About Us

In June 2009, Westveer received a call from Samantha McIntire of New York, N.Y. McIntire is associated with "People" magazine and is preparing a special edition focusing on Christmas ornaments from around the nation.

Evidently McIntire had searched for a tree ornament that would be appropriate for each state, and she chose Westveer's moose ornament to represent Montana. She contacted the Made in Montana organization, which gave her a list of names and Web sites of those artists who have done shows with the organization. McIntire logged on to Westveer's Web site because Westveer has Christmas tree ornaments listed among the products she offers. The New Yorker went through the ornaments on the Web site and found the moose there.

In December of this year, Westveer will celebrate 20 years of Rae's Creations, the business she first started in Missoula while working at St. Pat's Hospital and studying physical therapy at the University of Montana. Some of her co-workers urged her to sell her jewelry creations at the Christmas craft show, so she did, and she sold out. She eventually quit work at St. Pat's to raise her children, a daughter Kelsey and a son Derek, and to start her home-based business.

Westveer said she has to be very disciplined and dedicated to make her business work. She tries to put in eight hours a day in her workshop and during Christmas time it can be more, as much as 16 hours a day when she first started the business.

Westveer has always enjoyed making things with her hands, even as a kid - sewing, crocheting hooking rugs, needlepoint. She grew up in Great Falls but graduated from Cascade High School, where she did take art classes.

Rae's Creations started out as a hobby in dough. She learned about the material she uses today, polymer clay (a form of plastic), when she and her husband Mark traveled to Minnesota for Christmas. The wife of a friend of Mark's was preparing for the Renaissance Fair in Minneapolis and was mass-producing detailed rocking horse ornaments.

Westveer has now been officially licensed to sell Griz and Cat products for the past three years. She said she has had several people ask her about doing the two-year schools as well as Carroll College. These schools present some licensing work that Westveer has not yet pursued; she does not really have the time to include the additional work.

Each piece Westveer sells is individually crafted; she uses no molds, except those she has created herself. The creations are cut out one-by-one, using a pattern she has made. The Griz earrings, for example, start out as small gingerbread man. Westveer then adds ears and a nose to make the bear. The additional detail is also added individually.

Westveer averages two shows a month, many of them scheduled around Christmas from October to December. She frequently is on the road four weekends in a row during those months. She has done shows in the Pacific Northwest and in Colorado and Nevada.

In addition to the many craft shows she attends, Westveer also does a little bit of wholesaling, but she finds wholesaling requires a great deal of time, as the businesses want the artist to come to them after they have placed the first order.

Rae's mission is simple: to provide the best products and service to her customers at the lowest prices possible. She takes great pride in her company, her community, her family, and her commitment to customer service and in the products she sells.

Her online store is designed to provide you with a safe and secure environment to browse her product catalog.