An American Christmas Success Story: Rising From a Small Shop in a NC Fishing Village to a Legitimate Player in the $450 Billion U.S. Christmas Market

SMYRNA, N.C., Dec. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nicky Harvey once made his living right from his home in Eastern North Carolina, in the small fishing community of Davis, as a crab trap (crab pot) manufacturer. He supported his family by handcrafting sheets of mesh wire into crab traps to put food on the table for his wife and two sons. Over time, he had produced tens of thousands of these "crab pots" from his small 800 sq. ft shop.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111207/CL19097 )

Then, around 10 years ago he found himself facing the biggest challenge of his life when the growing influx of cheap, imported crab meat and harsh government regulations combined to diminish the demand for fresh-caught crabs from nearby commercial crab fishermen. He found himself with nothing but wire and tools waiting for the next order to come in. A generations-old craft was becoming extinct. His business was on the brink of closing.

Never known as a quitter, Harvey began to toy with other possible uses for his wire and tools. Ultimately, through persistent trial and error, he created a perfectly shaped pre-lit Christmas tree made from the wire mesh. Then he improved his deign further so the tree would easily fold up for storage and likewise, easily open for display the next Holiday season.

Harvey then began to make a few prototypes for friends, family, and neighbors, and demand for his new creation quickly spread in small Carteret County, NC by word of mouth.

Soon he was producing hundreds of trees. Friends prodded him to apply for a patent on his idea. After much time and several thousand dollars in attorneys' fees later, he was awarded a patent for his product from the U.S. Patent Office.

That's when things really began to change for Harvey. What was once just an idea from a former crab pot maker became a brand new thriving business. He began selling the trees to local hardware stores and garden centers and donating his Crab Pot Trees® to local and regional charities. Word of his story, his beautiful product and it's ease of use spread throughout North Carolina and into other states. Soon he was producing and selling well over 1,000 trees yearly.

Harvey began to make good living building Crab Pot Christmas Trees® – so good, in fact that eventually he stopped making crab pots altogether. Using the same little shop, tools, wire and personnel, he could build a 4 foot tree in much less time than it took to make a standard crab pot, while making an even better profit.

In 2009, approaching "retirement age," Harvey's family convinced him to seek an easier way to profit from his creation. He was led to a fellow county resident, Don Acree, who had over 30 years of prior business experience specializing in sales and marketing. Acree met Mr. Harvey early that year and the two quickly found their  business ideals were closely aligned. Shortly thereafter, Harvey & Sons, Inc. of Davis, NC assigned its rights to manufacture, sell and market his patented Core Sound Crab Pot Trees® to Acree's newly created Fisherman Creations, Inc. of Atlantic Beach, NC. which grew sales to over 4,000 trees in 2009 alone.

In  2011, Acree and his fellow shareholders at Fisherman Creations leapfrogged tree sales further by enlisting Border Concepts of Charlotte, NC as it's national distributor. Border Concepts is a supplier of hundreds of products to the Lawn and Garden and Hardware store industries. 2011 tree sales have now surpassed over 10,000 units, including LED lights in addition to the traditional incandescent lighting.

Several of Mr. Acree's friends and business associates have recommended the product be made overseas, but he sees no reason to do so. "We're proud to be producing a hand-crafted product right here in North Carolina," said Acree. "We have a secure patent and we intend to continue to build our product on U.S. shores with U.S. talent."

Acree has also been tempted to take the item to the mass market retailers. When questioned about this, Acree said "We're focusing on 'mom and pop' businesses. We don't have to jump through a host of Corporate America-style hoops and bow down to concessions that come along with dealing with the 'big boys,' which often involves 'waiting your turn' to be paid for your services. Besides, sales since 2008 have tripled in the worst economy since the 1930s and our 5 year plan has sales reaching well-over 100,000 trees ... all without relying on the first mass market retailer." 

Fisherman Creations has also demonstrated that it intends to maintain the culture and tradition established from Nicky Harvey's idea. The company continues to support Harvey's causes such as lighting up a mile-long stretch of "downtown" Davis, NC over the Christmas Holidays and supporting the same types of community-oriented causes and organizations as Harvey has in the past. The company's prime donation beneficiary is North Carolina Waterman United ( www.ncwu.net), an organization which represents an unusual bond of both commercial and recreational fishermen. NCWU is dedicated to preserving the integrity and the livelihoods of the families and communities who have both depended on and enjoyed fishing on the North Carolina coast for well over three centuries. Another company favorite is the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum on Harkers Island, NC.

And Nicky?  He's doing just fine ... healthy, and most-likely, soon to be wealthy.

The trees are available in sizes from 1 1/2 Ft to 8 Ft tall, and are fully collapsible for easy storage or shipping. They are available in multiple color combinations of wire and lights. Custom trees are also available.

To learn more about Fisherman Creations, visit www.crabpottrees.com

If you would like more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview with Neal Harvey or Don Acree contact [email protected].

Border Concepts, Inc's press relations office can be reached at [email protected]

Email: [email protected]
252-725-0138

SOURCE Fisherman Creations