Hello, and welcome to our Weekly Product Feature series! This Monday we'll be focusing on our brand new State Bird Collection. Each ornament features a single bird overlayed on the outline of its' respective states, as well as the common name of each bird. These ornaments are laser cut out of Black Cherry wood that was grown and milled in the US! Each ornament comes tied with a red bow and tag, but we have other packaging options as well, that way you can find the best fit for your location, and your visitors.
The collection is perfect for a multitude of wholesale locations - whether that's an aviary, Audubon Society, botanical garden, sanctuary, or more. Bird lovers and visitors to new states alike will love the Collection!
To discuss customization of any of our ornaments, including our State Bird Collection, please feel free to contact amie@nestledpines.com. We look forward to working with you!
"There usually isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t have my camera in my hands, and I wouldn’t have it any other way."
Kira McGrigg is Nestled Pines Woodworking's Media Intern for the summer of 2017. Her passion lies in photography, specifically portraiture, and she's currently pursuing a degree in Media Studies with an emphasis in Photography and Web Development at the University of Wisconsin - Platteville, Amie's alma-mater.
Media has always interested Kira because of the inescapable nature of it - our everyday lives are saturated by media content (whether that's Facebook, news outlets, user generated content, or anything in between), and she seeks to study and understand the way in which it affects society on both the macro, and micro levels. She first became interested in the subject through film - some of her favorite directors include Sean Penn and Wes Anderson. That love of film translated later into a love for stills/photography, something that she hopes to make a career out of in the Pacific Northwest.
"The symbiosis of photography intrigues me – not only am I able to spend my time with my camera in hand, but I’m able to make someone else happy as well."
While interning, Kira will be creating content, photographing life at Nestled Pines, and learning the ins and outs of small business ownership in the hopes of one day emulating those practices for her own business.
"My creative process involves pushing everything to the absolute extreme limit, then pushing it a little more until it breaks. I repeat this destructive process several times until I have a really good sense of exactly where the edge of possibility lies - and then I stand on that edge and teeter in the wind."
Operations Manager Matt Van Susteren has worked side-by-side with his wife Amie since the two began their careers in laser work around a decade ago. Matt has an entrepreneurial spirit, combined with an unquestionable passion for creating, learning, and engineering. His career began in pottery, taking inspiration from nature, math, science, and other artists (his personal favorite is Malcolm Davis). Much like Amie, Matt is constantly inspired by the complex world around him and it's been a key factor in his success.
Matt's uncanny ability to solve the most complex of problems has been invaluable for the growth and stability of Nestled Pines Woodworking. Overwhelmingly self-taught, there isn't much that Matt can't do. Whether it's writing new software to facilitate faster production schedules, macgyvering his lasers to work more efficiently, or taking on renovations to create an environment more conducive to the business, he's up to the task.
"I build things. It's all I do, build things. My inspiration comes from problems. Amie always says I love to solve puzzles."
Off the clock, Matt values the time he's able to spend with his family, whether it be at home on the couch wrestling with the pair's three teenagers, or relaxing and recharging on the beaches of Puerto Rico.
It's no surprise that Matt's leadership and ingenuity have proved invaluable to the success and growth of Nestled Pines Woodworking, and we can't wait to see what he has in store for the future.
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Welcome to our Product Feature series! Every Monday we feature one-of-a-kind souvenirs from our line-up that we think you'd love to know more about - and this week we're covering our cityscape keepsakes - available as ornaments, keychains, and magnets! These ornaments are also fantastic customization opportunities, with plenty of room for a quote or a specific location name. The sky's the limit with these skyline ornaments!
Our cityscape ornaments are fan-favorites! They're also the current favorite of Amie Van Susteren, our laser artist, and owner. She loves to travel and enjoys designing the skylines of cities she's personally visited.
Almost all of our designs here at Nestled Pines are available in multiple formats - for example, if you see a cityscape ornament you love, but you think your wholesale location would do better with a magnet, absolutely let us know. Don't see your skyline or city in our City Collection? We want to work with you to make your experience with us as enjoyable as possible! Let's work together on a custom piece for your location. Please contact amie@nestledpines.com for one-of-a-kind opportunities.
]]>"I'm pretty much inspired by everything. I find as much joy in following a bug along the sidewalk as I do watching a bird outside my window. I love standing underneath the giant skyscrapers in Chicago, or walking the cobbled streets of New York City."
Laser Artist and Designer Amie Van Susteren has spent the past decade creating unique and memorable wood ornaments for state parks, national parks, museums, and more. She loves what she does, and strives to create a positive, memorable, and stress-free experience for all her wholesale clients.
"We want our clients to be successful, and they want us to be successful, so we form these relationships. I covet those relationships."
Amie initially received her Art Education degree from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville at age 30 in 2009 (it was during college that she met her husband and business partner, Matt). By graduation, however, Amie found herself taking her art degree in a different path than she had initially planned - her and Matt decided to take a risk and toss aside what they had been doing individually and double down on doing something as a team, which over time grew into Nestled Pines Woodworking.
Amie, simply put, is very philanthropic - the way in which places such as Yosemite and other parks can expand and grow because of the revenue created by her art is one of her main sources of motivation and joy. Amie views Nestled Pines Woodworking's relationships with its' clients to be extremely symbiotic - as an artist, she enjoys working directly with her clients.
"I get to work directly with the people who are making the decisions for the gift shops, and they get to work directly with the person who is making the art, so it's beautifully efficient."
Amie's passion for art and creating has nurtured Nestled Pines Woodworking into the successful and one-of-a-kind laser cut ornament business you know and love today.
Check Out Our Other Team Spotlights
Ricky Thaden
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Welcome! Every Monday we feature one of our favorite, unique ornament designs at Nestled Pines Woodworking and this week I'll be sharing our heartwarming Black Bear with Cub with you!
There's simply no better way to celebrate USA-made goods but with an animal species native only to North America - and our Black Bears do just that. As with all of our ornaments, the wood is grown and milled within the US. There was no better choice for these two loveable bears than Black Walnut! The design captures the curiosity of young cubs perfectly - sticking with their mothers for the first seventeen months of their lives, the mother bear stays vigilant while her cubs begin to explore and experience the natural world around them.
At Nestled Pines Woodworking we want to be sure you have options - so we also have our standard Black Bear, a Grizzly Bear, a Polar Bear, and more. Perfect for national parks, zoos, and more, all of our bears can be customized to your gift shop. We want to work with you to create a one-of-a-kind keepsake for your visitors! To purchase any of our bears, please contact amie@nestledpines.com. To take a look at related ornaments, visit our Critter Collection.
When you choose our Loose Ornament option, your ornaments will be adorned with a hand-tied bow and ribbon hanger that includes a folded card containing the mission behind Nestled Pines, as well as our sustainability info. This option works perfectly if you'd like to hang the ornaments on a pre-existing tree display, and it's also the most economical option! Is it your first time ordering with us? Depending on availability, we may even be able to send you a free tree! Please ask us for more details.
Featured: Alexander Hamilton
If you choose our Clear Box option, your keepsake ornaments will come packaged with a chocolate colored box made of recycled materials, fluff to keep the ornaments safe and secure during shipment and while being displayed, and topped with a clear lid held down by red ribbon, so your customers can see what they're receiving right away! We think this option works best for highly detailed designs, as it showcases the ornament and makes it the focus of attention! Our Clear Boxes also a great option for stores that would like to set a higher price point.
Featured: Grizzly Bear Ornament, Honey Bee Ornament
Our Custom Engraved Boxes are sure to add the perfect touch to your one-of-a-kind ornaments! We laser engrave our boxes, leaving an attractive tan design on the lid of our chocolate colored, eco-friendly boxes. Just like our Clear Boxes, this option includes the same fluff for keeping the ornaments safe and secure. Our Custom Engraved Boxes are another fantastic option for those stores looking to sell at a higher price point.
Featured: Snowflakes 2015 - Design F
Our Peggable Cards are the best option for clients who display their product predominately on wall hooks or spinners - this packaging is our thinnest and easiest to store, making it a great option for shops looking to purchase a high amount of product. The included ribbon and information card are slid in the back of the packaging, giving the front an extremely sleek, professional look.
Featured: Bald Eagle Ornament
If you have any questions regarding our packaging options, we encourage you to email amie@nestledpines.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
]]>Welcome to our Product Feature series! This week we'll be featuring something brand new - our August 2017 Eclipse custom designs - specialized to any location on the path of the total solar eclipse (when the sun disappears behind the moon) taking place on August 21st, 2017.
The eclipse will be passing through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, stretching around 70 miles across. It's estimated that the population within that 70-mile band will actually double on August 21st! Nestled Pines Woodworking is passionate about science and learning and we want to share that love with you. In fact, we're so excited that some of us will be driving from Wisconsin to Nebraska to view the eclipse!
Made out of Black Cherry grown and milled in the US, these highly customizable ornaments will be the perfect keepsake for hardcore astronomers, space enthusiasts, and casual eclipse viewers alike. Whether you choose our one-of-a-kind ornaments, unique keychains, or both, there's something for every visitor that comes into your shop. To work on a custom design with us, please contact amie@nestledpines.com. If you share our love of science, check out our Science Collection!
If you've ever wanted to experience a variety of our products in person before purchasing, you're in luck - Nestled Pines will be displaying our goods this summer, July 30th to August 2nd, 2017, at Las Vegas Market! This gives you the opportunity to touch the wood grain, see the unique variations in each ornament, and even smell (yes, smell!) our unique wood souvenirs before you purchase. There's nothing more satisfying than being able to talk face-to-face with the artists behind the art, and this show will give you the ability to do just that.
Featuring old favorites, new creations, and custom designs to give you a taste of the high quality you can expect from Nestled Pines, you can catch us in Pavilion no. 1, booth 2018. This year, the Pavillions will be neatly organized by LVMKT into five neighborhoods to make your experience more enjoyable - you can find Nestled Pines Woodworking in the Gift Neighborhood. Feel free to add us to your day in the Las Vegas Market App, including a Market Planner to make your visit to us stress-free and pleasant.
We look forward to seeing you this summer!
Welcome to Nestled Pines Woodworking's very first Product Feature! In this series, I'm going to tell you all about one of our favorite designs, one blog post at a time - we'll be starting with one of my personal favorites, our Pluto Dwarf Planet ornament.
Amie's love for science played heavily into the Pluto design - when new images of Pluto were released by NASA in 2015, we noticed a heart-shaped crater that seemed only fitting for a commemorative ornament. Every quote on our ornaments is selected with care by Amie. In this case, she chose an inspirational Quintus Ennius quote - the father of Roman poetry. Pluto was a Roman God, so we find it only fitting to use a quote from a Roman Poet!
Nestled Pines Woodworking's custom Pluto design took around 18-20 hours of solid design time in Adobe Illustrator, and around 10,000 mouse clicks to create all the beautiful curves, craters, and mountains. The ornament is made out of eco-friendly, unstained American Maple to create a distinct contrast between the dwarf planet's hills and valleys - just like the images from NASA that inspired this wood ornament.
To purchase this design for your gift shop (maybe even with your own handpicked quote!), contact amie@nestledpines.com. For related ornaments, take a look through our Science Collection.
Ricky Thaden is Nestled Pines Woodworking's Wholesale Sales Associate. He joined the team in 2017 and currently attends Edgewood College, pursuing a degree in Business Management and Marketing with an emphasis in Sales. He's a self-described Proud Cat Dad, high-school Cross Country Skiing coach, and a rising entrepreneur.
Ricky has a multitude of hobbies and passions - eventually, he hopes to make a career out of them, using the knowledge he's learned from Edgewood, his alma-mater UW - Baraboo, and from Matt and Amie here at Nestled Pines Woodworking. Enamored with golf, skiing, paintballing, fishing, and hunting, he would like to run his own business someday.
"Ultimately, it would be awesome to have a bush plane in Alaska, taking people out on weeks-long or months-longs hunting trips out in the boonies. I'm an outdoorsman at heart and would like to do something with that."
Ricky is inspired and motivated every day by his father, a retired National Guard member.
"A lot of the values my father holds, I hold now. He taught me the meaning of respect and good common sense. He's gotten me to the place I am today with the lessons he's taught me and the knowledge I've gained from him."
He defines success not by money or by status, but by personal achievement and the accomplishment of goals he's set for himself throughout his life. With his passion for business and goal-oriented spirit, Ricky fits right in with the Nested Pines Woodworking team.
Check Out All Our Team Spotlights
Amie Van Susteren