bel-Air and Beverly Hills. He described fulfilling contracts for the Aaron Spelling mansion. It was people at this level that would buy his pieces. I don’t know if it was supply and demand or his weird opinion that French Deco, which was a peak style user of these materials, should be what everyone desires but that was the agenda.
To be clear, shagreen and parchment were used as furniture finishes, primarily stretched in panels, like a prized veneer. I worked for this weirdo furniture designer and he mentioned shagreen like it was a common material, constantly. We all had to keep asking WTF he was talking about. It was very popular for the elites. I have 40 years of experience and only ever had this brief glimpse into that niche market. He did stuff with all kinds of animal skins. They regularly referred to goat skin as parchment IIRC. His clientele were living in the wealthiest compounds of Bel-Air and Beverly Hills. He described fulfilling contracts for the Aaron Spelling mansion. It was people at this level that would buy his pieces. I don’t know if it was supply and demand or his weird opinion that French Deco, which was a peak style user of these materials, should be what everyone desires but that was the agenda.
Examples https://www.1stdibs.com/search/furniture/tables/?q=shagreen+