Located in Cumberland County, Freeport, Maine is perhaps best known for its picturesque outlet stores—even the local McDonald’s has been designed to look like a quaint bed and breakfast. No wonder Yankee Magazine named it “Best Shopping Town in New England.”

Once part of North Yarmouth, Freeport broke off and became its own entity on February 14, 1789. Bordering Brunswick and Durham to the north, Freeport shares borders with Cumberland and Harpswell in Casco Bay. In 1912, Leon Leonwood Bean changed the tenor of the town forever when he began selling the Bean boot in his apparel shop, L.L. Bean, Freeport’s main attraction.

Beyond L.L. Bean, here are five finds in Freeport you don’t want to miss.

Jill McGowan
Location: 56 Main Street

Jill McGowan, a former menswear pattern maker, and her sister and business partner, Jolene McGowan, created their first line—a collection of women’s white shirts—over 20 years ago. The pair started making their own clothes for school in the ’70s, using material and notions from the local fabric store. As entrepreneurs, they were on a mission to create the perfect garment, and so the Great White Shirt was born. Today their iconic shirts and seasonal collections—all made in the USA—can be found in their flagship Freeport store, as well as online and in stores throughout the country.

Azure Cafe
123 Main Street

A few doors down from L.L. Bean, Azure Cafe is owned by Jonas and Kate Werner. The couple left the corporate world in 2003 to open a cafe that features fresh, local ingredients. Their housemade New England Clam Chowder won Freeport’s Chowder Challenge—no small feat in a state known for fresh seafood—and picked up Yankee Magazine’s Editors Choice Award. Dine in or outside under their red umbrellas and watch the hustle and bustle pass you by.

RD Allen
13 Middle Street

If you want something to remember your Maine trip by, RD Allen’s affordable Maine watermelon tourmaline could be just the thing. Customers can pick the gem of their choice and help design a piece suited for them on site. In business for 11 years, RD Allen has been voted Best of the Best jewelry and gift store a few times over. Staff artisans handcraft everything from diamond earrings to lobster pendants and, yes, dog tags.

New Beginnings Consignment Boutique
27 Bow Street

Sure, outlets offer lower prices. But savvy shoppers will love the options at New Beginnings Consignment Boutique, Freeport’s first-rate consignment shop. If you are looking for that designer dress and heels or a trendy new bag, this is a must stop. Brands from Burberry and Garnet Hill, to Coach and Boden are not uncommon. Their slogan—“The Look for Less”—means you could leave with a treasure or three.

Scott Bowe Art Gallery
32 Maine Street

Scott Bowe Art Gallery is a mecca for local artists and dedicated to supporting their work. Why not top off your Freeport visit with a piece of Maine art? If you stop by the gallery, your chances of getting to talk with the artist are pretty good.

Top image: Photo courtesy of Azure Cafe.

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Finding inspiration in their childhood memories of growing up on the Maine coast, Hayley and Blair Griffin, the sisters behind Eklund Griffin, use the beauty around them as inspiration for their one-of-a-kind handbags and totes. “Maine is everything to us: it’s our color palette, our work ethic, our backdrop, our context, our support system,” says Blair, noting the sisters spent summers lobstering and camping with their father, who was a lobsterman.

Eklund Griffin—a combination of the sisters’ last name and that of their great-grandparents—has been in the works since 2012, although it didn’t officially launch until 2016. The Griffin sisters realized after completing college and working for other companies that they “wanted to make something together,” Blair says.

Blair says Haley was more sure than she was of the need to lead a creative life. Haley started a small Etsy shop after graduating from Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, always knowing she wanted to go bigger. But she needed a business partner, so she waited for Blair to graduate with a business degree from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts.

Photo by Emily Delamater

What started out as a plan to only launch one design (The Infinity Tote) has turned into a collection. “It was a slow progression, bootstrapping the research and development phase for four products,” says Blair, but “through conversations with mentors, we went back to the drawing board to offer a stronger collection.”

The duo initially wanted to design bags with no black color option. But after listening to customers repeatedly ask for a black version, they had a lightbulb moment and were reminded black is classic and will never go out of style.

Photo by Emily Delamater

The sisters create in their studio, which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. “We’re fortunate to have a family home big enough to accommodate all of us. We live together in the house my father grew up in and have converted the master bedroom into our home studio,” says Blair. “It’s a beautiful space with tons of sun and a view of the Atlantic. We’re looking forward, and simultaneously not looking forward, to the day we have to find a workspace outside of the house.”

Hayley and Blair Griffin- handbag designers, Eklund Griffin
Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Website
Facebook
Instagram

Top image, Rope Wristlet. Photo by Hayley Griffin.

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Unlike many custom furniture makers, Steve Ryder’s material of choice is veneer, a thin decorative coating that is applied to a coarser wood. A master manipulator, he uses tiny pieces of the material to create interesting and unusual effects with a technique called sand shading. “By placing the ends of veneer into hot sand, a fading burn is created giving the illusion of being woven,”he says, “but it’s actually assembled like a jigsaw puzzle with all the little pieces taped together then glued down.”

Although Ryder graduated with a degree in biology, he knew his destiny was to design furniture soon after he started working as carpenter during the summer. He realized, he says, that his true passion was to “build stuff.” Ryder decided to study at The Chippendale International School of Furniture, where he says his favorite part of the program was exploring some local homes and studying the lines in the antique furniture and restoring some of the pieces.

Ryder’s pieces are inspired by other Maine woodworkers but says his customers play a significant role in his designs, too. He talks to each customer about various woods that can be used to build a piece of furniture that will speak to them and yet be built within their budget.

Star Wars table. Photo by Woody Leland.

Ryder’s focus is always to bring out the best in each piece of veneer, and then design around that. First he makes a sketch and then process takes on a life of its own. “I do a few simple drawings to get started but I really enjoy designing as I go,” he says. For insurance Ryder makes prototypes out of less expensive pieces of wood “to test out the look and the process.”

Ryder has been known as the “veneer guy” ever since he worked in a small veneer shop, Veneer Services Unlimited in Kennebunkport, doing small custom architectural layups for cabinet makers. Ryder has also taught veneering classes at Rockler Woodworking, a retail woodworking store. “If anyone had a question about veneering, they were sent to me,” he says.

Cabinet photo by Woody Leland.

After gaining confidence and experience building and designing for family and friends, Ryder opened his own shop and began showing his wares at art shows and galleries around New England. He added smaller items, such as bud vases, to his line because he wanted people “to have something to buy and walk out of the show with in hand,” he says.

Ryder sees more than just designing and building one-of-a-kind pieces in his future. “It’s a dream to be able to purchase the shop I now rent that’s located across the Saco River,” he says, “and put a shop in the front with my work and pieces from other Maine artists.”

Steve Ryder-Furniture Maker
Saco, Maine
Website
Facebook

Top image, rosewood table by Steve Ryder. Photo by Woody Leland

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Walking into any one of Maine’s three Holy Donut operations is an all-five-senses experience. The line twists out the door as funky music plays overhead. The smell of fried sugar has your mouth on salivation alert as your eyes go directly to the tantalizing wall of donuts. Runners literally finish up a few miles on Saturday mornings at this location, as it’s the perfect place to reward their hard work.

At Holy Donut, the energy is high and the line moves fast. Employees behind the counter quickly take orders and pack up white cardboard boxes with donut flavors that range from triple berry, fresh lemon, and coconut, to their most popular donut: the dark chocolate sea salt.

The secret (until you read this, of course) ingredient in these popular donuts came from a friend of Holy Donut owner Leigh Kellis. He suggested Kellis try potatoes in her donuts, noting, “Potato makes everything better.” Turns out he was right. “We have always used real Maine potato,” says Kellis. “In addition to wheat flour, Maine potato adds moisture and a texture that is delicious.”

Kellis turned to making donuts for a living because she was longing for a project and had a serious craving for some comfort food—donuts, to be specific. She decided Portland needed a good donut shop so in 2011, Kellis started honing her skills in her home kitchen. Using Maine’s largest crop proved the perfect combination and selling point. Countless test donuts later, Holy Donut was born.

Keillis’ first wholesale order was a dozen donuts a day for a local coffee shop. Now, six years later, Holy Donut has 80 employees and makes over two million donuts a year. With three locations—two in Portland and one in Scarborough—Holy Donut often sells out early, closing its doors when the supply runs out. Kellis admits making the right amount of donuts can be tricky.

Holy Donut makes about 20 tried-and-true flavors daily, including plenty of gluten-free selections. These beauties are as healthy as donuts can get, Kellis says. “We use all natural, from-scratch ingredients. Cage-free eggs, unbleached wheat flour, real potato, and real buttermilk make all the difference,” she says. “We also roast our own sweet potatoes for sweet potato donuts (my other favorite!) and make glazes with real fruits and only vegetable coloring. Never fake stuff!”

Leigh Kellis-Owner, the Holy Donut
Portland, Maine
Website
Facebook
Instagram

Top image courtesy of Leigh Kellis

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Take is going on the road, checking out New England’s corners for everything from the best bodegas to tiny galleries and music spots. We’ll be adding towns as we come across them. Check back regularly for the latest New England finds. First up? Brunswick, Maine, home to a lot more than Bowdoin College.

Settled in 1628, Brunswick was initially known by its Native American name, Pejepscot. Indeed, the town’s website, notes that Maine Street—yes, that’s with an “e” of course—was “laid out by the ‘Pejepscot Proprietors’ in 1717 at a width of 12 rods (198 feet) so that travelers between Fort Pejepscot on the Androscoggin River and Maquoit Bay would always be nearly 100 feet from the woods on each side, providing protection from ambush.”

Another historical tidbit? Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabinˆwhile living in Brunswick where her husband taught at Bowdoin. She apparently, or so the story goes, got a vision for the book while praying in First Parish Church, which still sits in the center of town.

Here are five finds in Brunswick, Maine for you to check out during your next visit.

Photo by Katie Bingham-Smith

Danny’s Hot Dog Stand

Locals and visitors alike know that Danny’s is the place to go if you’ve got a hankering for a hot dog. Danny’s has been selling hot dogs—steamed or grilled, you decide—since 1982. Allow a little extra time to grab lunch as the line, while speedly, is almost always long. You can grab a dog, chips, and a drink for around $5.
Location: On the town green, 171-181 Maine Street, Brunswick, Maine

Photo courtesy of Estilo

Estilo

Estilo is the kind of resale place where you just never know what you’ll find. One day, you could score a pair of Frye boots, another day a Coach bag or one-of-a-kind jewelry. Locals know about Estilo. Now you do, too. You’re welcome.
Location: 10 Pleasant Street, Brunswick, Maine

Photo courtesy of Wilbur’s of Maine Chocolate Confections

Wilbur’s of Maine Chocolate Confections

Wilbur’s Of Maine Chocolate Confection’s is a bit of a mouthful, which seems appropriate given that filling your mouth—and belly—with delectable chocolate wonderfulness is their raison d’etre. With a focus on all things local, the family-owned business’s panoply of chocolate offerings includes chocolate-covered blueberries as well as chocolate-covered caramel with Maine sea salt.
Location: 143 Maine Street, Brunswick, Maine

Photo courtesy of Kings and Queens Hair Studio

Kings and Queens Hair Studio

Kings and Queens is both a throwback to the barbershops of yesteryear and a hair studio with its finger on what’s coming in hairstyles. Need a straight razor shave? A classic fade with custom designs? Extensions? Kings and Queens can likely help you.
Location: 50 Maine Street, Brunswick, Maine

Photo by Katie Bingham-Smith

Wyler’s

Wyler’s may have started as a pottery shop, but it’s grown into eclectic store that offers everything from women’s clothing to hand-crafted jewelry from Maine artists, accessories and toys. It’s a great shop to browse; you’re sure to find a gift for a friend and go home with something for yourself.
Location: 150 Maine Street, Brunswick, Maine

Top image Wilbur’s of Maine Chocolate Confections

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It turns out that when it comes to the prestigious James Beard awards, the third time is the charm for Portland, Maine, restauranteurs Michael Wiley and his partner, Andrew Taylor. They won this year in the Best Chef: Northeast category after being nominated in 2015 and 2016. The last chef from Maine to win this award was Melissa Kelly, back in 2013.

Wiley says he has his mother to thank for his award-winning career. She’s the one who got him started cooking. “When I was a child I frequently cooked alongside my mother in the kitchen,” he says.

Today he and Taylor operate three restaurants in Portland—Hugo’s, Eventide Oyster Co., and The Honey Paw. All three focus on fresh and local food. Hugo’s, which is where Wiley and Taylor met in 2010 when they were both chefs, is the incubator for all three restaurants.  “At Hugo’s, we are methodical and technique-driven. Chefs are encouraged to utilize the highest-level of ingredients available from a tight-knit network of local purveyors, allowing Hugo’s to constantly evolve,” Wiley says. “We then use a lot of that creative technique we developed at Hugo’s at both Eventide Oyster Co. and The Honey Paw.”

Sharing a kitchen encourages chefs across the three properties to collaborate and exchange ideas. Still, each restaurant has its own niche. Eventide Oyster Co. focuses, as its name implies, on the freshest seafood available pulled from nearby Casco Bay and the greater Gulf of Maine. The Honey Paw, the newest of the restaurants, explores international flavors. “We wanted to experiment with the culinary cultures of Southeast Asia, China, and beyond,” he says of The Honey Paw. “We really wanted to serve comfort food—heaping portions of noodles, umami-laden rice bowls, large-format Korean Fried Chicken. The food at The Honey Paw is supposed to be fun, but prepared with the same skill and attention to ingredients as both Hugo’s and Eventide Oyster Co.”

Korean Fried Chicken + Cornbread

Wiley says he and Taylor focus on using the best ingredients possible while presenting them in a thoughtful way throughout all three of their restaurants. “No matter what type of food, the local ingredients are what shine through,” he says.

Wiley, who grew up in New Hampshire, went to Colby College in Maine. He went out west after graduation, supporting his love of skiing by working in several different restaurants. Taylor, originally from Massachusetts, came to Maine to attend Bates College. After spending years traveling across the country from Seattle to Boston, he missed Maine and took a position at Hugo’s, which is known for its New England fare.

Andrew Taylor and Michael Wiley, photo by Zack Bowen

Growing up, Taylor spent time scavenging for wild oysters and mussels while vacationing on Cape Cod. “I’ve always had a passion for seafood and local ingredients,” he says. Not surprisingly, then, his favorite dish to make is Eventide’s Fish Sandwich. “It’s our take on the Filet-O-Fish,” he says. “It hits all the right comfort food notes, but it’s infinitely more complex.”

While some might bemoan Maine’s seasonal cycle, Wiley says the short growing cycle pushes them to think outside the box and be more creative. “Maine has the most amazing bounty—vegetables, seafood, meats. We really have a lot to work with,” he says. And Portland’s strong restaurant scene means they get to experiment to their hearts’ content.

Michael Wiley–co-owner, Hugo’s, Eventide Oyster Co, and The Honey Paw
Portland, Maine
Hugo’s website
Hugo’s Facebook
Eventide Oyster Co. website
Eventide Oyster Co. Facebook
The Honey Paw website
The Honey Paw Facebook

Top image, brown butter lobster roll, photo by Zack Bowen

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Keven Higgins has been reading wood since his father taught him the skill. Knots in wood aren’t defects to be ignored; they’re a message from the wood for how it should be worked. “They are an obvious visual clue that the piece isn’t veneer, and they add interest,” he says.

As a child, he spent afternoons in his family’s basement, building chess boards, bookcases, tables—even a crossbow. “I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy as the days spent alone in our basement making things,” he says.

Although Higgins grew up working in wood, however, he initially didn’t follow his heart’s passion. He entered the Army and then worked in the corporate world. However, after getting caught up in trying to have all the right things—the right home, the right car, the right clothes—Higgins realized how much he disliked his life, and himself. It was time to get back on track to his true calling. “I bought a small welder, and I asked my younger brother to teach me how to use it,” he says. “I went to Dad’s house and borrowed his wood tools again. I built a wood and steel coffee table and sold it,” he says. Higgins Fabrication was born, and he hasn’t looked back.

Higgins gets much of the custom slabs he uses to create his furniture from King’s Mountain Hardwood in Orrington, Maine, a one-man operation located in an 1800s barn. “It’s incredible to be able to buy it fifteen minutes from my shop,” he says.

While it would admittedly be easier to use a composite product rather than wood to create the tables Higgins is known for, composites lack soul, he says. “When you look at a real, solid board, you can see the growth rings and easily visualize the round tree it came out of,” he says. “You can see the dark heartwood and know that part of the tree lived way before you did. It reminds you of the tree on your parents’ lawn. It makes you feel something.”

Rather than simply offer them a finished product, Higgins involves his customers in the design process. That custom piece then becomes a piece to inspire the next customer’s design.

Finishing with a lacquer topcoat is his favorite step in the furniture-making process. “The pieces always looks a bit drab and dusty until that lacquer hits it, and then all the colors and figure come leaping out all at once,” he says. “You never really know what something is going to look like until you hit that step.”

Originally from Eddington, Maine, Higgins finds his home state a place of constant inspiration. “Nothing is anonymous, no one can hide, and that keeps people on their best behavior,” he says. “We’re all connected and share a community, so we treat each other a little better.”

Keven Higgins–furniture maker, Higgins Fabrication
Holden, Maine
Website
Facebook
Instagram

Photos courtesy of Keven Higgins

The post The Wood Reader appeared first on Take Magazine.

Singer and songwriter Jenny Van West of Portland, Maine, has been singing her whole life. “I had the good fortune to go to schools with strong music programs,” she says. “We would sing everything from hymns to songs from South Pacific. We were expected to learn music theory starting in the 4th grade.”

Van West began playing guitar and writing songs during her teen years, but took a break from writing as she thought she lacked talent in that area. “Fast forward to six years ago when I realized that if I could become teachable, I could learn to write songs as well.”

Jenny Van West, photo by Jeff Van West

The realization liberated Van West, although she admits she wrote lot of bad songs in between the good ones. In 2015, she put out her first full-length CD, Something Real, went on the road for the first time, and won the Maine Songwriters Association songwriting contest. “I suppose that shows we aren’t always right about ourselves and can do a lot more than we think we can,” she says.

Growing up near the banks of the Potomac River in Maryland, Van West lived all over New England before settling in Maine in 2005. “We chose Portland. Portland is equal parts salt water, granite, old brick buildings, good food, art, and grit,” Van West says. “Portland has a lot of integrity as a city. There is also tremendous cultural diversity here. If you are lucky like me, you get to hang out with people from all over the world. If you asked for 100 Maine musicians who have positively impacted me,” she adds, “I could write you a book.”

Currently Van West is working on her second album, Happiness to Burn, which will feature ten original songs. It is set to release in October. “This album represents a major leap for me artistically, and I’m extremely proud of what it’s becoming.”

Jenny Van West, photo by Titi de Baccarat

She recently played a sold-out show at the Stoltz Listening Room at the Avalon Theater in Easton, Maryland, and sang for 9,000 people at the Women’s March in Augusta, Maine, last January. “Everyone should be singing and making music all the time,” she says. “It should be completely normalized.”

Right now Van West is loving Emmy Lou Harris’ Wrecking Ball album, Rose Cousin’s song “Chosen”, and Shane Alexander’s “Nobody’s Home.” Van West is also a huge fan of local artist Jaw Gems. You can hear these tunes and more on our Take a Listen Spotify channel that features staff listening picks and top tunes chosen by musicians we interview. Take a Listen.

Jenny Van West–Musician
Portland, Maine
Website
Facebook
Instagram

Top image by Elizabeth Harvey

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Jewelry designer Pamela DeSantis can be found beach combing for precious stones throughout the year on Maine’s coast. “From a beach stone to a Herkimer Diamond, I can find beauty in them all,” she says. “I love their energy, and the folklore and mysticism around stones, the powers attributed to them by people and healers throughout the ages.”

Born in Connecticut, DeSantis and her family spent part of their summer vacations along the Maine shore, and in the early ’90s, they decided to make the move here full-time. She followed after studying journalism at Southern Connecticut State University honor’s college. It was at college that she discovered stone sculpture. “I come from a long line of artists so I naturally gravitated toward creative work and design,” says DeSantis, who lives in Kennebunkport in a little 1790s cape with her three kids.

The dramatic changes in Maine’s climate infuse DeSantis’ work, and she says the cycles of the moon, the tides, and the changing seasons soothe her soul and spark her creativity. “Even the long winters, I have to admit, can be hard, but I have learned to find beauty and inspiration in the barren and lifeless as well as in the cycle of life and death,” she says. “Long, slow moving winters are a great time to hunker down in a cozy warm space and create, create, create. And then the quick lusty summers provide just the right vibrant energy to get out and hustle and mingle and sell my work.”

DeSantis has a strong passion for using stones in her designs. She finds them on the beach, in the woods, and even has some experience mining for them in Maine. She uses material from her home state, as well as other places, and chooses stones with the qualities attributed to their energies in mind.

Somtimes, DeSantis sends clients to Sue Gordon at Zen & Company in Lower Village Kennebunk, so they can pick a stone that will feed the kind of energy that suits them. From that, she makes a unique piece that serves a purpose and feeds their energy. “It’s a loving, magical process all around,” she says. “And people really seem to love having a wearable, meaningful work of healing art designed just for them. Something sacred and personal.”

In addition to drawing inspiration from nature and the stones she uses, DeSantis is also inspired by architecture from different cultures around the world. “I draw on all of this in my work, and I strive to create pieces that have a story to tell that pay homage to their wearer. I think of my design style as being ‘Primitive Royal.'”

DeSantis doesn’t mind a nick or a tool mark in her pieces. Instead, she prefers a natural looking piece that isn’t polished and has a setting that tells a story. “I love creating natural environments for a stone to live, that honor the energy of the stone and the wearer,” she says.

Pamela DeSantis–jewelry designer
Honey Tribe Jewelry
Kennebunkport, Maine
Website
Instagram
Facebook
Etsy

Photos by Libby Connelly and Danielle Dutile.

The post Finding Her Tribe appeared first on Take Magazine.

For Maine sculptor Lin Lisberger, each sculpture represents “a moment in time and space and the life of a tree.” Born in Connecticut, Lin came to summer camp in Maine as a child and decided to move to the Pine Tree State in 1975. “I’ve lived in the woods of Gorham for over 30 years,” she says. “I am very lucky to have this natural environment as a background and a backdrop.”

Lin Lisberger, BLT, Luc Demers photo

While Lisberger has worked in all mediums, including metal and stone, she prefers wood. “Wood is forgiving but not too forgiving,” she says. “It’s heavy but not too heavy. I can carve, construct, take it apart, and put it back together again.”

It was an injury that led Lisberger to sculpture. While studying English and American Literature at The University of California at Santa Cruz, she hurt her hip taking a modern dance class. The injury forced her to drop the class, so she took sculpture to replace it because she couldn’t see herself taking all academic classes. Her childhood memories of watching her mother, who sculpted and called herself a “sometimes carver,” influenced her decision.

Initially, Lisberger spent a few years as a studio potter in Monmouth, Maine, after receiving her BA, but then decided to go to graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania to earn her MFA in sculpture. “I loved making pots,” she says, “but really wanted to make sculpture and to carve.”

Lin Lisberger, See Through, Luc Demers photo

Studying sculpture gave Lisberger an understanding of surface, edge, and form. “I would have learned it on my own,” she says, “but I am in favor of education for interaction.”

Using all local wood, Lisberger says her work is “very specific to Maine.” Her sculptures are carved directly from “whole or laminated healthy native wood.” Maine is a wonderful place to be an artist, she says. “Artists in Maine are allies. They aren’t cutthroat or competitive. You are surrounded with supportive people and camaraderie.”

When she’s not in her studio, Lisberger is an instructor of sculpture, drawing, and 3D design at the University of Southern Maine. Her work has been in exhibits throughout New England.

Lin Lisberger- Sculptor
Portland, Maine
Website
Instagram

Photography by Luc Demers

The post Hand in Carving with Wood appeared first on Take Magazine.