For 26 years I owned a retail store in rural Vermont, working with other artists to help them develop and market their work, while longing to have the time to create work of my own. I graduated from Smith College’s Ada Comstock Scholars program for “women of non traditional age” (at age 54) with an art degree and began my personal creative journey. My inspiration comes from ….well…everywhere! A pair of old boots by the door, a chipmunk running amok in the garden, a pitchfork hanging out in the barn, are all subjects to be illustrated and everyday is a journey to find the next visual treasure.
Casco Totes
Our first Casco Tote was created more than 30 years ago and is still going strong. Eric Baldwin began this company when he saw a product idea that could benefit his customers. After exploring ideas such as awnings, tents, and covers we dedicated ourselves to reducing waste by creating a line of bags that are user-friendly, attractive and durable.
Alpha Libra
As a self trained artist and designer, I am guided by my imagination and inspired by color. When my first son was born, I became interested in finding a way to have a career that not only I could be in charge of but one that would fulfill me as a human being. After years of being obsessed with colorful textiles, I realized I had the capability to make anything I could dream up. I taught myself to screen print and a whole new world opened up to me. I started with baby t shirts but soon found that I couldn’t stop there. I went on to print onto women’s clothing and then started designing, sewing and printing home textiles.
Now as a single mother to 2 boys I find myself reaping the fruits of my labors. I live in between Belfast and a small island in east Penobscot Bay where I help run the island; managing the rentals and boat company, throwing fabulous parties and events and running my small boutique out the ballroom of an old farmhouse. This place is my safe haven, my paradise and between having the honor of being there and having a created a business getting to do what I love in the winter in a town I adore, I feel that I have modeled for my boys the idea that following your instincts and doing what you love will bring you joy. The difficulties and hard work with all of this are totally worth it and, in my opinion, the secret to having a happy life.
LaForest -Tree of Life Sculptures
My Husband Pete & I are self taught…we started making candles in 1972 ….that evolved into many adventures until we hit upon Jewelry….starting with horseshoe nails working our way eventually to silver and gold and bead weaving. Pete joined me full time in 1984. In the summer of 2017 we met a wonderful Tree Artisan who after I exclaimed” OH WOW….I would love to make one !!!” has helped us along in our new adventure. Little did we know at the time I would need the peacefulness of creating these Tree of Life Sculptures after being diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2018. We are inspired by our Maine “roots” ….both growing up along the shore we just had to incorporate driftwood and working with minerals in our jewelry we just couldn’t leave those behind. We have also always painted mostly for our own pleasure but now we do backgrounds for our tree sculptures with acrylics. I think what we love most and every day are excited about is that each piece we do is inspired by a piece of driftwood …a mineral….a painting…a look out the window…..which leads to a One of a Kind art piece which leads to someone falling in love with it !!
Maine Hill Studio
Made with individually cut and layered fabric, my products are completely unique. I have always loved working with fabric. I began with quilts, and, over the years, I have progressed to making what I call “scenic fabric collages”, which I turn into cards, framed and matted pictures, magnets, luggage tags, and journals.
I hope you enjoy my work as much as I enjoy creating it!
SALLY BATEAU
I’ve been making soap since 2013! I love trying new scents and textures. You can find my soap in my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Sallybateau.
Dulse & Rugosa
Dulse & Rugosa was started from love of place. Years ago when my daughter was little we were the only year round residents on remote Gotts Island. This is an island with no ferry, roads and only solar electricity. In fact, I believe we have and still use one of the first solar panels available. Back then- before internet and cell phones, we were disconnected from the mainland. A business like ours, that grows or wild harvested botanicals from sea and shore could not be successful because marketing opportunities were very limited. Today with all our interconnectedness our business and our island can survive.
I discovered the power of seaweed originally because I struggled with a chronically itchy scalp since my high school days. I tried everything to find a solution including doctors and a wide variety of medicated shampoos. Nothing worked. I began experimenting with natural ingredients and it was seaweed to the rescue. That’s how our shampoo bars began.
Since our early days we’ve become aware of the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans. Finding solutions to this problem is now a cornerstone of our business. It’s our mission to make, pack and ship as zero waste and plastic free as possible.
Dulse & Rugosa, island infused skincare from the rocky coast of Maine.
North Wind Carvings
I love the qualities and warmth of wood. It is a unique material to me. I started carving about 20 years ago as a hobby. I am a retired middle school teacher. I was self taught over many of those years; however, I have also had four courses from a master carver from the United Kingdom, Chris Pye, who taught at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship for many years. As to where I find my inspiration, most of it comes from nature and a love of the outdoors.
Zucchini Fish
The seeds of the Zucchini Fish partnership were sown in 1987 when Carey Marden Shaulus and Stefanie Valovic sat across from one another during 10th grade art class. In 1999 we resumed our creative process of sitting around together, chatting, eating chocolate, cracking ourselves up and making art.
Zucchini was Carey’s pet fish in whose memory ZF was named. A professional photographer and graphic designer, Carey had the idea of starting a card company. At a jack-o’-lantern lit table of a mutual friend’s wedding, Carey asked Stefanie to join up. Our first studio was a small room in Carey’s Jamaica Plain, MA apartment where we struggled to fend off 5 cats from drying sheets of hand printed wrapping paper.
We signed up for a holiday craft fair in Harvard Square in December of 1999. Many (many) years, and many craft fairs later, we have grown a devoted customer base. We scrapped the hand printed wrapping paper and focused on stationary – blank cards, enclosure cards, notepads and a calendar. We endeavor to source the most environmentally friendly papers & packaging for our stationery. All of our products are either produced in our Maine studio or by Maine based partners.
Zucchini Fish has participated in the New England Made Gift Show, Boston Gift Show, Cape Cod Gift Show and The National Stationery Show and lots of craft fairs all over New England. Today our work is sold at gift shops all over the United State.
Carey Marden Shaulus has a degree in Photojournalism and worked for Boston area newspapers for 10 years before cutting loose to work freelance as a photographer, graphic and web designer. Her clients included interior designers, artists, art galleries, visual merchandisers and mall developers. In addition to being the primary Zucchini Fish artist, Carey runs the business of Zucchini Fish out of her studio in North Berwick, Maine.
Stefanie Valovic studied illustration at Parsons School of Design and RISD for two and a half years, and then left art school to study political science at UMass. Her “real art” is mostly figure work, landscapes and doodles. Stefanie has an MBA and now applies her creativity to her work as a public health communications specialist.
Our best ZF moment was when a 10 year old girl dragged her dad into our craft fair tent and said, “Daddy, I LOVE it in here!”
Micki Whelan Jewelry
I grew up in a small town on the Maine coast, where it was quiet and predictable. A nice place to be a kid, but not a hotbed of creative thinking.
Everything changed when my mother’s cousin came to live with us. Pat was an artist and I was an awestruck teenager. She traveled the world, dated famous actors and drove a tiny sports car. Most fascinating to me, she made her living as a painter. I wanted to be just like her.
Pat became a mentor to me and my three sisters. We took drawing and painting classes each summer, and I carried a sketchbook everywhere, because Pat said, ‘inspiration is everywhere’. When the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk offered a jewelry-making class, I showed up with a stack of drawings. I fell in love with metal; it became my medium and eventually my livelihood.
I made jewelry and tabletop accessories for over 30 years and learned something new most days. In addition to exhibiting in countless wholesale and retail venues, I served as a consultant, a juror, a board member and a promoter in the fine craft field.
The transition from jewelry to two-dimensional art began in earnest in 2013 when I moved back to Maine after many years away. Recent encaustic work focuses on subtraction over addition, incorporating oil stick, graphite, charcoal and occasional found objects.
A life-long minimalist with a deep respect for Carmen Herrerra, Agnes Martin and Ellsworth Kelly, I strive for simplicity and intention in everything I do.