Squirrel mania: a screenprinted onesie from Ferdinand and mittens by Georgia Zoo at Merchant Trading Company.

Have you stopped into The Merchant Company (656 Congress Street) yet? I spent an hour there recently, chatting with co-owner Giselle, and scouring the amazing vendors in this fine arts and vintage emporium. The idea for such a place is actually credited to Dianne Toepfer, owner of Ferdinand, who first gave Giselle the idea. Now housed in the former Coast City Comic digs, this mecca of local goods is my new go-to. Let’s have a look at what I found, shall we?

Sometimes all it takes is a Singer sewing machine from the 1950’s to start your own line. That’s exactly what Julia, owner of Jeeze, Julia!, did with the hand-me-down that both her Mother and Grandmother once used. 

A New Hampshire native, Julia first got interested in selling clothes while working at Club 21 here in Portland. She opened her own etsy shop in June 2008 where she started to sell simple sewn bags. “It took me awhile to find my groove and figure out what I really wanted to sew,” she says. Then came the apron. A class from Z Fabrics taught her how to make them and from there she created her own pattern. She showed us one of her recent designs, a “paper bag skirt” crafted from her boyfriend’s old shirt.

Surprisingly, her biggest seller to date are the fabric growth charts she created on a whim as a gift - and since then have sold like crazy in her shop.  ”My desire to start sewing really came from wanting cool things on a budget. Now when I see something I like, I just make it.” 

(click on photos to enlarge) 

Stand firm ye boys of Maine. If you’ve heard that quote before you’re either a) a Joshua Chamberlain fanatic or b) a Loyal Citizen Tees devotee. I am of the latter. We met Loyal Citizen creators Jeff Lauzier and Julian Redman at their HQ - Joseph’s on Free Street. They work in the store and peddle their amazing line there too. 

Jeff is the “business brain” behind the brand while Julian finds concepts for the shirts. His inspiration comes from everywhere. The covers of old books, an image off an old pennant,  a historical quote. Even the name from their line, “Loyal Citizen” was written on an old gravestone. Loyal Citizen shirts “exemplify New England pride.” After all, only Mainers are willing to wear their state tree on their chest.

Screen printed and made entirely in Maine - we can’t think of a better gift for Father’s Day. Stop into Joseph’s or Lalo Boutique where you can pick out your favorite - or order from their website here. And don’t worry ladies, they come in sizes for you too. 

T-shirts. Cards. Potions. Soaps. Artwork. Candles. Dishtowels. Jewelry. Birdhouses. Panties. All made in Maine. Where can you find such locally made wonders? Lalo Boutique (142 High Street) of course.

If you haven’t been into Lalo yet, you’re missing out. Owner Melissa, a Topsham native, always wanted to open her own shop. With a background in retail and the desire to support the local economy, she finally dug in her heels and did it over one year ago. “At the time I was managing a local lobster pound and I told myself I couldn’t let fear stop me,” says Melissa.

Inside you’ll find everything from Loyal Citizen Clothing tees, pizza rocks from Creative Works System, handiwork from MECA students and even potions (I refrained from buying “Bite Me Baby”). Nothing is from outside this state.  As she dashed around and showed us her product lines (in her Maine made leggings), she had a personal vignette about every seller - keeping it truly local.

Make sure to follow Lalo on twitter and check out her store for some inspired local finds. I’ll be back soon to buy this shirt. 

Once in awhile, a clothing line gets its start from a class project. Or at least that’s how it happened for Elykssor Clothing. Kyle Poissonier, the line’s Creative Director, met up with us to discuss how a marketing major and two former football players formed their very own fashion line.

Originally from Skowhegan, Kyle met his business partners at Husson University in Bangor. After creating the line as a fake business proposal - he thought that it might just work. After figuring out the purpose, style and fit they were going after, they enlisted artists from Sacramento to Maine (including our very own Ryan Adams) to come up with creative designs. 

Elykssor’s name is from “the elixir of life”. Many of the t-shirt slogans read “prolong life” to promote strong, healthy lifestyles. The line has also helped raise funds for charities, with proceeds going to organizations like the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Though Kyle is back in Maine, his partners are based in NYC where the line was originally launched. “Portland saved Elykssor,” says Kyle. “The response here has been great. I don’t know if the line would have survived if I didn’t come back to Maine.” 

Next up for Elykssor are vintage-inspired garb which they’re expanding into more fashion pieces like dresses and jackets. Check them out on Facebook and Twitter. 

 

I’m an etsy devotee. I obsessively stalk items, search for something impossible to find and seek out new sellers. In my humble opinion, Maine has been blessed with the best etsy shops around. Enter Chic Origins.

Kat drove down from Raymond and into the city to meet up with us. With her in tow was a carpet bag filled with some upcoming goodies for the shop. I ooohed and aahed over suede booties, a deep green velvet chapeau and her acid washed jeans. I want, no, NEED this houndstooth 60’s jacket as well as this chunky elephant necklace. 

Not even one year in business and sales are booming. Kat works out of a makeshift office/photo studio/stylist’s nook in her parent’s basement, which they obligingly gave up for her to set up shop. So what’s her secret for finding the goods? “Estate sales. Thrift shops. And just buying things I like!” It seems to be working just fine.

Be sure to swing by Chic Origin’s blog and facebook page. And can somebody buy these?! 

We met up with Malaika Picard, another brain behind this weekend’s BIG THAW, at the new Otto’s to chat about recycling jeans. That’s not all we talked about of course, but Malaika’s line Hand-Me-Down Designs does give recycled denim, corduroy and clothes a new life. 

Malaika recently took up sewing again after a very long break from it. It started with a simple jean bag with two usable back pockets. Friends and family swooned. She opened an etsy shop and hasn’t looked back.

Her line doesn’t just include bags but tissue holders, wallets, bifolds and mini keychains that are stuffed with fabric leftovers - she doesn’t waste a piece.  

You’ll be able to check out Malaika’s designs in person this weekend at The Big Thaw. We’ll be there looking for stylish shoppers -  so we hope you’ll all come out and support the amazing list of vendors and spend those tax returns. 

What is it about the icon of our great state that looks so good? The rocky coastline? The unique shape? Either way, it looks even better in plaid. Bethany Hayes-Chute, the artist behind By Bethany, has been screen printing her own designs for two years. Her Maine tee’s have a rustic, sketched out feel and her New England tees are the newest hybrid (not on her site yet - but they’ll be at The Big Thaw!) All her shirt designs are hand-printed on apparel made in the U.S. So is her plaid state of Maine trying to get at something? “I wasn’t trying to say that everyone in Maine wears plaid - but I guess it is kinda true!” she says. 

This art school aficionado (she’s gone to MECA, Pratt and Mass Art) doesn’t just stick to Maine garb. There’s also her creature shirts, jewelry, floral designs and New England tote bags (just $12) that round out her array of goods. You can buy her goods online or visit her table at The Big Thaw. You can bet her table of t’s will be perfectly folded thanks to Nate - he taught her to fold them the “Martha Stewart” way during our visit. 

When I caught my first glimpse of designer Ashley Tyler through the windows of her home in the West End, I noticed we were wearing matching vintage Woolrich shirts and Sorel boots. Sometimes you just know you’re going to like (nay, love) someone’s style. 

Ashley is new to Portland, though she’s been a frequent Maine visitor for the past four years. She left her prominent New York fashion career behind her (she worked as Senior Design Director for Ralph Lauren, interned with Jean-Paul Gaultier in Paris and had her own boutique - no big deal) to head North full-time.

Ashley’s new spring and summer designs were laid out for us to oooh and aaah over. Highlights included a bikini with printed prose, stretch modal Ninja Shirts, a draped and sexy Cobra Dress and organic cotton t-shirts. She’s also created handmade leather medicine bags from skins she’s been collecting for over 15 years. 

The Native American aesthetic behind most of her designs stem from her family’s Cherokee background. Her beautiful silk “Aviva” scarves came from a sketch inspired by her cat as well as a piece of Native American art belonging to her Grandparents. 

Ashley’s home, which she shares with her artist boyfriend, gets the creative juices flowing. Up their winding staircase are two adjoining bedroom/studios. Her boyfriend works on his sculptures in one room while Ashley works on her bags and stores her collections of medicine bags, plaid shirts and vintage whites.

Their basement houses a silk screen that Ashley uses to create her t-shirts. We notice one screen with the image of a phoenix - the symbol of Portland. “I’ve loved phoenixes before I moved to Portland, I even have a tattoo of one that I got years ago,” says Ashley. “It’s a sign I’m supposed to be here.”





 

The next time you’re craving a pupusa and find yourself on Washington Avenue, walk a few doors down from Tu Casa and stop in to Jen Burrall Designs (76 Washington Ave). After studying metalsmithing in Montana and apprenticing for jewelry designers back in her home state of Maine, she opened her first shop in 2007.

Even if you haven’t stopped in her store yet, you may have seen her baubles in one of the 35 galleries across the United States that carries her line - including Foundry Lane right here in Portland. Her nest designs - where wire is wrapped and wrapped and wrapped around gorgeous gem stones - are a real signature of her style - and a favorite among most that walk in her store. 

Jen uses all ethically sources gemstones and recycled metals. Her retail store doubles as her workspace. Once you’ve been able to check our her nest post earrings or amazonite necklaces in person, you might get to hear the sweet sounds of welding going on behind the scenes.

You can shop for her jewelry online or visit her on the hill. Oh, and Valentine’s day is just around the corner. I’d gladly accept this. Or this. Okay, or this too. 

Some people are born with style. Mandy Wheeler just happens to be one of them. Mandy, owner of Grandma June, was passed down a sense of style from her shop’s namesake, her beloved Grandmother. “My Mom always tells this story of my Grandmother picking her up from school. She’d be the Mom that would walk down the hallways and kids would stick their heads out of classrooms and wonder who she was,” says Mandy.

Though Mandy occasionally sells an item or two from her Grandma’s collection, most of her items are culled from estate sells, auctions or personal viewings. “I started this shop because I wanted to sell beautiful clothes. I never put anything in the shop that I wouldn’t personally wear,” she says. “I want people to see my style distinctly.”

Mandy runs her shop out of her South Portland apartment. Her bedroom walls are covered in beautiful vintage hats. A screen pulls down from her ceiling for impromptu fashion shoots for her site. And if you walk through the swinging door to her walk-in closet, you’ll see a carefully selected collection of dresses, shoes, purses and coats. It’s a vintage lovers dream.

Every piece of clothing in Grandma June has a story. One of her most prized posessions is a wedding gown from 1954 that comes with it’s original head piece, gloves and a garter with a penny the bride wore on her wedding day still in it.

Her other major inspiration - music - is evident by a giant photo collage created by her Father that hangs in her stairwell. If Mandy looks familiar, you might have seen her rocking out in Honey Clouds or Foam Castles. And you can bet she looks good on stage.

What do you get one you take one part oceanic rock musician and bag-jewelry-maker extraordinaire and pair it with a female hip-hop artist? Ponomo Style…naturally. We were graciously welcomed into Hannah Tarkinson’s studio last week where we discussed ebay, World War II bracelets and the Maine rap scene. 

Hannah Tarkinson made her first bag nine years ago when she couldn’t afford the quality she’d see in high-fashion lines. “That was it really. I made one and they started to sell,” she says. Her leather bags are made from salvaged hides that she hand tools, dyes and sews to make custom bags - no bag is exactly like another. Unlike lots of designers, Hannah didn’t seek out the craft, it found her. “I never thought I’d end up being good at this, let alone be doing it full-time,” says the lead singer for Portland based band Isobell. (That’s right. She’s a lead singer in a band, owns her own company and she’s a Mom. She is seriously my “I-can-do-everything-and-still-look-put-together-and-be-witty hero”) 

As demand for her bags and jewelry grew, Hannah started to think about taking on a business partner. She finally found a good match in Sonya Tomlinson a.k.a Sontiago. “I wasn’t good at PR so one way I tried to get exposure with my jewelry was by giving it to musicians to wear. That’s how I met Sonya,” explains Hannah. “There is no better match for me. She is the most genuine person to be in this business with.” 

Sonya shares that same affection for her partner. “You can give someone all the parts we work with, but they won’t construct anything like what Hannah will come up with,” she says. Hannah doesn’t seek out trends or create what she knows will sell. Instead, she’ll read a fashion magazine to look at what not to make.  

The beauty of Ponomo (po’ no’ mo’ - poor no more - in case you were wondering) comes largely from the discarded pieces that get a new life - from bullet shells to leather scraps to zippers, all repurposed and reconstructed materials.  ”I’ll actually hold a piece and have an emotional attachment to it,” says Hannah as she shows us bracelets that soldiers would send their sweethearts during World War II. 

And if the duo isn’t busy enough, they also run Frock N’ Roll - a charity event that raises money for The Portland Music Foundation. 

You can buy their pieces at Bliss, Jill McGowan’s pop-up shop in Freeport and at Flock in Boston. Or shoot the ladies an email if you have an old bauble that needs some freshening up. (And if anyone out there wants to buy me a Christmas present, one of the cut steel and suede bracelets will suit me just fine. Thanks.)