NatureMaker

NatureMaker® Artificial tree sculpture is a bold synthesis of art, design, and engineering. Each tree is one-of-a-kind, and individually handcrafted to conform to architectural, structural, fire, and seismic specifications. "The old concepts of artificial trees, even large artificial trees , are passé," says Gary Hanick, co-founder and president of NatureMaker. "NatureMaker has engendered an entirely new experience of Nature as art, indoor trees as destinations themselves in immersive themed environments, interior landscaping, and exhibit design. When we founded the company in 1983, the design and architectural community, for the most part, did not even consider 'fake trees' or 'replica trees' as appropriate for their most monumental spaces. Over the past three decades, the scope, scale, and caliber of NatureMaker's commissions - be it for prestigious hotels, resorts, casinos, retailers, museums, libraries, zoos, nature centers, commercial buildings, atriums, public art projects, theme park and entertainment design, trade show exhibits, as well as for luxury homes - has been a force in introducing nature as ambiance for cutting edge interiors." The Steel Art Tree, as handcrafted by NatureMaker, has originated five story oak trees in shopping centers, soaring banyan trees with magnificent cantilevering limbs and spreading aerial roots into children's museums, indoor palm trees in water parks, evergreen trees that clad columns in airport terminals, and a host of other eco-friendly designs that stir imagination and engage the visitor. "Preserved palm trees and artificial ficus trees had their heyday in the 1980's and early '90's," adds Hanick. "Now the design pallet is so much more diverse. Why settle for an artificial palm tree when an entire grove of maple trees or a thicket of 2 and 3 story birch trees are possible in the very same space?" NatureMaker's co-founders, the late Bennett Abrams, an ecological artist, naturalist, and sculptor, and Gary Hanick have developed and continue to perfect the techniques used to build what they have dubbed "Steel Art Trees". These original arboreal creations - more than simple metal trees - are a sensual and highly tactile art form. The Company's designers, artists, craftsmen, and engineers assist with every aspect of the project, from preliminary concept through professional world-wide installation.