I'm Ian Thomas McNair. I am a history enthusiast, world traveler, husband, and, as you might have realized by now, I am a decoy carver.

I am a very fortunate individual to have learned the art of decoy carving at an early age from my father, Mark McNair. www.mcnairart.com  While I have memories of whittling at a much younger age, I carved and painted my first decoy at age 10. It was a yellow perch fish decoy. I spent my childhood attending the annual Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland playing with my brother and sister under the display tables and absorbing the world of ducks, decoys, and masters around me. 

In 2014, two decades after I made my first carving, I entered the world of decoy carving as a full time profession. I have carved decoys from Alaska to St. Thomas, as of 2019 my family and I have settled back where it all started on the Eastern Shore of VA.

I have an older sister, Delana, who lives with her family in England.  My younger brother Colin works for Copley Fine arts in Boston as their decoy specialist.  He is also an accomplished artist.  www.colinmcnair.com  My Mom, Martha, also made a few decoys back in the day, but is the one who helped us with our more formal education and managing the McNair homestead.  

Aside from carving I co-founded High ‘N Dry in 2015 with lifelong friend Brian Terry. At High ‘N Dry we designed and created the first industrial grade chest wader to be used in the aquaculture industry in Virginia’s Eastern Shore. We have expanded our designs for duck hunters and fisherman in the latest models, our products can be found at www.hndoutdoors.com