In Store This Week

Whew!

Our new storefront on Mill Street in Orono.

We've had a whirlwind week with the store opening and a flurry of activity after articles in the Maine Campus, the Maine Edge and the Bangor Daily News, a mention in Down East's holiday gift guide, and an appearance on WABI-TV 5. Now that we've had a moment to catch our breath, we'd like to thank all of you who stopped in. We truly appreciate it. We hope you enjoyed it and we'd love to hear your feedback.

We've only been open for a week, but we've already added new lines and expanded some of our most popular lines: new sizes, colors and products from Beer Me Maine (koozies, anyone?); 10 flavors of Long Winter Farm lip balm; a ton of new products from Maine Mountain Soap and Candle Co.; more of everyone's favorite dips from The Winterport Co.; decadent new products — including gorgeous cocoas — from Vervacious; and a whole new batch of Stonewall Kitchen — lemon curd, pomegranate cosmo mixer and all sorts of other deliciousness. We have replenished our stock of Dahlov Ipcar books from Islandport Press and just received her newest, "Farmyard Alphabet," a charming board book for early readers.

Exclusive UMaine Sea Bags. You know you want one.

If you haven't seen our exclusive University of Maine Sea Bags, they're a must for
alumni and students. They're absolutely gorgeous. And you might have seen former Miss Maine and UMaine basketball star Ashley Underwood toting hers around town.

For the foodies, we've added a new line, Northwoods Gourmet Girl — made by hand in Greenville by caterer and CIA graduate Abby Freethy. Think upscale ketchup, luscious relishes and tasty spiced nuts. If we're lucky, we'll get in yet another order of Black Dinah bark and sipping chocolate, which is flying off the shelves at an astonishing rate.

Today, we received new jewelry from Heather Perry (in addition to her fabulous charms — a handmade, elegant, local alternative to Trollbeads and Pandora). Over the weekend, Lisa Gent sent more of her fabulous pearl, silver and semiprecious stone jewelry, which has been super-popular. We also received a splurge-worthy bib necklace in sterling and vintage buttons from Quench Metalworks.

We are proud to introduce Twig Naturals, a line of all-natural, dye-free soy candles, scented with essential oils and presented in tasteful recycled glass jars. They are made by hand by the talented Erin Donovan of Saco, a childhood friend of The Maven.

We're also proud to introduce bath bombs by Miss Moonmaker. Made by hand in Dresden by Jennifer Kosinchuk, these all-natural, huge, super-decadent fizzies are simply the bomb. Miss Moonmaker's other retailer, Whole Foods in Portland, can't keep them in stock, and we're pretty sure they're going to fly off our shelves as well.

We're freaks. But we're happy freaks.

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year — even more so since we opened our shop and had the chance to meet some amazing customers, artisans and Maine Maven readers. Thanks for your support, and happy holidays!

Maine Maven is located at 31 Mill St. in Orono, next to Park's Hardware. Holiday hours are 3-7 Wednesday-Friday (although we usually open early on Fridays); 10-7 Saturday; 11-4 Sunday. Our weekday hours are limited because we have a 6-month-old at home, but if you need us at a time that we're not normally open, e-mail jason@mainemaven.com and he'll take care of you — we live less than a mile away and would be happy to help. For more information, call 866-3575.

Artisans/artists: We appreciate your interest, but we're not currently accepting new vendors. We cannot and will not accept solicitations during business hours. Thank you.

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