Our Story

Nick and Brooke

Nick is a creative entrepreneur with 10+ years fabrication experience, 19+ years of art experience, 8+ years of cabinetry and carpentry experience, and 10+ years of engineering and manufacturing experience.

After receiving his MFA in the visual arts from Minneapolis College of Art and Design (2016), Rivers turned his career away from additive manufacturing and prototyping towards creative endeavors in public art, design, and fabrication. In 2014, he started a small side business called OPAL: Objects and Places Activating Lives. Over the past 5 years Nick took on a wide variety of projects under the OPAL brand: custom railings, home remodels, design, public art projects, Museum exhibition fabrication and more. His ability to collaborate, network, adapt, learn, and partner well with other talented people has allowed his technical expertise and craftsmanship to flourish and broaden. Nick’s vision for OPAL, and subsequently Northeast Bladecutters, was slowly realized through the continuous support, motivation and partnership from his amazing, business-savvy wife, Brooke. Northeast Bladecutters is the culmination of 5 years of hard work as a young entrepreneur. The acquisition of Bladecutters,Inc was a strategic choice to even greater equip Nick with the ability to create objects and places which activate people’s lives. Nick is the 2017 Harpo Emerging Artist Fellow and 2017 Franconia Open Studio Fellow. Up until 2020 he also taught at Minneapolis College of Art and Design and still mentors aspiring makers.

NE Bladecutters is truly a family endeavor.  Brooke works behind the scenes to make sure that everything is running smoothly, while Nick is the creative talent behind the design and execution of each product. Together they parent two amazing girls, Josie (6) and Luella (4).

Most importantly though, at NEBC we have skilled workers deploying their craftsmanship. With two full-time fabricators / carpenters, a few occasional workers, and Nick frantically bouncing from welding to designing to answering phone calls we have an excellent team who strives to create great things for all of our clients.

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Our Office and Shop — 3134 California Street NE Suite 102 and 104 - Minneapolis, MN 55418