Ralph Garrett, owner of Shoestring Creations, has been designing and building furniture art since 1988. His pieces have been designed to blend a whimsical, creative look with utility. Based on traditional forms—such as Shaker, early Texas, Spanish, Colonial and Country French—and embellished with his vivid imagination, this handmade furniture is transformed into functional works of art. Made of Ponderosa pine, they include unusual features such as innovative textures, playful illustrations, interesting borders, bright color and nontraditional hardware. Each piece is painted and adorned by hand and varies slightly for a one-of-a-kind effect.

Ralph is proud to run an earth friendly company, all our products are finished with water base paints and lacquers, and we use all possible scrap pieces with virtually no waste. All of his furniture is built and finished in the small community of Sand Flat, Texas, by a group of talented and conscientious artisans. Pieces range from a 4" x 6" picture frame to a large television armoires. Our artisans have fun creating these pieces, we hope you have fun as well with this unique furniture experience. Enjoy!

Shoestring Creations hand-painted pieces come in three main design motifs. "Stripe" is the assembly of 3/4" x 3/4" individual wood strips, creating a whimsical stripe-like presentation.   "Hodge Podge" combines wider, fancifully-painted boards that come together in a remarkably patterned arrangement to bring this design its extraordinary look. "Whimsical" is the use of artistic license with color and imagination to create an individual look.  You will be pleased to know that the same care and attention to detail is taken in finishing the inside of our cabinets.

Artist Ralph Garrett
Owner, Shoestring Creations

    Ralph Garret grew up in a small Texas town where he learned early the values of hard work and doing the job right.  As a boy, he was hauling hay, working the family garden, or building fences; as a young man, he worked cattle on ranches and was a rodeo bull-dogger.

    From an early age, Ralph loved to build things, such as tree houses, animal cages, and Christmas gifts. Then, as now, he used whatever materials he could easily find or afford - on a "shoestring" budget.

    Ralph settled down long enough to earn a degree in Building Construction from Texas State Technical Institute.  He owned his first successful company,  Diamond G Construction, where he built and remodeled houses. In 1987, Ralph married the love of his life, Kim. Together, they decided to pack up and move to the Big City - Houston.

    In Houston, Ralph learned the art of building furniture from his cousin, mentor, and friend, David Marsh.  Ralph's natural gift for furniture design was recognized, and throughout the next six years, Ralph developed one-of-a-kind pieces of art market furniture.

    In the early 1990s, he also began building his own private designs, blending his talents of hard work and artistic vision, with a "shoestring" mentality. It was during these years that his children (Katie and Jordan) and his business (Shoestring Creations) were born. 

In 1994, Ralph and his family returned to their roots in Johnson County, Texas. Since then, Shoestring Creations has grown from one employee and 4,000 feet to 14,000 feet. A real Shoestring Creation!

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Designs and pricing may change without notice.

Love thy Furniture Art