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Sig's Pine Cone Nisse — Incense Cone Holder
Sig's Pine Cone Nisse — Incense Cone Holder
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Sig's Pine Cone Nisse — Incense Cone Holder
Cast, Finished And Packed By Hand In A Decorah Basement
Sig Haugen, 69, has sold at the Nordic Fest and the Vesterheim Christmas market for twenty-nine years. A mold gives about five hundred good pulls and he isn't cutting another — these are the last 412 he will ever pour.
“My grandmother said you never saw the nisse. He was out in the barn all night, he noticed everything, and on a cold morning the only sign he'd been there was his breath hanging in the air. I spent two winters working out how to make one you could actually watch breathe. Everything else about him — the hat, the beard, the weight of him — came after that.”
— Sig Haugen, Decorah, IowaLight a cone, set him down, and give it about five seconds. The smoke takes a moment to find the opening and then it comes out in one thin line, straight from under the nose. Children lie on the floor with their chins on the table waiting for it. Adults claim they don't.
He lived in the barn, he looked after the animals, and on Christmas Eve he expected a bowl of rice porridge with butter on top. Treat him well and the farm did well. Forget the butter and the cows went dry. He isn't jolly. He's watchful — and that's a different thing.
Poured in stone resin, a blend heavy with mineral powder, so he comes out of the mold with real heft. Not hollow plastic that walks across the table when a door shuts. He sits where you put him.
Each cast cures overnight and then the beard and the nose are brushed by hand. It's the part a machine pass leaves flat, and it's the reason two of these side by side don't shade the same.
A nisse is a household figure, not a seasonal novelty. Buyers keep him going on a desk or a hall table through the year with cedar or sandalwood. Eleven months in a drawer was never the idea.
Most are crooked, or the scales never opened, or a squirrel got the top. The keepers dry six weeks on a rack above the furnace before a mold is taken. One cone is the whole run — every hat in this batch is that same cone's fingerprint.
“Let me be straight about what this is, because people get romantic about it and then they're disappointed. The hat is not a pine cone. It's a cast of one — a specific cone I picked up off the ground out past the river, dried six weeks and took a silicone mold from. A real cone would crumble in your hand by February and it certainly wouldn't hold an ember. I don't make the incense either; that's somebody else's trade. What I do is the mold work, the pour and the finishing, and I've done that for a living since before this was a gnome. That's the honest version, and it's the one I'd rather sell.”
Sig Haugen · pattern-maker and caster, 29 years at the markets, Decorah, Iowa- One of the final 412. A silicone mold gives roughly five hundred good pulls before the scales go soft and you're selling a blur. This one came off a cone Haugen found in October 2023, and he isn't cutting another — this is his last winter doing the markets.
- Cast from one specific cone. Not sculpted, not a generic pine-cone texture. Every scale, ridge and flaw on the hat came off a single white pine cone picked up off the ground in northeast Iowa.
- Built around the smoke, not fitted with it. The interior recess and the channel to the mouth were designed first. The figure was shaped around them.
- Finished by hand, one at a time. Overnight cure, then beard and nose laid on with a brush.
- Incense is not included, deliberately. He takes standard cones. Balsam is what people around Decorah use; cedar and sandalwood are the two most common year-round.
Put him where you pictured him and light one cone. If he isn't right for the room, send him back within 30 days for a full refund — one email, no photographs, no explanation needed. A cast piece either suits the spot it ends up in or it doesn't, and that is difficult to judge from a screen.
| What it is | A decorative holder for incense cones, in the form of a nisse with a pine cone hat |
| Height | 4.5 in / 11.5 cm |
| Width & depth | 2.75 in / 7 cm |
| Weight | About 10 oz / 285 g |
| Material | Stone resin, cast from a mold taken off a real white pine cone; beard and nose hand-finished |
| Takes | Standard incense cones up to 1 in / 2.5 cm tall — placed in the recess in the back |
| Incense included | No — sold separately, buy whatever you like the smell of |
| Care | Use on a heat-safe surface; the resin warms while a cone burns. Wipe with a dry cloth. Not dishwasher-safe, not for outdoor use. |
| Made by | Sig Haugen, Decorah, Iowa — pattern-maker and caster, 29 years at the Nordic Fest and Vesterheim Christmas market |
| Shipping | Free U.S. shipping, 2–3 business days |
| Remaining stock | 412 from the final pour — no reorder |
Safety: burning incense produces heat and smoke. Use on a heat-safe surface — a tile, a saucer, a stone coaster — keep clear of curtains, greenery and anything else that catches, and never leave a burning cone unattended. Keep out of reach of children and pets. This is a decorative incense holder: it is not an air purifier, not an insect repellent, and no health claims are made for it.
Why Birds Love It
Why Birds Love It
Water brings more birds than seed.
Most bird baths are too deep for small songbirds. This one is shallow on purpose: the raised hem holds about a pint, just right for finches, chickadees and sparrows to drink and splash. The little bird on her hand works as a perch, the layered leaves guide rain into the bowl, and the bronze and verdigris finish makes it the prettiest corner of the yard.
Free US Shipping
Free US Shipping
Free shipping across the United States
- Delivery time: 3–5 business days
- Carefully packed and shipped with tracking
- Arrives ready to use: set it on level ground and fill the bowl
- Size: about 14 in (35 cm) tall, the bowl holds about 1 pint
- 30-day money-back guarantee — just email info@cedarandtinco.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Email us anytime at info@cedarandtinco.com. We answer Monday–Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 10am–3pm (ET). Whether it’s about your order, placement tips, or just to say hello — a real person writes back.
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Of course. 30-day money-back guarantee. If it simply isn’t right for you, email info@cedarandtinco.com within 30 days for a full refund. No questions, and US shipping is free.