Rich West has worked in the entertainment industry for over 30 years. He began his career as a prop and model maker, working on television shows for Nickelodeon Studios, Walt Disney Productions, and the Tom Hanks mini-series From The Earth To The Moon. For the past 25 years, he has worked in the theme park industry, with a major emphasis on attraction design, architecture, and show set design. He has lent his talents to Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights as a yearly designer for their haunted houses and street-mosphere. Working as a Designer and Art Director, he has contributed to the development of major attractions for Universal Studios Florida, including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley, The Simpsons Ride, Revenge of the Mummy, Universal's Hollywood Drive-In Golf, and, as Creative Director and Production Designer, the development of the land experience for Dark Universe, a 'classic monsters' land for Universal's Epic Universe. His outside interests include mid-century science fiction and building museum-quality replicas of Hollywood robots and props. To this day, he maintains an ongoing passion for Steinbach and the artists of the Erzgebirge Mountains.
"""Throughout the years, collectors have hungered for more information on their beloved nutcrackers. And with this book, their love and admiration of Steinbach nutcrackers will soar to new heights."" Arlene Wagner Curator The Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum ""So many beautiful and historic Steinbach nutcrackers, many previously unidentified or thought lost to time, have now been captured in this lavishly photographed and documented book by Rich West. Meticulously researched, this book is an invaluable resource for all those captivated by the magic of Steinbach."" Robert Liebich Steinbach GmbH"