Horace and Noella are the husband and wife team behind Artasia. Working from their home based shop in mid-coast Maine, they are committed to quality and craftsmanship as they produce each hand made gift item. Horace spends his time in the woodshop doing all of the cutting, wood preparation, and finishing while Noella oversees the packaging, inventory, and shipping. Each is in their preferred environment: Horace, in a pile of wood dust and not far from the wood stove (that's where any mistakes wind up!), and Noella, in much cleaner and quieter quarters.

Since 1993, Artasia has produced thousands of hand crafted clocks, wall hangings, and fretwork gift items. During the mid 1990's, Artasia's line of fretwork Christmas tree ornaments grew in popularity and demand and by 1998, it was necessary to focus solely on its growing collection of rock maple ornaments. Now, with over 400 designs to choose from, we feel that Artasia offers one of the finest lines of hand cut fretwork ornaments available.



HOW WE MAKE OUR ORNAMENTS

Our ornaments are hand cut on a scroll saw. We use kiln dried New England rock maple. We buy it 4/4 rough from a local dealer, usually six to ten feet in length. We use only the outer portion of the tree (sap wood), this ensures a consistent light color without any dark streaks of heart wood (the center portion of the tree). We prefer using maple for two reasons: #1) It does not darken over time like many other hardwoods. This ensures a nice contrast against an evergreen tree and the light color of the wood tends to enhance every saw cut. #2) It has a very dense grain which makes it a very hard wood. This lends itself to very smooth, fine cutting, enabling us to cut exceptional detail without fear of damage.

The first step in making the ornament is to prepare the wood to size. We saw the boards to 3" width and then set them on edge and "resaw" them down the middle. This gives us two boards, each approximately 1/2" thick. We can then run these boards through a thickness planer to 5/16" thickness. Once the wood has been prepared to size, the paper pattern is glued to the face of the wood and small pilot holes are drilled in the locations where cuts are to be made. Each inside cut is made after threading the blade through the pilot hole, reattaching it to the scroll saw arm, and setting the blade tension. This step is repeated for each inside cut. Once the ornament has been completely cut, it is then carefully sanded. The front and back face surfaces are sanded on a 6" x 48" table sander and the outer perimeter edge of the round and oval ornaments is sanded on a stationary disk sander and routed to give it a finished edge. For a final sanding, all the surfaces are run over a serrated flap sander to remove any minute saw burr or roughness. The last step in the process is to dip each ornament in a clear finish, wipe off the excess finish and set it aside to dry. Once the ornament has dried, we initial each one, install a brass eye for hanging, and package it with a brass hanger for use on a christmas tree, 3/4" suction cup for use on glass, and a story card that tells some of its history.



30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE:

All items carry a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you are unhappy with your purchase for any reason, simply return it within 30 days of the invoice date for a full refund, exchange, or credit.

To return any item, please contact us for any special instructions and then-- 1) Include a copy of your invoice with the return, 2) Include a short note explaining the reason for your return, 3) Indicate if you wish a refund, credit, or exchange. We strongly recommend using Delivery Confirmation to insure that your shipment has reached us. Return shipping costs are your responsibility. Please allow us 3-5 days once we have received your return to process and credit your credit card.

(Damage Claims): Please contact us immediately with any claims due to shipping damage.



PAYMENT OPTIONS:

- Credit Cards: We accept Visa, Master Card, and Discover

- Check / Money Order: We accept personal checks and money orders.

If you prefer to pay by check or money order, please click the ARTASIA ORDER FORM navigation button, follow the instructions, and forward with payment to: Artasia P.O. Box 175 704 N. Sedgwick Rd. Sedgwick, ME 04676

If you need any personal assistance with your order, please do not hesitate to contact us.



SHIPPING:

We presently ship only to USA addresses. We offer three forms of shipping: First Class Mail, Priority Mail, and UPS. UPS allows for tracking of your shipment. First Class mail or Priority mail is often more economical.

Amount	First Class	Priority Mail	U.P.S.
$0 - $60.00	$3.95	$5.95	Will be Calculated at time of check out
$60.01 - $99.99	$5.95	$5.95	Will be calculated at time of check out
$100.00 - Over	$7.95	$9.95	Will be caulculated at time of check out

Shipping charges will be automatically calculated on the check out page when you choose your preferred shipping method. Because all of our products are hand made, we ask that you allow three weeks for delivery.