The dawn of a new artist began at a local New Hampshire pet store in 1992. The shop sold preformed ponds and other basic water feature supplies, which tempted a young employee named Sean Frost to try his hand at water garden installation. He sold ponds and was content building them for store customers until fate placed an Aquascape catalog in the store’s mailbox.
Sean Frost was intrigued while flipping through the pages and instinctively knew he was on to something. No one had developed a 20 steps/20 products process like the Aquascape ecosystem pond philosophy.
Fast forward a few years to 2003 when Sean received a request to craft a rather large water feature on a residential property that included a vertical cliff. Sean called Aquascape for technical help and anticipated the arrival of the supplies needed for the challenging job. Sean was still working his pet store job and tackled the massive project during off-hours.
After plenty of blood, sweat, and maybe a few tears, Sean completed an 11’x16’ pond at the top of the cliff, with a waterfall cascading over the cliff into a 20’x25’ pond. The impressive water feature wound up in the pages of Yankee Magazine, much to Sean’s delight. Fate seemed to be sealing his destiny from that point forward. Eventually he started his own pond installation company called Nature Scapes in Grafton, New Hampshire.
Fearful that he might not encounter enough work due to New Hampshire’s six-month pond construction season, Sean partnered with other Certified Aquascape Contractors in various areas of the country, learning new skills and gaining creativity at an accelerated rate as time went on. People started noticing his work and eventually Sean became a consultant on a range of water feature projects and has served as a mentor to budding pond builders across the country.
Sean received the highest accolades from his peers on December 15, 2023, when a group of nine highly talented Certified Aquascape Contractors from around the world gathered to anxiously await the naming of the coveted Artist of the Year award. Each of the nine hopefuls had been voted as a regional winner by their peers. They gathered at Aquascape to present and explain their work to the existing Artists of the Year and select employees of Aquascape, who then voted on a final winner.
“And this year’s winner,” announced Brian Helfrich, vice president of construction at Aquascape, “is Sean Frost of Nature Scapes!” Sean is the 13th artist to receive the distinguished award from Aquascape. He joins a select group of pond builders that excel in crafting natural works of watery art.
When it comes to finding inspiration, Sean only needs to step outside of his cabin for an inspiring view of the Wild Meadow Brook that wraps around his home. Living in the foothills of New Hampshire’s White Mountains provides the never-ending beauty of waterfalls and streams to explore and replicate.
Of all of Sean’s creations over the years, his favorite water feature project is located at Blue Water Manor in Bolting Landing, NY. It was a collaborative project with fellow contractors Fred Pape, April Dugan, John Adams, and Matt Landry.
Sean continues to build, consult, and mentor within the water feature industry. He enjoys being inspired by his peers and in turn, helps those who are starting out.
Learn more about Sean and Nature Scapes at https://www.nhpond.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/Naturescapespro. For more information about Aquascape, Inc., visit https://www.aquascapeinc.com/
Thank you to all of you for the kind words. It is an amazing honor and responsibility. Go out and learn, build and experience the joy of what we do!
Love what you do!
Sean