Our Story

Our story began as a conversation on a boat around our shared love of art, nature, and entertaining. The concept was simple. To combine Mike's wildlife art with Renee's artistic design to create an ambitious line of outdoor living products that would turn any outdoor space into a refuge. A place to relax, to gather friends, to enjoy nature.

We got to work, turning our patio and deck into a design studio. With our own outdoor entertaining and enjoyment in mind, we created our first outdoor benches, striving for comfort, durability, and nature-inspired style.

Over the last 14 years, our design portfolio has grown steadily as we create functional art that speaks to a variety of lifestyles and tastes. Our innovations in the design, sculpting and mold-making process allow our factory artisans to produce the best detail quality seen in the sand-casting industry.

Despite our growth, we have remained a family-owned business. Our children, Weston and Kristin, have joined us for the next chapter of Painted Sky Designs. Tucked in the Driftless region along the Mississippi River, we are still using our own outdoor living spaces to develop new designs that we ourselves proudly use when we entertain family and friends.

Thanks for being part of our story.

Our Mission

At Painted Sky Designs, we bring art outdoors! We create original art and turn it into functional outdoor furniture and accessories to transform your patio, deck or garden into a refuge. Whether you are hosting a backyard barbecue, building your dream patio, or just looking for a place to relax at the end of a long day, our nearly 200 lifestyle-themed product choices have you covered. You choose your design, we promise you durability, excellent customer service, and ambitious style!

Our Process

Each Painted Sky Designs product begins with original art produced by artist and co-founder Mike Meyer. Each new concept is hand-drawn before being digitally rendered and fine-tuned for production.

Skilled foundry artisans then sculpt the designs in clay before casting the product in iron or aluminum. Each piece is then hand-finished with rust inhibitor, bronze powder coat or paint, and hand painted highlights.

We are Different by Design

We Create the Art

It begins with the design. In a process that may take months, a theme becomes multiple designs, each with many variations. Considerations are made for both aesthetics and function.

The Art is Sculpted

The chosen design is then sculpted in clay and undergoes more adjustments to ensure good iron flow during casting.

Sculpt to Cast

Our designs and resulting molds push the abilities of sand casting to new heights. This would not be possible without foundry artisans who are extremely skilled at achieving such detailed results using the world’s oldest casting method. The castings receive two coats of rust inhibitor before being sealed with a top quality bronze powder-coat finish, which is baked on.

Final Touches

The final step is the application of hand-painted gold highlights. The result is a beautiful, durable, maintenance-free product that exemplifies the Painted Sky line.

Giving Back

We care deeply about our natural resources and creating a business that gives back to nature. That’s why we are thrilled to share that we are partnering with One Tree Planted/@onetreeplanted to plant a tree for every item sold here. In addition, we proudly support local conservation organizations in our hometown of Dubuque, Iowa!