I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, crafter, and blogger living in rural New England. As seen in Martha Stewart Living, Food Network Magazine, and more! | Tutorials, DIY, crafts, parenting tips, recipes, money saving tips, product reviews, local product features, New England living, intentional living, and more! |
As you all know by now I love finding and sharing about New England-based businesses, so I was so excited when I came across The Maineland Co. - a small business that creates seasonal subscription boxes that feature Maine-made products. Maineland Co. was kind enough to send me their August Box a little early to share with all of you. | This post contains an honest review of product provided by The Maineland Co. |
The August Box from The Maineland Co. celebrates fair season and BLUEBERRIES! The curated box comes nicely presented and includes a “When Life Gives you Blueberries” t-shirt from Creation Labs, a “Blueberry Rake” spork from Pieces of Maine Jewelry, and a rustic blueberry box from Crafted Downeast.
“When life gives you blueberries…” you make pie and eat it with your blueberry rake of course! I made sure to put the t-shirt and blueberry rake spork to good use to help me enjoy this big ‘ol plate of blueberry pie ;)
And the rustic blueberry crate has so many possibilities! For now I put some hydrangeas in it to dry (it will make such a cute centerpiece on the dining room table), but it would make a great item for kitchen decor or as a catch-all by the door for your keys, wallet, etc.
Maine is well known for it’s blueberries, so what better gift for the blueberry-lover in your life than these fun items that can be enjoyed for many more blueberry seasons to come? But the best thing about Maineland Co. boxes is they bring a little piece of Maine to the recipient and every season there is a new curated box full of different Maine-made products to enjoy.
- I received this item for review from The Maineland Co. but all opinions expressed are my own. Please see our full Disclosure Policy for more information -
As you know by now, I love sharing about companies and products we love on the blog and our Instagram - and most especially those made right here in New England. Next in our series of interviews from New England Makers, we have Glenna Oliver of Away Up North! | This post contains affiliate links |
Tell me a little bit about yourself and your business.
My name is Glenna Oliver and I am married with two grown children, living in the western mountains of Maine. I am the owner and creator of Away up North and enjoy hiking, skiing, camping, and many other outdoor activities that Maine has to offer! At Away Up North I create handmade wool fabric Christmas stockings, decorative pillows, and balsam pillows.
How did you start Away Up North? Had you been making stockings and pillows for awhile or was this a new leap for you?
To me it seems I have always known how to sew and create. When I had children, I made clothes, doll clothing, and quilts. Christmas has always been my favorite time of year to make gifts for family and friends, including Christmas stockings for my family and then stockings for a friend’s antique shop where she started to sell them. After being a stay-at-home Mom for twenty-plus years, I was looking for work when my daughter suggested making and selling Christmas stockings on Etsy - that was seven years ago.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I am an early riser and do have an exercise routine that helps me keep up with all my outdoor interests and also helps me mentally jumpstart my day. I begin with my work day about 9AM and depending on the time of year, I am either prepping and preparing for my busy season (September through early January) or sewing and making inventory. During the busy holiday season I am personalizing and completing stockings as the orders come in. Many days you can also find me working on orders well into the evening hours. During the slower times of the year for my business you can find me enjoying the outdoors where I find the inspiration for so many of my designs.
What is your favorite part about owning your own company? And least favorite part?
I enjoy the flexibility it gives me - I enjoy using my passion to create and also to spend time pursuing my outdoor passions. An unexpected pleasure I have found with the business is watching families grow as returning customers request new stockings to celebrate the new additions in their families (babies, adult children getting married, grandchildren). My least favorite part is the administrative side of the business - keeping the books and keeping track of numbers. I much prefer creating over numbers!
What has been the most exciting moment for Away Up North since you started?
In 2013 I was asked to submit a stocking to Downeast Magazine for their Maine Made Gift Guide. When I received the magazine, I saw my Woodland Bear Christmas Stocking on the front cover! I had no idea it would be on the cover! It was a very exciting moment for me. Since then Away Up North has been in other publications and newspapers, but the Downeast Magazine feature was definitely a highlight for me.
What advice do you have for people just starting out?
Do your research before your begin, but don’t hesitate to take the leap. Surround yourself with resources, not only reading information but good people resources. And always be ready for the “big moment!” No matter how slow it’s going, always create product, always be prepared with photos, samples, and new ideas because you never know when your “big moment” is going to happen.
What is your long-term goal? Where do you see yourself in five years?
To develop year-round pillow designs and possibly DIY kits for the stockings. Eventually I would also like to develop patterns for all my stocking designs.
Who’s one of your favorite New England Makers?
Alana from
A&E Stoneworks! She and her husband Evan make a great product. They make stone cheese boards, coasters, and other products from stone. I love her cheeseboards and her energy! I personally love prodcuts made from stone and natural materials, they compliment the outdoor environment I love and how I enjoy deocrating my own home.
A note from Away Up North: Items ordered after November 29th will ship in early January, 2019 - but there are currently three designs ready-to-ship available on Amazon with Prime Shipping:
Woodland Bear, Woodland Bunny, and
Wolf in the Pines.
DO YOU OWN A NEW ENGLAND-BASED BUSINESS AND WOULD LIKE TO BE FEATURED IN AN UPCOMING INTERVIEW? OR WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN HAVING ME STYLE, REVIEW, AND FEATURE ONE OF YOUR PRODUCTS? Please drop me a note.
Today I wanted to share another great New England maker, Mariner Lines. If you're a dog-lover and a New England lover you need to have one of these beautiful hand-made nautical leashes in your life.
Love the bait bag packaging!
When I first stumbled across Mariner Lines, I thought their leashes looked beautiful and rugged and loved that they were made in Maine. But once I learned the story behind the brand I loved it even more as Mariner Lines was started by Stacia and her fisherman husband when their yellow lab Mariner became ill. Sales of these handmade leashes not only help them with medication expenses for their beloved pup (who is thankfully doing better), but a portion of sales is also donated to local rescue groups too. You can feel good about buying and using this leash knowing the good it does.
This weekend we brought our black lab Harley out for a short hike in the woods with our new Mariner Lines leash. Harley LOVES walking in the woods and was super-excited to put her new leash to the test. You see, the second you clip a leash to Harley's collar she pulls like a competition draft horse at the Fryeburg Fair... we've worked with her a bunch and done obedience classes but none of that matters for the first 10 minutes of the walk until she gets the excitement out of her system.
Our Mariner Lines leash held strong and I felt confident walking Harley on it. One of my favorite aspects of the leash was the roundness of the rope in my hands. All of our other leashes are traditional flat nylon that dig into your palms when the dog pulls; I was pleasantly surprised to see that the thick round rope did not dig into my hands at all as Harley got the initial excitement out of her system.
The leashes are hand-spliced together using rigging line and heavy-duty brass clasps so you know they're made to last. They come in many colors and there are even hand-knitted neck warmers for your pup and cowls for you available so you can coordinate. All the leashes are "one fathom" (about six feet) long - I just love how they incorporate the nautical theme into every aspect of their brand!
Happy pup.
Overall, I really love our Mariner Lines leash - it's rugged, durable, beautiful, and stands for helping pups in need. What's not to love?
We're hosting a great giveaway with Mariner Lines over on Instagram! Now is your chance to win one of their beautiful Maine-made recycled rigging line leashes for your pup. Please see the original giveaway post on my account (@birchlandinghome) for details and to enter.
Today I wanted to share about this awesome little leather goods company called Maine Leather Co., based out of Portland, Maine. It's run by Belle Hilmer, who makes every product with lots of love. Each item is made of great quality, rich leather and is cut, sewn, and riveted together by hand.
Maine Leather Co. offers a lot of different items - from wallets, to catch-alls, to bags (their Signature Tote is gorgeous!), and even beer coozies - all will an underlying love for Maine.
I got one of their catch-alls a little while ago and have been hiding it away it for my husband's birthday, but now that his birthday has gone by I can finally share it with you. In the past, my husband usually leaves his keys, sunglasses, and wallet in his hat by the door but I really wanted to get him something nicer to corral these things. His family has a deep history in Maine, his Grandfather was a logger way up in "the county," so having the state of Maine sewn into the tray definitely has personal meaning to him.
Maine Leather Co.'s products show a great love for their home state - whether it's boldly emblazoned front and center or a subtle rivet with a tiny Maine outline, their state pride is strong.
The details and craftsmanship are wonderful. The outline of Maine is sewn into the leather in such a way that there are no knots, even the back looks beautiful!
It's cold and yucky out and nothing puts the end of winter blues at bay quite like a nice cup of hot chocolate. I've recently discovered my new absolute favorite and wanted to share! It's called Black Dinah Chocolatiers' Dark Spiced Sipping Chocolate and it's made right in Isle Au Haut, Maine. I don't know if I can explain just how good it is, but I'll try ;)
It's easy to make, just a tablespoon of the sipping chocolate powder, some sweetener, and some milk heated in a saucepan and you have a delicious, thick, lightly spiced hot chocolate. My favorite detail of this sipping chocolate is the spices - it doesn't have a hot kick like Mexican hot chocolate, instead it just adds the perfect amount of flavor. Oh, and it smells ah-mazing.
I received this product as part of a promotion from Daytrip Society, but all opinions expressed are my own.
