Hudson Valley · Est. 2019
Wood carved
for the wild
things
Dimensional habitats and sculptural totems hand-carved from old-growth cedar and walnut. Built to shelter birds, bees, and small wildlife — beautiful enough to transform any garden.
Shelter that
earns its place
in the landscape
NestWorks began in a single-car garage in the Catskills, with a bandsaw, a set of carving knives, and a serious preoccupation with the question of why wildlife habitat had to be ugly. Every piece starts as a sketch and becomes a carving — no CNC, no laser, no shortcuts.
We work in eastern red cedar, black walnut, white oak, and maple. All woods are sourced from regional sawyers. All pieces are finished in raw linseed oil, beeswax, or left entirely untreated — never paint, never stain. The wood weathers in the garden as naturally as the animals that inhabit it.
The Collection
6 piecesHummingbird Totem
A vertical sanctuary carved for swift, jeweled wings
Bee Sanctuary
Hexagonal depth, hand-hewn for native pollinators
Squirrel Dwelling
A mountain cabin scaled for the smallest of climbers
Songbird House
For wrens, chickadees, and the voices of morning
Owl Roost Tower
A monolith carved for the watchers of dusk
Butterfly Shelter
Carved channels for chrysalis and winter rest
Built by hand.
Finished by weather.
Every NestWorks piece begins as a rough-sawn board and becomes something carved, shaped, refined, and occasionally argued with. We use traditional carving gouges, a bent-shaft adze for deep relief, and a set of micro-chisels for the fine detail work. No templates. Each piece varies — that is the point.
The wood is finished in raw linseed oil, applied twice and hand-rubbed between coats. From that point, the piece belongs to the garden. It will silver in the rain, deepen in the sun, and moss at the edges over time. After five years in the landscape, a NestWorks piece looks like it was always there.
From the gardens
"The hummingbirds found it within a week. Within a month there were three regulars. It has become the center of the garden in a way I did not expect."
"I ordered the Bee Sanctuary in March and by June the mason bees had filled forty-seven of the channels. It works, and it is extraordinarily beautiful."
"The Owl Roost Tower has been in place for three winters now. A screech owl pair nested last spring. The carving has silvered beautifully. Irreplaceable."
Custom orders welcome.
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