Craftsman makes outdoors his business

Paul Shields’ eye for home design brings the great outdoors inside.

Whether he designs a multitiered antler chandelier or an executive chair with African influences, this Liberty Lake resident uses his talents to create exotic furniture and décor.

Growing up in Coeur d’Alene, Shields always felt drawn to the beauty of surrounding mountains and wildlife. By the early 1990s, his wife, Heather, encouraged him to turn a hobby of making outdoorsy designs into a business and leave behind the successful advertising agency he owned. Today, Antler Expressions, the company Shields started, has clients worldwide and a busy Post Falls shop with a team of creative artists.

“I’ve always loved the outdoors,” Shields says. “I’m able to create a product that brings the outdoors’ beauty indoors.”

Shields keeps a creative handprint on Antler Expressions’ designs, although he also is quick to credit about 10 craftspeople who lend their talents toward final products. Their custom-made creations include lights, couches, chairs, pool tables, barstools, burl wood tables and bathroom vanities made from polished semi-precious gemstones such as malachite or amber. No piece leaves the shop without Shields’ approval and signature.

His antler Christmas tree is back ordered to 2009.

“My shop in Post Falls is just stuffed,” adds Shields, whose clients range from apartment dwellers to owners of high-end homes. The average purchase is $20,000. “We have clients from New Zealand, Japan, Britain and Ireland who come in to the Spokane area to look at our pieces.”

A recent customer included music executive Tommy Mottola, former head of Sony Music and one of a few celebrity clients who have purchased Antler Expressions’ pieces.

“We can help people with the whole rustic look,” adds Shields, who brings items to the annual Safari Club International show and each year sells out of pieces filling an eight-space display area.

All the antlers used for furniture and lights are from naturally shedded ones that Shields’ company buys. Every chandelier, lamp and sconce is drilled internally so that no electrical wiring is exposed.

“Ninety percent of our market is high-end, upscale clientele. We’re probably one of the largest private buyers of antlers – 60,000 plus pounds a year and all naturally shedded from sources in Argentina, Scotland, New Zealand, Africa, the U.S. and Canada.”

Shields also is authorized to buy certain horns and a few limited animal hides to use in his designs, all through legally approved channels and from such sources as African tribes allowed by their country to make sales. If Shields hears of anyone selling with questionable arrangements, he has no qualms about reporting it to authorities.

“This is a very highly regulated industry,” he adds.

From his Liberty Lake office, where he and his wife are building a home on the shore, Shields is in the midst of planning décor for their 5,400-square-foot house to display Antler Expressions’ pieces and the work of other Northwest artists. With high ceilings, the mountain lodge-inspired residence – with commanding views of the lake – will also offer a place by this spring for the couple to entertain clients.

“I’ll have my showcase art gallery on the lake and it’s also my home,” says Shields, who has included a wine cellar among other entertainment-minded features. “People will be able to see different groupings of furniture and art. This is going to be like a playground dream home.”