Fred Brandes

Welcome to my shop. I have been a self employed artist and craftsman since I left the one salaried job I had with the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, long ago. My bio includes showing paintings, some are in public collections such as Prudential, Chase, Marathon Oil. Like many of my artist peers we supported ourselves doing building and painting for galleries, museums, collectors, etc. In time, my woodworking skills developed. I began making furniture and soon was showing at venues such as The ICFF and Philadelphia Furniture shows. Earlier I had made sculptural horse figures in wood. I showed large ones at several ACC shows and marketed smaller versions to Museum stores including The Louvre. Sea shells have always drawn my attention. When I traveled, it was usually to places with shorelines. I found myself bringing home shells from Mexico, Australia, Tahiti, Fiji,
along with those from the Eastern Atlantic. I first made a table using a printer's type tray to display shells over 30 years ago. It wasn't until 10 years later that I decided to show them. My self collected shells were used in my first 10 or so tables. Having made over 100 combined tables and wall pieces,
I turned to suppliers for my "Materials".

Each table or wall piece is different or one of a kind. I will use the same table design, same shape or sized box, and even the same type of shells. But each work is different.

I have mastered the art of shell cutting. Close examination of the "Shell reliefs" or wall compositions show that nearly every shell has been cut or ground from behind. This allows me to use larger specimens in these compositions. I also reconfigure the spaces and the boxes themselves. Shell cutting also resulted in my jewelry, including wampum.

Most my my work is custom. Tables are available with or without collections. Please contact me before placing an order to work out the specifics.