2005 Featured Carver

Nick Sapone Wanchese, NC

Nick has made "Carolina Decoys" of both wood and canvas types since the early 1980's.  He is especially well known for his canvas decoys which have won numerous awards including a 1st place Swan at the Ward World Carving Championships in 1990, 1st in Species and Division in 1991 at our own Decoy Festival and 2nd Best In Show also in 1991 at the Currituck Wildlife Festival.  He demonstrated his decoy-making talents at the Smithsonian (by invitation) in 1988 and the NC Museum of History, Raleigh, in 1997 and 2000. 

Nick and his decoys have also been featured in articles in Southern Living and Wildlife in North Carolina. In October of 1992, his canvas Canada geese graced the cover of Wildlife In North Carolina and the issue also included a six page feature article about him. The November issue of Southern Living that same year also included a piece about Nick and his decoys.  

His work has been featured and periodically repeated since 2000 on two TV shows, My Heart Will Always Be In Carolina, and Roy Underhill's, The Woodwright's Shop.

Nick works out of a workshop in his Wanchese home.  He says, "If I had a place on the beach, I could sell 'em like hotcakes.  But, to do 'em like hand like I want to, I can't make 'em like hotcakes." On average, he makes about 300 decoys a year. 

He is always glad to share tips and techniques about making decoys, particularly those he makes of canvas.  He will tell you the exact steps he takes from cutting out the wooden head and boards, to positioning the wire and covering the decoy form with canvas. 

Nick fashions each decoy carefully; carving the heads, bending the wire and stretching the canvas.  He remarks that "It's a wonder the decoys aren't worn out before you finish them, as many times as you have to handle them while working on them." 

He is especially well-known for his canvas Canada geese which have a variety of neck poses including sleeping, hissing, feeding and alert.  His graceful white swans are also among his most popular decoys.

The Core Sound Decoy Carvers Guild is proud to present Nick Sapone, the Core Sound Decoy Festival Featured Carver for 2005.  Be sure to visit Nick's table in the Gymnasium during the Decoy Festival and see his beautiful work.