About our company

Our mission: To create eco-friendly products in the USA, that embrace individualistic expression and the love language of gifting.

How Green Tree Started:

Green Tree Jewelry the story, as told by Lance Nybye Jr.:

I would like to say we started things out with all the high-minded attributes of our mission statement today, but reality was the parent company Heavy Hitter Industries, which was a very successful baseball bat company for 20 years, was not doing very well. I actually remember telling my wife, Autumn, when she first moved in with me in the beginning of our relationship that if we weren’t able to turn things around we were going to have to file for bankruptcy. So, we went back to our root - selling at farmers markets and craft shows in the southern California area, which was something my parents, Lance Sr. and Margie Nybye did 30 years before. There, we dabbled in range of crafty gifts. One farmers market in Ocean Beach, CA we brought some cheap spray painted wooden earrings. Maybe there was something in the air that day besides the cannabis smell coming from the customer’s clothes, but they sold! That day the seed was planted.

But it wasn’t until our first tradeshow, The Las Vegas Gift and Souvenir show, where things really changed. Our first day at the tradeshow was a complete bust, maybe one or two people even came in the booth. The next day more of the same, so we got desperate and started taking earrings off the boards and giving them to people just to seek feedback. By the end of the show we did well! We covered the show cost and most importantly we got a crazy amount of constructive feedback, which honestly completely reshaped what we were doing from the material and designs to displays.

The company definitely took off from that point on, but it was like walking a tight rope. Growth meant more investment. Scaling was painful. When you stop making it yourself and you start hiring employees, with our low wholesale price point, everything started penciling out to be a bad idea. My father was forced to retire for medical reasons soon after we started Green Tree Jewelry. He was always lecturing me, helping me grow and learn how to run a business. One day during one of his lectures, he kept moving a pencil back and forth across the table, saying “How many times can I move this pencil back and forth in a minute?” This started me down the path of constantly developing more efficient systems in every aspect of the company and my wife, Autumn, did the same in the office.

Green Tree Jewelry exists today because of our foundation of small independent stores around the US. We are lucky to have them and their customers, who appreciate Made in USA, Eco Friendly and support local business.

Green Tree’s Founder, Lance Nybye Jr., started pondering the idea of creating puzzles when his wife and business partner, Autumn, asked him to make puzzles for their son with Fragile X Syndrome to help with visual reception and fine motor skills. After crafting a large puzzle for their son’s school art auction, Lance was inspired to really delve into designing puzzles. Since puzzles were originated using a jigsaw machine, and Lance’s father started Green Tree’s parent company over 30 years ago using the same type of machine, it’s only fitting that Green Tree creates puzzles today.

Mission breakdown:

- Eco-Friendly

o Material

o Wood - We only purchase our wood from FSC Wood suppliers

o Bamboo – One of the most sustainable materials on earth because it’s a grass that grows back extremely fast

o Recycled office Paper – Sourced locally in San Diego and processed using only heat and water

- Made in the USA

o San Diego, CA

o Made in USA also means eco-friendly. Buying overseas goods generally means you’re exporting and enlarging your carbon footprint and supporting little-to- no human and eco standards and protections.

-Love Language of Gifting

o Gifting has been an integral part of our growth with feedback

o Our way to give back – we love supporting local charities and giving back directly! Please contact us, as we would love to hear about any events and opportunities we can donate product.

Summary:

Green Tree Jewelry is a family owned business in San Diego, CA. We proudly design and craft lightweight, eco-friendly wood and bamboo jewelry, as well as wooden jigsaw puzzles, wood home décor, and holiday items (also offered in 100% recycled paper) right here in the United States. Our jewelry findings are hypoallergenic stainless steel, which is great for sensitive ears. Our wood is reforested and we use a water-based dye process (with over 30 different colors available), allowing for an eco-friendly jewelry option. We also offer custom designs and with our full color process, have the ability to print high-resolution images on one side of the wood, leaving the back side natural to double as an essential oil diffuser!