Ross McKnight
Founder, De Nux Artisans
Native of Covington, Louisiana, owner of Backwater Foie Gras, father of 6, and proud husband, Ross McKnight leads De Nux Artisans in its restorative cultural endeavors.
Ancient crest of the de Nux family: 3 upturned crescents symbolize the family’s service during 3 crusades; a chevron refers to the construction of the Chateau de Nux; a walnut tree recalls the origins of the family name drawn from the walnut-covered estate in Barran, France; the crown of a count (representing the family’s caste) surmounts the crest; unicorns depict the virtues of chastity, courtliness, fearlessness in battle, gentleness, nobility.
NEC FULMEN TIMEO:
“Not even the lightning do I fear.”
De Nux Artisans
In an age where beauty has been stripped from our churches, homes, and everyday environs — from the altar, the throne, and the hearth — and replaced by concrete monoliths, mass-produced furniture, and a soulless materialism in design, something vital has been lost: our story, our culture, and the dignity of everyday life.
At De Nux Artisans, we know that sacred spaces deserve dedicated and earnest craftsmanship. Led by principal designer and woodworker, Ross McKnight, we draw from the Gothic and Romanesque traditions that blossomed at the height of Christendom to restore beauty, history, and meaning to your sanctuary, home, or chapel.
We build what heirs yearn to receive: sacred, storied furnishings for hearth, altar, and throne — handmade with reverence for the past and purpose for the future.
Ready to begin your design journey? Let’s build tradition: Send us an email.
De Nux Origins
From walnut-covered estate to old-growth, cypress swamps …
Having served God and King for centuries, defending Christendom during three crusades, La Famille de Nux was a perfect microcosm of the Western ideal: lords of a rural county faithfully discharging their duties to the lower and the higher orders alike - which is why, perhaps, the destruction of this family was an object of the thugs of the French Revolution who ousted Dominique de Nux from the ancestral lands.
Less than a century later, the de Nux heir, Émeric, made the difficult decision to uproot the living tree of Tradition and plant it in the wet and fertile soil of Louisiana.
“The Revolution was repelled, but not vanquished.” - Émeric de Nux, 1866
His farewell to Europe (an essay defending the principle of Authority and the office of the papacy) entitled “Rome or Malta” indicates a recollected mind, an intellect totally comprehending its origin and place in history and, moreover, the necessity of maintaining the mission:
”Let us take care: the Revolution moves in leaps and bounds; she slips in everywhere, she overwhelms us. All of the institutions, all of the laws, all of the thrones are menaced by her. An abyss opens here beneath our feet; Anarchy; in perhaps a few more days, after a few efforts, she will cast us into it. Now is not the time merely to despise her, to scorn her, to disregard her; we must enter the fray, we must fight. We cannot wait to resist, or resistance will no longer be possible.”
At De Nux Artisans, Ross McKnight (3X great-grandson of Émeric de Nux) and his team fight against the war on beauty, the attack of ugliness waged by the Revolution, recalling and transporting the architectural and design ideals of Western Tradition into the present via works of wood - for the honor and the glory and the love of God.
Honor the past. Preserve the Tradition. Bear the torch.
Nec fulmen timeo.