Meet the Makers: The Hands Behind Our Employee Product Spotlight
Scattered throughout the Trading Post are things dreamed up, made, and brought to life by our own staff. The people who work the register, restock the shelves, and greet you when you walk through our doors. On our website, we've pulled these pieces together into a collection called Employee Product Spotlight, just so you can find them all in one spot online — but out in the store, you'll come across them scattered in with the rest of our inventory.
Turning an idea into something you can hold isn't easy, especially on top of a full shift. So we wanted to take a minute to introduce you to a few of the people behind the pieces.
August Sun:
If you've picked up a lighter, a magnet, or a sticker at the Post with a hand-drawn alien lounging under a Joshua tree, or a sun-bleached cyanotype silhouette of the park, you've already met August Sun's work. It's playful and a little whimsical on one end, and quietly artful on the other — this is the maker behind both our grab-and-go souvenirs and our small-format photography.
On the fun end, look for the Stoned Alien Lighter, the I Love Joshua Tree Matchbox, and stickers like I Love Joshua Tree, Joshua Tree Rocks!, and the Joshua Tree Silhouette Polaroid Sticker — easy, affordable ways to bring a bit of the desert home with you. There's also a whole family of small magnets: the Golden Hour Joshua Tree, Golden Hour Boulder, Joshua Tree Stars, and Joshua Tree Silhouette magnets, each one a tiny snapshot of the park. On the more artful end, August Sun also hand-produces a full line of cyanotype prints — sun-exposed, one-of-a-kind images of Skull Rock, Boulder Field, Joshua Tree Spines, Heart Rock, and the classic Joshua Tree Silhouette — plus a matching Joshua Tree Silhouette Postcard. It's a whole little world of desert imagery, in formats big and small.
Ryan Dobbins:
Some people notice color and shape. Ryan notices scent — the sharp green of blooming yucca after a rare rain, the warm dust-and-sagebrush smell of a desert evening. That instinct shows up across a whole lineup of hand-poured candles, from the Desert Dusk and Desert Blossom Candles to the Western, Bikini SZN, and Cactus Garden (plus a mini version for anyone who wants to try a scent before committing to the full size). There's also a line of Hand Poured Candles by Ryan in glass vessels, for anyone who wants something a little more polished.
They're simple, well-made, and honest about where they come from — which is really the whole idea behind this collection.
Pottery by Nayeli:
There's a particular kind of charm in something made by hand, and Nayeli's ceramic work has it in spades. Her line runs from small to substantial: Ceramic Crosses, Ceramic Indent Cups, and Mini Ceramic Pitchers for everyday use, up through the 29 Palms Coyote Pitcher and Peace Dove Pitcher, and a full set of Joshua Tree Ceramic Mugs and a matching Ceramic Coaster Set for your morning coffee. Every piece carries the slight imperfections and warmth that only come from something shaped by one person's hands, locally, piece by piece. They're functional, they're food and microwave safe, and they look like they belong on a shelf in a high desert kitchen — because they were made in one.
Seamstress Kate:
Not everything she makes is small. Katelyn Morris — known around the Post simply as Seamstress Kate — works in embroidery, building detailed desert scenes one stitch at a time, in just about every size a wall might call for. There's the small and giftable, like her Hand Embroidered Saguaro and Hand Embroidered Ocotillo, each in a 3"x4" frame. There's the mid-size Hand-Embroidered Joshua Tree in an 8"x10" walnut frame. And then there are the statement pieces — the large 16"x24" framed Hand-Embroidered Joshua Tree, and an original Starry Desert Night piece that's as much fine art as it is craft.
Each one takes real patience: hours upon hours of careful needlework to capture the silhouette of a single tree, an ocotillo's spindly arms, or a desert sky full of stars. Less a souvenir than a piece of art — the sort of thing you hang on a wall and point to when someone asks where you found it.
Why We Do This
Our Employee Product Spotlight exists because we believe good ideas shouldn't have to wait for a business plan or a storefront of their own. If someone on our team has something they've made — something that reflects a little of who they are — we want to give it a place in the store and a chance.
So next time you're browsing the Post, keep an eye out as you go. You'll be taking home more than a lighter, a candle, or a coffee cup — you'll be taking home something made by someone who might have rung you up at the register five minutes earlier.
