Although born and raised in Massachusetts, Nate Haust moved west to pursue snowboarding and found that the mountains and Lake Tahoe provided him with the inspiration to launch Haust Design. Haust moved to Truckee three years ago for a change of scenery: “I’ve always had an attraction for living in California and I was ready for a change. With snowboarding, this was the perfect place.”
“I love the art of creating something unique, expressing myself, making something out of scratch. The cutting of the wood is therapeutic, and I like focusing on one thing.” –Nate Haust
While snowboarding and traveling, Haust saw Navajo blankets and was attracted to the geometric tribal designs, which gave him the idea to grab some precut wood from the local hardware store and try to make art out of it.
“I’ve always appreciated art and design and I enjoy making something unique that lasts for decades,” he says of the woodworking wall hangings that he has been creating since spring of 2020. “I’ve always been interested in art, especially symmetrical shapes. I was also in Nevada City a couple of years ago and I saw some art on the wall that caught my eye, made by an artist who did symmetrical designs. I wanted to see if I could create something similar but keep it true to myself.”
His father, David, spent his life as a homebuilder and when he retired a few years ago, he gifted his son some tools, which Haust has used to create 35 pieces so far.
“Initially I made them and was gifting them to friends and family, then I posted pictures of them to the Facebook Tahoe/Truckee group last August [2020] and it took off. The community totally supported it. I had a lot of great responses and direct messages from people who wanted me to make them something unique or to purchase a piece, then it snowballed [into what it is today],” he says.
He said that with his first piece, he wanted to create something out of wood that was entirely symmetrical and has since transitioned into creating new designs that incorporate the area, the Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe. He also recently experimented fusing coat hooks into his work, combining the mountain piece or an outline of Lake Tahoe into his wooden racks.
“I appreciate the design, but I want to find a way to make it functional; it adds an interesting element to it,” he says.
Most of his wall hangings incorporate 90-degree angles, so a lot of his wood is in 45-degree cuts. Haust says the initial process of cutting the wood and creating the design takes around 2 to 4 hours. Then he sands, stains, paints and glues the pieces together. According to the description of his artwork titled, “Starry Mountains,” the process of making it is intricate, meticulous and is meant to portray quality craftsmanship, enhancing an elegant and comfortable living space.
“It takes me about 6 to 8 hours total depending on the size and complexity of the project,” he says.
The largest — and one of the first — wooden wall hangings he created is a 2-foot-by-4-foot piece that rests above his bed.
“I love the art of creating something unique, expressing myself, making something out of scratch. The cutting of the wood is therapeutic, and I like focusing on one thing,” he says. “I also enjoy being able to show my work and sell it. It’s really fulfilling; I like the whole process.”
Last summer, Haust had more time to dive into his business; the pandemic allowed him to focus on his craft. The most challenging part of his art, he says, is “creating a puzzle in a way and dealing with miscuts and mismeasurements. The whole thing is a learning process. Dialing in one single cut can take forever to figure out.”
Currently, Haust has two pieces hanging at Schaffer’s Mill and when he has a new artwork available, he will post to Facebook groups like Truckee Tahoe People and Incline Village Buy/Sell. Now, as things start opening up, he hopes to have a presence at Truckee Thursdays again and potentially hang his work in various stores throughout Truckee and Tahoe.
“I want to expand my creativity and try new things,” he says. | @haust.design
