{"id":15311,"date":"2018-09-28T09:44:30","date_gmt":"2018-09-28T13:44:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=15311"},"modified":"2018-10-04T18:38:45","modified_gmt":"2018-10-04T22:38:45","slug":"busy-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/busy-hands\/","title":{"rendered":"Busy Hands"},"content":{"rendered":"

October 2018 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Out of the cubicle, into the workshop. Post-modern tradespeople get back to basics and resurrect the past. <\/span><\/h3>\n

By Diane Hudson<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Back-to-Basics\"E<\/span>ver heard of a farrier? An aurifaber? Mystical economic trends are creating a strata of young dedicated practitioners of ancient trades\u2013some with a 21st century twist. We take a look at those who have wholeheartedly signed on to the work of our forefathers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mother\u2019s Little Helper<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019d told me a few years ago I\u2019d be doing this, I\u2019d have said, \u2018That\u2019s a pipe dream!\u2019\u201d Sam Putnam<\/strong>, founder and co-owner of Coastal Remedies<\/strong>, a medical marijuana business, says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Growing up on the West End in Portland, Putnam, 23, took time off after school to intern on a farm in New Mexico. Tiring of \u201cmaking goat cheese,\u201d he moved back, and at 18 wound up managing KGB Glass, a smoke shop on Congress Street. \u201cIt gave me the taste of running a business. I enjoyed the stress and getting creative, trying to build something.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

S<\/span>tarting work for marijuana caregivers in his free time, tuning other people\u2019s cannabis into tinctures, edibles, essential oils, etc.,Putnam was soon working \u201cnine to five at the store and five to nine\u201d at his business.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to specialize in something. We chose extracts. Initially we had a small line of beverage enhancers, medicated simple syrups to pour in a drink. Many marijuana patients are adverse to smoking, so this is a viable niche.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After two years of full-time focus, Coastal Remedies has invested well over a quarter of a million dollars back into the business. A week or two away from harvesting its first crop, the firm is bustling with activity and growth. Numerous 1,000-watt grow lights, state-of-the-art humidifiers, and a full-time professional grower add dimension to this investment. But it\u2019s at a separate space where the extraction work is done and Putnam really shines, truly at home in his lab. \u201cI always liked chemistry,\u201d he says. <\/span><\/p>\n

As for income, \u201cWe pretty much pour it all back into the business. But I wake up every day and get to dictate my own schedule, which is work. It\u2019s more than money\u2014I love what I do. I\u2019m pursuing my vision. All this would be worth a lot on the black market. But that doesn\u2019t interest us. Our product is helping give better lives to people in pain, and that gives a great sense of accomplishment and worth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A Creative Thread<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was a kid,\u201dseamstress Jacquelyn Pepice<\/strong>, 34, says, \u201cI\u2019d tell my mom, \u2018When I grow up, I\u2019m going to have my own store, and I\u2019m gonna call it Sink or Fly.\u2019\u201d Instead, she named it Hem and Veil<\/strong>. She laughs. \u201cKinda like hill and dale.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Always attracted to sewing, Pepice and fellow students at MECA (2002-2006) convinced the sculpture department to buy an industrial sewing machine and pull a loom out of storage. \u201cWe started our own fiber niche, and I began designing wearable art.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Finding the confidence to follow her passion took time, including nine years of being inspired by her mentor, Sarah Martin, owner of Bar of Chocolate in Portland. \u201cI started bartending there in 2006 at 21. I watched Sarah growing her business. I realized that if you work hard, you can make it happen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I<\/span>n rented spaces, Pepice steadily built a clientele of brides and bridesmaids before purchasing her current location in Rosemont. \u201cIt\u2019s scary,\u201d she says of having put $40,000 down on the building. \u201cBut there will be no rent increases. I have a playroom for my five-year-old and storage area for extensive inventory.\u201d Pepice also sells and alters gently used wedding dresses, often those returned to her by her customers. She has close to 100 gowns that were either donated or bought when Encore on Congress Street shut its doors.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a bride enters the well-designed space, it\u2019s hard to tell who is more excited. Pepice is literally bubbling over. \u201cI could sew every day; I love helping people. And people are happy when you\u2019re helping them look beautiful for the most special day of their life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Bag<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

J<\/strong><\/span>asmine Clayton<\/strong>, 42, owner of Kurier<\/strong> in Portland, has a favorite quote: \u201cIf you don\u2019t follow your dreams, you\u2019ll spend your life working for someone who did.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Before following her dream, Clayton spent four years helping designer Jill McGowan of Freeport follow hers. \u201cI was a single mom and needed a \u2018real job.\u2019\u201d The stint served her well. \u201cI don\u2019t think I could\u2019ve gone into business without experiencing their system of production. It was better than going to school.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

All the while, Clayton was working on her own designs, selling in craft shows, working on social media, and building inventory. \u201cJill was so helpful every time I had a question. And she taught me to get used to failing. You can\u2019t take it personally.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2014, at age 38, with only $5,000 to her name, she signed a lease for her space in the State Theatre building, and gave eight weeks notice to McGowan. \u201cIt was a risk. I don\u2019t have a rich grandfather or miraculous fund that\u2019s going to catch me. If I don\u2019t make the money, we don\u2019t have food on the table.\u201d Clayton learned early on that she is not her customer. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t spend $375 on a handbag, even if the cow made it from his own skin.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

But others recognize the value of Clayton\u2019s work and will part with the cash. Kurier sells hundreds of different styles, all designed by Clayton. Her favorite is the multi-use Ellis bag. As we speak, she is creating 500 beer koozies for Brooklyn Brewery made with leather from Tennessee and help from her part-time assistant. \u201cI love my work. I say that all the time. Every day is like craft camp.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As I leave, I notice the beautiful Dreamcatchers that appropriately decorate her storefront.<\/p>\n

Iron Man<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

M<\/strong><\/span>atthew Foster<\/strong><\/span> never imagined he\u2019d grow up to be a blacksmith. In fact, he planned on being an engineer. It wasn\u2019t until he went on to study sculpture at the University of Maine that he heard the clang that dreams are made of. \u201cI studied art there and particularly focused on sculpture. The sculpture studio at the UMaine has a small blacksmithing setup that just consists of a forge, an anvil, a vice, and some hammers and tongs,\u201d Foster says.<\/span><\/p>\n

While working as the sculpture studio technician at the university, Foster bought multiple books on blacksmithing, including three he continues to source today: The Complete Modern Blacksmith<\/em> by Alexander G. Weygers, The New Edge of the Anvil<\/em> by Jack Andrews, and The Art of Blacksmithing<\/em> by Alex W. Bealer. \u201cThe knowledge of blacksmiths was never really written down. It\u2019s only been in the last 100 years that we\u2019ve documented how blacksmiths did what they did. Now we\u2019re sort of documenting these things that were never documented before for future generations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, Foster runs Black Dog Ironworks<\/strong> (named after his two dogs) from his home in West Enfield. \u201cIf you told me ten years ago I was going to be a full time blacksmith running a shop, I\u2019d tell you you were crazy. It was just not on my radar.\u201d It was Foster\u2019s wife who encouraged him to pursue the work professionally. \u201cWhen my wife and I became pregnant, I thought I could really use some extra money<\/em>. It was she who suggested I start making some stuff and selling it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Starting out, Foster worked with the bare minimum: his forge, an anvil, a cordless drill, and a grinder, costing a total of $1,000. Last year, Foster brought in $120,000 in sales. \u201cThat\u2019s because I am selling online. Before the internet, you\u2019d work with people in your local community,\u201d he says. \u201cBut because of the internet, I can reach the whole world. Most of my customers are from the United States, and I\u2019ve shipped to 25 foreign countries.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

October 2018
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